Download the PDF whitepaper

Fitting out a building according to a SKA or WELL standard is a useful and enlightening exercise on how to reduce any negative impact of a workspace whilst actively promoting wellbeing. Key areas of focus are air and water quality, comfort, access to light and biophilia. We often work with companies who are applying SKA or WELL methodologies when designing and fitting out their office spaces, incorporating biophilic design in the early stages of a project, and maximising opportunities to extend the benefits of biophilia throughout a space.

Profitable businesses invest in wellbeing

Naturally, having one of these aspirational standards can help a business to reduce its footprint and cut its running costs, but beyond these easily measured benefits, new research and insights from neurosciences, endocrinology and other fields is helping to further prove the business case for green buildings and biophilic design. There is clear evidence that introducing biophilia into everyday office life can help to lower stress, improve cognitive function, enhance creativity, and promote happiness. (Read our whitepaper on the effect of nature on the brain!)

Although attaining certification is an investment of time and money, considering that workforce is probably one of the greatest costs for most businesses, it stands to reason that even marginal gains in productivity would have a significant positive impact on the bottom line. So, the economic reasons for aspiring to a SKA or WELL standard extend beyond simply reducing the running costs of the building.

In a study* looking at worker experience in green buildings vs non-green buildings, researchers found that building occupants in high-performing, green-certified office environments:
‍
– Scored 26% higher on tests of cognitive function
– Had 30% fewer symptoms of sick building syndrome
– Had 6% higher sleep quality scores than those in high-performing but non-certified buildings.

*The Impact of Green Buildings on Cognitive Function, Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health’s Centre for Health and the Global Environment

Let’s have a look at the WELL and SKA standards in more detail: What is WELL?

The WELL standard was developed by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI™) and is based on 7 years of research in partnership with scientists, doctors and architects exploring the connection between the building where people spend their time, and the health and wellbeing impacts of those buildings on occupants.

The WELL standard has ten concepts which must be met in order to qualify for the minimum standard (air, water, light, nourishment, movement, thermal comfort, sound, materials, mind, and community) and projects can achieve a Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum rating.

Each concept has pre-conditions which are mandatory for certification. Biophilia sits within the ‘Mind’ concept, and has two features:

Feature 89 Biophilia I – Qualitative

Intent: To nurture the innate human-nature connection within the project.

"Exposure to views and images of nature can help to speed up healing and recovery time, boost positive feelings and reduce negative ones. Interior environments that are cold, sterile and devoid of life, on the other hand, can diminish our experience, mood and happiness."

Feature 89 is a pre-condition that looks at the qualitative experience of a design feature. It asks design teams to develop a biophilia plan that supports the thoughtful incorporation of environmental elements, lighting and space planning at each design stage of the project.

Feature 100 Biophilia II – Quantitative

Intent: To support occupant emotional and psychological wellbeing by including the natural environment with interior and exterior design.

‍"Biophilia supports the idea that humans have an affinity towards the natural world. Evidence on the emotional and psychological benefits of nature is mounting. Research indicates that the experience of nature or nature-derived patterns can improve experience, mood and happiness."

WELL standard indoor biophilia requirement

Wall and potted plants are incorporated into the design of interior space according to the following:
‍
A. Potted plants or planted beds cover at least 1% of floor area per floor.
B. A plant wall per floor, covering a wall area equal or greater than 2% of the floor area, or covering the largest of the available walls, whichever is greater.

What is SKA?

The SKA rating is a Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) environmental assessment method, benchmark and standard for commercial premises fit-outs. It helps project owners fit out premises using over 100 sustainability Good Practice Measures (GPM) across eight different areas (energy, CO2, waste, water, pollution, transport, materials, and wellbeing). They enable businesses to prioritise sustainability in a quantifiable way – some measures have a higher sustainability impact than others, and are ranked accordingly. Projects can achieve a SKA Bronze, Silver or Gold rating, plus a percentage score.

The SKA guide sets out over 100 Good Practice Measures across 8 different areas that can be implemented to achieve a SKA rating.

Case study: A Gold-standard SKA rating for Montagu

We worked with Morgan Lovell on the office fit-out for Montagu, a leading private equity firm with a spectacular riverside location overlooking Tower Bridge in London. Montagu has a positive approach to sustainability (100% carbon neutral since 2019) and had clear targets for their fit-out to promote staff wellbeing, to encourage people to return to the office and to help staff retention and recruitment.

We provided the biophilic elements, which run throughout the space, and are emblematic of Montagu’s commitment to nature. Moss walls and panels create lush splashes of colour and large leafy plants sit in bright corners, with smaller plants resting on low coffee tables – you are never far from nature in this office. Open plan spaces, good for collaboration and togetherness, are softened with sleek planted dividers, helping to reduce noise and break up the space without creating barriers. The overall space was awarded a well-deserved Gold-standard SKA rating.

A holistic approach to green building design

Whilst we have honed in on the biophilic elements of both standards, it’s important to note that it is just one piece of a holistic approach to green building design, and that many of the elements are inter-linked.

For example, elements focusing on the quality of lighting and maximising natural light are connected with biophilic elements - an office built with lighting requirements essential for living plants is going to benefit humans and vice versa!

Similarly, where elements focus on air quality, this can be linked to the proven ability of plants to remove toxic Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from the air around them. (Read our whitepaper on the power of air-purifying plants!)

Noise levels are another element that planting can assist with by helping to reduce them in open plan spaces. Implementing an improvement measure in one area will often have a pleasing knock-on effect in another.

Materials matter

WELL and SKA also encourage the use of sustainable materials and recycling wherever possible, which is an ethos that we share at Vantage. No material is perfect of course, but some are more sustainable than others. Wherever possible, our planters are either made with natural materials such as silica and crushed stone, or recycled materials such as recycled marine debris and recycled synthetic cork. The materials are lightweight, robust, easy to transport and recyclable. We also favour suppliers who are nature-friendly like us – one of our suppliers manufactures their pots with 100% pure wind energy from their own turbine! (Read our whitepaper on sustainable planting design!)

The benefits of WELL and SKA

Clearly, one of the main benefits of complying with either or both of these rating systems is a more sustainable workplace, but business leaders invariably find that the benefits go far beyond reducing one’s impact on the environment.

Meeting standards such as WELL and SKA can help to boost brand image, improve health, increase wellbeing and performance, attract and retain talent, and encourage presence in the office when it is often no longer mandatory. It also engenders a sense of pride and belonging amongst employees – something which is intangible, hard to quantify, and even harder to create. Even so, this is possibly the most precious attribute a post-pandemic workspace can have.

Benefits of attaining certification

– Reduce running costs
– Enhance brand image
– Attract and retain talent
– Encourage office presence
– More productive workforce
– Reduce impact on environment
– Healthier office work atmosphere
– Engender sense of pride and belonging

The compelling business case for enhancing wellbeing

Average absenteeism in the UK is estimated at between four and six days per employee each year. According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the single largest cause of long-term absence from work is mental ill health (59%), followed closely by stress (54%).

Deloitte estimates that mental ill health costs UK employers between £33bn and £42bn per year. The World Green Building Council says “productivity improvements of 8%-11% are not uncommon as a result of better air quality” in office environments.

A study published in the Journal of Building and Environment found that in a multi-office survey, WELL certification showed a series of significant benefits:
‍
– A near 30% improvement in overall satisfaction with the workplace which jumped from 42% to 70%
– 10% increase in mental health and a 2% increase in physical health.
– 26% overall increase in reported wellbeing scores.
– 10 point jump in median productivity scores

––––

If you’re looking to dip a toe into the world of biophilia or if you’d like to boost your existing planting scheme and greenify some tricky areas, get in touch with one of our experts for an informal chat – we’d love to help transform your space.‍