Designing for Health and Wellbeing

s a workplace company, CommonGrounds designs, builds and operates physical space for you to work, learn, socialize, and grow. You are our business. We create thoughtful space for your needs, and we have always put our consumers at the center of our design. Even before the onset of COVID-19, CommonGrounds designed physical spaces with health and wellbeing in mind – from access to natural light, biophilia, enhanced acoustics and better thermal controls, to ergonomic furniture and best-in-class cleaning standards. We offer more square feet per person than most other coworking space providers and, we are uniquely focused on the wellness of our patrons.

The spaces where we spend the most time profoundly impact our health, wellbeing and productivity, and there is vast research to back this claim. While this is not news to commercial real estate veterans, this has never truly impacted the market until now. In the wake of COVID-19, the demand for buildings and spaces designed with the overall wellness of individuals in mind is expected to rise exponentially. CommonGrounds has always been at the forefront of this movement.

Building sustainable, cost-effective green buildings and interiors is no longer enough, especially in a post-COVID world. Not only does CommonGrounds respond to the need for “being green”, we seek to build working environments that support the wellbeing of the people who work within our walls. We have carefully studied the growing number of building certification programs and tools developed to address human health and have aligned ourselves with the research done by the WELL Building Standard through the International Well Building Institute.

The WELL Building Standard combines best practices in design and construction with evidence-based health and scientific research to support human health and wellbeing. WELL V1 measures attributes of buildings that impact health by looking at seven concepts: Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Fitness, Comfort and Mind. The standard is comprised of over 100 features that are designed to improve the nutrition, fitness, mood, sleep patterns, productivity and performance of the people inside.

Unlike other building certifications, WELL as a holistic program that puts human wellness at the center of design. There are many benefits of working in thoughtfully-designed spaces like those offered by CommonGrounds, including increased productivity, happiness related to cultural cohesion and exposure to natural light, among other benefits. Organizations looking for workspaces outside the conventional office space will see immediate benefits from a curated workspace like CommonGrounds including improved health and productivity and the attraction and retention of top talent. Further, both organizations and individuals working in CommonGrounds spaces will reap the benefits of entertaining clients and investors in a sustainable space that is industry-leading in its design and functionality.

At CommonGrounds, we are using the WELL standard a framework to incorporate a variety of strategies which integrate human health and wellbeing at the heart of workplace design, construction and operations.

Article provided by:
Damien Watson
Project Designer | CommonCreative
WELL Accredited Professional

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