Webcor, a commercial construction general contractor with divisions in concrete, drywall, and carpentry, renovated and expanded its company headquarters in San Francisco, an 18,200 square foot, third-floor space.
The company looked at the long-term health of their work environment and orchestrated the renovation accordingly, combining bold designs and carefully selecting sustainably sourced materials and furnishings, bio-friendly lighting, Awair monitoring systems, and in-house foliage.
While there were several objectives of the project, the main goal, which was achieved, was to meet the WELL v2 Building Standard (Gold) and LEED v4 Commercial Interiors (Silver) Certifications and thereby improve the work environment for their employees. This is no small feat. Webcor was the 16th Office in the US to achieve WELL v2 (Gold) at the time they achieved it.
The WELL v2 Building Certification from the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) helps buildings and organizations create spaces that improve human wellness by setting performance and policy standards for designs, operational protocols, and culture.
Many companies, like Webcor, strive to attain WELL v2 Certification in order to attract and retain employees, clients, and investors, to build brand equity through innovation, and to maximize employee performance due to increased productivity, satisfaction, and decreased absences.
Achieving WELL v2 building certifications can be complex. There are over 100 different Preconditions and Optimizations to choose from to submit for a WELL v2 Performance Verification, yet building safety has never been more important for businesses of all sizes as companies begin to bring employees and clients back into the office and people begin to go back to the places they love.
A scaled down approach from the IWBI, called the WELL Health-Safety seal, is the newest WELL certification and focuses on the operational policies and protocols of businesses with a narrowed down 22 point list. With a 'Look for the Seal' campaign kicking off in 2021, the purpose of the seal is to ensure that post-pandemic spaces are clean, indoor air and water quality are good, and overall health and safety is optimized for everyone who enters indoor spaces. As they say, “The WELL seal outside means you can feel safer inside.”
After the qualifying checklists are complete, there still remains the day-to-day safety and comfort for employees and clients. Awair's Indoor Air Quality monitoring platform can point out issues immediately as they arise. Many times these issues can be addressed on the spot, either with ventilation, lower occupancy, by opening windows, or turning on air filters. As Webcor has proved with their SF headquarters, you can reassure employees and clients, and yourself, that the air quality indoors is safe all the time with real-time IAQ monitoring.
Read the full case study of Webcor’s Well v2 certification at the link below:
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