The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) has announced the formation of a network of global concept advisories to explore, better understand and, ultimately, more accurately quantify the impact of specific health intents captured in the 10 WELL concepts – Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Movement, Thermal Comfort, Materials, Sound, Mind and Community.
“This is a step forward for IWBI, deepening our understanding of how our buildings affect people across these concepts, which the evidence tells us have an impact on how we feel, how healthy we are and how we can thrive,” says IWBI Chairman and CEO Rick Fedrizzi.
“The launch of WELL v2TM, the next version of the WELL Building Standard, was another step in the evolution of WELL,” he says. “These concept advisories will propel the movement, advancing both the impact and importance of healthy building in the process.”
Each WELL concept advisory includes a collection of professionals, practitioners and experts, each serving a one-year term. WELL concept advisors will number more than 100 individuals, span 20 countries and represent WELL advocates not just from global market centers (like New York, London, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai, Addis Ababa and Sydney) but a number of smaller municipalities in between. They cover an array of technical, scientific and medical fields.
“As an organization, IWBI continues to raise the bar for buildings designed with the health of people at the forefront,” Fedrizzi adds. “The formation of these WELL concept advisories is a validation of how far we’ve traveled as an organization, but more importantly they represent an investment in the future of WELL and its ability to transform our buildings and communities to improve human health.”