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Last edited 28 Jan 2021

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Greenbuild 2017

In an environment where ‘partnership is the new leadership,’ the International WELL Building Institute™ (IWBI™) and BRE used Greenbuild in Boston, USA in November 2017 to demonstrate the value of collaboration on multiple levels to advance human health through better buildings.

In November 2016, we reported that the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) and BRE had announced an alignment between the WELL Building Standard (WELL) and BREEAM. Combining the two standards was intended to make it easier for projects seeking to conform with them.

At Greenbuild, IWBI Chairman and CEO, Rick Fedrizzi said:

"Our relationship with BRE is in evidence across several categories. We’re proud of the pioneering work we’ve done by developing a crosswalk between the WELL Building Standard and BREEAM, simplifying for the market opportunities to use these two leading building standards in tandem to achieve both sustainability and human health goals.

"Additionally, we’ve partnered with BRE to undertake practical performance verification research as we are developing WELL v2. On-site performance verification is a unique hallmark of WELL. When it comes to human health, good intentions and checklists are simply not enough to ensure that a building’s performance is in a position to improve human performance. Our shared commitment to this idea of verified performance is why leadership companies are committing to the high bar that WELL provides."

A key resource used by BRE in undertaking this performance verification research is the room-sized environmental chamber in which known concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or other indoor air pollutants may be introduced into the space at controlled temperature, humidity and ventilation rates.

The chamber, built to the standard room specifications prescribed in the European Standard CEN/TS 16516: 2013, was designed, built, and commissioned as part of a recent collaborative European Commission (EC) research project.

Two VOC source chambers are used – one to trial the VOC sources and one through which air is passed to carry the VOCs into the chamber. In the current, research the chamber is used to compare VOC measurement methods and technologies for the determination of ‘TVOC’ (total VOC) in air at given concentrations of selected VOCs.

The current research initiatives being undertaken jointly by BRE and IWBI also involve evaluation of monitors used to measure particulate matter in air, and evaluation of the methods used to measure light levels and to use the data in order to assess circadian lighting.

Dr. Andy Dengel, CChem MRSC, Director, BRE Environment said:

"We see the value of successive rounds of collaborative research in pushing the envelope when it comes to ensuring that performance verification methodologies are robust and fit for purpose. That’s why we’re excited to showcase this work to WELL practitioners and power users who are contributing to the development of WELL v2."

Martin Townsend, Director of Sustainability at BRE said:

"If we are to drive change for the built environment at all the different scales of design and operation, we need to create strong partnerships with like-minded organisations. In doing so, we can create a supportive environment for the industry to improve the way in which we look at buildings. Such certainty comes from the industry having confidence in an independent approach and standards built on research and science, a belief IWBI and BRE share."