Global architecture and design firm Perkins&Will is pleased to announce that the Vancouver office of CBRE Group, Inc. is British Columbia’s first WELL certified workplace for new and existing interiors. The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) awards the project gold level certification based on IWBI’s WELL Building Standard (WELL).
“We are honored to have partnered with CBRE on creating a workplace that is not only environmentally sustainable, but also elevates the health and well-being of its employees,” says Sarah Stanford, interior design leader at Perkins&Will’s Vancouver office. “Designing for health and wellness is inherent in what we do, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to work with a client who shares these values.”
WELL is the first building standard to focus exclusively on human health and wellness in buildings. The global performance-based system measures, certifies, and monitors building features that affect human health and well-being in seven categories: air, water, light, nourishment, fitness, comfort, and mind. WELL combines best practices in design and construction with evidence-based medical and scientific research and can help improve the nutrition, fitness, mood, sleep patterns, productivity and performance of its occupants. The standard works seamlessly with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design® (LEED®) rating system and is independently verified by the same certifying body.
“At CBRE, we believe that the workplace environment should and can actively benefit the health and well-being of employees, not diminish it,” commented Loren Bergmann, CBRE’s Western Canada managing director of workplace strategy. “We believe embracing workplace wellness is a key priority for our industry and we are pleased that the design of our Vancouver office has been recognized for this leadership.”
CBRE’s Vancouver office incorporates more than 100 wellness features. Active design strategies to promote physical activity include an iconic staircase that interconnects the four adjoining floors. A living tree featured on each floor adds a biophilic element to nurture the innate human-nature connection. Elements of beauty incorporated throughout include the café’s unique wood ceiling designed as an inverted topographic map of Vancouver that adds warmth and celebrates local culture and place.
Perkins&Will has a long history of sustainable design and WELL offers a natural extension to this mindset. The firm’s commitment to designing for health and wellness is evident in its dedicated human experience and material performance Research Labs, in addition to its pioneering work developing the Transparency website that serves as a resource for the use of healthy materials.
The CBRE Vancouver office is Perkins&Will’s first WELL certified project in Canada. The firm’s other projects that have earned WELL certification include the American Society of Interior Designers National Headquarters in Washington, DC and Haworth Showroom in Los Angeles, in addition to registered projects pursuing certification.
