Nov 27th, 2018 – The Technological Institute of Galicia (ITG) is the first official partner of IWBI (International WELL Building Institute) to provide training in Spain and Latin- America, to attain the official WELL certificate. It is accredited to check certain issues required by the certificate.
Bieito da Silva, CEO of WELL certification in the ITG has explained this, in a visit to the Castellana 81 building, the first building to obtain this certification in Spain and the fifth in Europe to obtain the Gold Level in the Core & Shell Category. The visit was also attended by Xabier Barrondo, CEO of Gmp who is owner of the building, and Susana Saiz, Associate Director of Arup, the consulting firm that has coordinated the WELL certification process of Castellana 81 building.
The cost of labour is by far the most important thing for all businesses. Therefore it is specially important to create a comfortable and healthy atmosphere that gives the user more satisfaction and therefore contributes to an increase in productivity and decrease in absenteeism.
The certificate identifies 100 parameters related to design, efficiency and use of policies in buildings. These measures can be implemented by the architecture teams, managers and others.The in situ checks of these parameters, or “Performance Verification” is carried out by an accredited professional and includes the taking of samples (water and air) the taking of light and sound measurements and visual inspections of defined elements. In order to guarantee that the applied measures will remain in place, there is a recertification every three years.
What does WELL evaluate?
The certificate establishes ten valuable concepts for residential buildings, hotels and offices. These concepts are Air, Water, Diet, Lighting, Motion, Thermal Comfort, Noise, Materials, State of Mind and Community. The assessment of all these elements, through different measurement techniques, determines the certification level of the property, which can be silver, gold or platinum. For this, WELL has a network of nearly 6,000 accredited professionals in 74 countries, and has certified more than 1,000 projects since its birth in 2014. In Spain there are more than 30 buildings going through the process of certification.
Guided tour of Castellana 81
Castellana 81 is the project of architect Francisco Javier Sáenz de Oiza. It is a landmark in the urban landscape of modern Madrid and a reference of 20th Century Spanish architecture. Gmp, owners of the building, approached its rehabilitation recently respecting its singularities, exclusivity and architectonic characteristics, at the same time providing the maximum comfort and sustainability as a workplace.
The rehabilitation included a great number of measures that resulted in the obtention of the WELL Building Standard Certificate in May 2018 with Gold Level. The reforms undertaken have been diverse and varied from improvements in lighting mental wellness, to the improvement of air quality, water and nutritional habits of the users of the building, even encouraging physical exercise.
Xabier Barrondo commented “Gmp has placed itself as the pioneer state promoter in Spain involved in the wellness and health of the users of IYS buildings. The fact that Castellana 81 is the first building in our country with a WELL certificate is a proof of its commitment with people, fact that aims to repeat itself with WELL certifications, like in Castellana 77 and oxxeo”.
Primera Wellference en España
El 22 de enero de 2019, tendrá lugar la primera Wellference en España, una jornada profesional enfocada al conocimiento del certificado en el sector inmobiliario, de la construcción, del facility management y de los recursos humanos.
El evento contará con la participación de Rick Fredizzi, CEO de WELL desde 2016 y experto de la sostenibilidad a nivel mundial. También es presidente fundador del US Green Building Council (USGBC) y ex director de Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), organizaciones sin ánimo de lucro que promueven edificios y comunidades de alto rendimiento. La venta de entradas ya está habilitada.