Existing buildings or developments that demonstrate outstanding performance in improving the health, equity and/or resilience of people in local communities.
BCCI’s headquarters represents a shift from traditional office space to an open work environment that supports teaming and collaboration. An integrated design-build delivery approach was employed, including BCCI’s in-house architecture, sustainability, and construction teams. The office space, which is located in a multi-tenant building, features a range of meeting room options, quiet spaces to retreat and reflect such as phone rooms and a wellness room, and celebration space in the lounge and adjacent patio. Designed and built with sustainability, health, and wellness in mind, the project was awarded LEED-CI v4 Silver certification and is WELL Certified to the Silver level. The emphasis on wellness and comfort is present in low-emitting materials, enhanced air filtration systems, filtered water stations, universal access to views and daylight, and ergonomic workstations, including sit-stand desks and adjustable monitors. Mindfulness features are represented throughout the workplace including a dedicated wellness room and biophilic design elements, which are intended to emulate nature indoors which has been shown to reduce stress and enhance creativity. BCCI’s headquarters was an early adopter of the WELL Building Standard; it is the 1st WELL Certified project in San Francisco, 6th in California, 18th in the United States, and 31st globally.
BCCI’s in-house Sustainability consulting team gained valuable expertise in owning the entire WELL process for BCCI’s headquarters. The circadian lighting requirements proved challenging given the existing tinted windows and energy conservation requirements for LEED while simultaneously providing enough light and color temperature at the work surface to meet WELL’s equivalent melanopic lux (EML) requirements. Pre-testing for water, lighting, and acoustics may be useful to project teams to ensure the design will pass the on-site Performance Verification. It’s essential to engage the Human Resources team early in the project to ensure policy preconditions are met and to understand what policy optimizations may be attainable, which can help organizations improve on their certification level. Lastly, if the project team is considering pursuing additional sustainability rating systems, it may be an advantage since WELL has tools such as Crosswalks to streamline documentation for both rating systems, therefore saving project teams valuable time.
“BCCI’s headquarters was an early adopter of the WELL Building Standard; it is the 1st WELL Certified project in San Francisco, 6th in California, 18th in the United States, and 31st globally.”
