The search for health, wellbeing and respect for the environment already features prominently in our everyday lives. We increasingly seek to look after ourselves with healthy, natural and toxin-free food, clothing and sustainable products along with all kinds of activities and exercises to help us reach the right physical and mental balance. The property sector has also joined this trend through Wellness Real Estate.
What is Wellness Real Estate?
Wellness Real Estate is a movement established by Delos Consultancy in 2013 in the US when a group of entrepreneurs found the link between the property market and the wellness sector. One of its main ideas maintains that our surroundings influence our habits and decisions, regulate our sleep and have a passive effect on our health depending on their quality.
After six years of research, Delos decided to commit to building spaces that promoted the wellbeing of those who live in them. How would they achieve this? By combining technology with design.
To do this, they carried out a study on the relationship between spaces and health in conjunction with Columbia University Medical Center and some of the most reputable health clinics in the US. The team included architects, scientists and wellbeing leaders. The result was the WELL Building Standard, the first certificate that accredits the quality of a building in terms of the wellbeing it provides for its inhabitants.
The search for healthier interiors
According to some research, if we include the time we are at work, in our home, shopping, in restaurants and leisure areas, we spend 90% of our life inside. This wouldn’t be problem except for the fact that within a home we are subject to two to five times more pollution than outside. And this, obviously, has a direct impact on our health.
Pablo Muñoz, Technical Director at Privalore, a pioneering company of WELL method in Spain, recently said in an interview, “If, when we build we look after the environment, which is completely logical, doesn’t it also make sense to look after the health of those who are going to live these buildings?”
To reach this maximum care and wellbeing, Wellness Real State has laid out a series of standards and solutions that place people at the center of design when creating a space.
The keys to Wellness Real Estate, a stamp that certifies the level of wellbeing in a home
To obtain the WELL Building Standard, buildings must meet several of the criteria included in the stamp. They affect factors such as the choice of materials, the design of spaces, energy efficiency and sustainability, as follows:
Air
Water
Healthier eating
In order to fulfill the parameters set out by Wellness Real Estate, buildings must optimize ventilation while at the same time minimize the impact of toxic elements released by some building materials.
One of the main measures for water is the installation of filters to avoid limescale, chlorine and heavy metals by incorporating ionizers that regulate PH levels and counter corrosion by hydrating and alkalizing the body.
This is achieved through choosing non-polluting materials, anti-microbial countertops or storage and refrigeration spaces that favor the preservation of fruit and vegetables.
Lighting
Temperature comfort
Sound
Artificial light can affect our stress levels and the quality of our sleep. That’s why the WELL method prefers circadian lighting systems that adapt to the natural cycles of the sun and imitate outside light to avoid affecting inhabitants’ biorhythms.
One of the Wellness Real Estate proposals is the introduction of climatization systems that adapt to changes in temperature for better energy sustainability and wellbeing of the inhabitants.
The right insulation and lack of reverberation are essential to the acoustic wellbeing proposed by the certificate.
Materials & design
Mind
Technology
The International WELL Building Institute also favors using warm colors to promote balance and minimizing strong smells. Even paints used on the walls can be natural, organic and photocatalytic by using silicates that allow vertical structures to breathe and help avoid damp.
The use of elements and patterns from nature help reach better mental wellbeing. This can be achieved by incorporating clay elements such as exposed brick and including plants in the decoration or windows looking out onto trees.
It’s about using alternative technology to that emitting by radio signals (such as Bluetooth, Wifi, 4G/5G…), for example LIFI TruLifi technology. In this case, it uses light waves and offers wireless transition and reception of data that is quicker, safer and healthier because it reduces exposure to electromagnetic radiation.
Wellness Real Estate & Investment
Obtaining the WELL Building Standard certificate is no easy task. A building needs to fulfill at least 40 of the over 100 measures included in the method. In addition, it only applies to building with at least 5 properties. In terms of market value for a building with these parameters, it translates to an increase of 2 to 10% in the final estimate for the price of construction. However, a refurbishment that applies the WELL method can see an increase in value of up to 20%.
Although the WELL program started in corporate buildings, nowadays it’s also used in business premises, condominiums, educational establishments and restaurants. In Spain, the rate of construction using Wellness Real Estate is still low and many in the sector would like to see a wider reach of the WELL philosophy and the use of its measures in private homes even if they do not reach the minimum set by the American institution. Ultimately, making a home healthier, even when it does not fulfill all the requirements of the certificate, adds value to the property and is more beneficial to the health of those who live in it.
At Synesi, we are committed to sustainable projects that enhance our wellbeing. That’s why we follow architectural trends that prioritize in spaces the mental and physical care of those who use them. Planning and designed surroundings that have a positive effect on our mind and emotions, such as neuroarchitecture; choosing sustainable materials that take care of the planet and our health; using eco-friendly technology for an easier lifestyle… all form the foundations of our company’s property management.
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