The Washington, D.C.-based International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) has launched five pilot programs within its WELL Building Standard (WELL). WELL, applicable for commercial and institutional projects, now offers pilot programs for retail, multifamily residential, education, restaurant and commercial kitchen projects.
The WELL pilot programs will allow participants to be the first to engage in the sustainability and healthy-building movement. IWBI will collect information from participants and industry experts to further refine the standards prior to publication. Upon completion of the pilot program, each standard will move out of the pilot phase and become integrated into the core features of WELL.
WELL is the world’s first building standard focused exclusively on human health and wellness. It marries best practices in design and construction with evidence-based medical and scientific research, harnessing the built environment as a vehicle to support human health and wellbeing.
All pilot programs were developed as an adaptation of WELL v1.0. Relevant features from v1.0 were incorporated into each pilot while features that only apply to commercial and institutional spaces were removed. Prior to being finalized, all pilots will complete a thorough and transparent peer-review process with scientific, practitioner and medical experts. During this process, expert feedback from leading researchers and industry practitioners will help refine each pilot for its final release.
Pilot projects are eligible to achieve Silver, Gold or Platinum level pilot certification, following the same method as WELL v1.0. Projects receive third-party certification by the Green Business Certification Inc., Washington.
For information or to download the pilot standards, visit www.wellcertified.com/well.