The architectural firm Hord Caplan Macht (HCM) recently completed the documentation to verify that its Denver office can meet the standards necessary to be certified under Fitwel, a certification program to support healthier workplaces created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Center for Active Design, Fitwel's oerator and third-party certifier, launched in May 2016 and began rolling out to developers and the AEC community last fall.
Working with experts in public health and design, CDC spent five years developing and testing its Fitwel scorecard. The General Services Administration piloted the program in 89 of its buildings.
HCM, which has also provided verification documents for its offices in Alexandria, Va., and Baltimore, is one of five Fitwel Champions that have committed to certifying more than 50 buildings in aggregate. The other Champions include the CDC, which is also Fitwel’s research and evaluation lead; EYP, Integral Group, and Menkes Development.
Perkins+Will was the first company to adopt Fitwel’s standards for all 11 of the firm’s North American offices, which P+W expects will be certified by 2018.
HCM has been in its 13,000-sf Denver office, a former fire station built in the 1920s, since 2010. The office currently has 72 employees. Ara Massey, that office’s Sustainability Design Manager, tells BD+C that the firm measured its three offices against 63 Fitwel strategies in seven health impact categories to establish health and wellness baselines from which it could work toward certification. The evaluation and documentation took about 40 man-hours, she estimates.
The Center for Active Design promotes Fitwel as more “business friendly” than other certification programs. And Massey confirmed that Fitwel gives companies the flexibility to prioritize which standards to align its operations with “without a lot of cost.”
HCM has already successfully integrated many health-promoting features within its offices, including providing staff with fresh fruit and vegetables and locating in areas with high WalkScores.
Hord Caplan Macht's Denver office includes meeting spaces with lots of daylight. Image: Courtesy HCM
However, one thing that surprised Massey was the emphasis that Fitwel’s scorecard places on “lactation rooms” for new Moms returning to the workforce after giving birth. “That was a real eye opener for us,” says Massey.
The next step toward Fitwel certification is the review process, and Massey expects a lot of give and take between her firm and the Center for Active Design to determine how to meet the criteria levels that HCM is willing to adopt.
Now bitten by the wellness bug, HCM also plans to incorporate Fitwel’s wellness standards into its designs for other clients’ projects “as much as possible,” says Massey. “Particularly active design.”
Arup, Structure Tone embrace wellness
While it’s still too early to say definitively, it appears that the wellness movement is slowly catching on with developers and AEC firms. For example, in late December, Arup opened a 16,333-sf office at 60 State Street in Boston, designed by Dyer Brown Architects, which is targeting the Silver level of the International WELL Building Institute’s WELL Building Standard, as well as the Platinum level of LEED v.4.
Structure Tone’s 82,000-sf corporate headquarters in New York City recently became the first project in that metro to receive Well Building Standard certification. It earned a Silver-level designation by installing more efficient mechanicals and lighting that maintains harmony with employees’ circadian rhythms. The office also offers point-of-access water filters, access to healthy foods, and discounts on bike-share and fitness center memberships.
Last year, Structure Tone formed a partnership with Delos, the real estate and tech firm that established the WELL Building Standard, in which Structure Tone agreed to accredit 150 employees through the WELL Accredited Professional program.
Related Stories
Windows and Doors | Aug 31, 2023
Updated specification rates ability of windows, doors, skylights, sliding glass doors to withstand impacts from windborne debris
The Fenestration and Glazing Industry Alliance (FGIA) updated a specification providing a system for rating the ability of windows, doors, skylights and sliding glass doors to withstand impact and pressure cycling generally associated with hurricane conditions.
Codes and Standards | Aug 31, 2023
Community-led effort aims to prevent flooding in Chicago metro region
RainReady Calumet Corridor project favors solutions that use natural and low-impact projects such as rain gardens, bioswales, natural detention basins, green alleys, and permeable pavers, to reduce the risk of damaging floods.
Multifamily Housing | Aug 23, 2023
Constructing multifamily housing buildings to Passive House standards can be done at cost parity
All-electric multi-family Passive House projects can be built at the same cost or close to the same cost as conventionally designed buildings, according to a report by the Passive House Network. The report included a survey of 45 multi-family Passive House buildings in New York and Massachusetts in recent years.
Fire-Rated Products | Aug 14, 2023
Free download: Fire-rated glazing 101 technical guide from the National Glass Association
The National Glass Association (NGA) is pleased to announce the publication of a new technical resource, Fire-Rated Glazing 101. This five-page document addresses how to incorporate fire-rated glazing systems in a manner that not only provides protection to building occupants from fire, but also considers other design goals, such as daylight, privacy and security.
Green | Aug 7, 2023
Rooftop photovoltaic panels credited with propelling solar energy output to record high
Solar provided a record-high 7.3% of U.S. electrical generation in May, “driven in large part by growth in ‘estimated’ small-scale (e.g., rooftop) solar PV whose output increased by 25.6% and accounted for nearly a third (31.9%) of total solar production,” according to a report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Office Buildings | Aug 1, 2023
Creating a nurturing environment: The value of a mother’s room in the workplace
Since becoming an architect, Rebecca Martin of Design Collaborative has drawn a mother’s room into numerous projects. But it wasn't until she became a mom that she fully appreciated their importance in the workspace.
Sustainability | Jul 27, 2023
USGBC warns against building energy code preemptions, rollbacks
In a recent editorial, the USGBC cited a growing number of U.S. state legislators who are “aiming to roll back building energy code standards and/or preempt local governments from advancing energy-efficient building codes.”
Resiliency | Jul 27, 2023
'Underground climate change' can damage building foundations, civil infrastructure
A phenomenon known as “underground climate change” can lead to damage of building foundations and civil infrastructure, according to a researcher at Northwestern University. When the ground gets hotter, it can expand and contract, causing foundations to move and sometimes crack.
High-rise Construction | Jul 25, 2023
World's largest market-rate, Phius Design-certified multifamily high-rise begins leasing
The Phius standard represents a "sweet spot" for aggressive decarbonization and energy reduction, while remaining cost-effective.
Codes and Standards | Jul 17, 2023
Outdated federal rainfall analysis impacting infrastructure projects, flood insurance
Severe rainstorms, sometimes described as “atmospheric rivers” or “torrential thunderstorms,” are making the concept of a “1-in-100-year flood event” obsolete, according to a report from First Street Foundation, an organization focused on weather risk research.