A short overview of where health & wellbeing sits within the commercial and corporate real estate sector, putting people back at the front of the property design and management cycle.

1. V E R D E X T R A
Financial, Operational & Sustainability Consulting
Health & Wellbeing
in the built environment
For the part can never be well unless the whole is well
Plato, 380 BC
London, May 2016
All rights reserved

2. V E R D E X T R A
Financial, Operational & Sustainability Consulting
An integrated puzzle
Employee
Surveys
Retention
Recruitment
Workplace
Design
Health
Wellbeing
Physical
Environment
Corporate
Culture
Management
& Leadership

3. V E R D E X T R A
Financial, Operational & Sustainability Consulting
The Old and the New
We have known since ancient times that human beings like:
• Natural light
• Shade and dark
• Gardens and plants
• Water
Now the 21st Century brings us new information:
• Impact of pollution of long term health
• Effects of VOCs and other chemical compounds
• Links between productivity, health and wellbeing
and inherent design of our working and living spaces

4. V E R D E X T R A
Financial, Operational & Sustainability Consulting
Light has always formed part of beautiful buildings
Clerestory window, Temple of Karnak
Stoa of Atalos, Athens agora

5. V E R D E X T R A
Financial, Operational & Sustainability Consulting
The Ideal Home: water, nature, beauty, light
Getty Villa, modelled on Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum

6. V E R D E X T R A
Financial, Operational & Sustainability Consulting
Now, scientific evidence is gathering momentum
In studies performed by Elzeyadi and published in 2011, it was observed that the
“Workers in offices with poor ratings of light quality and in offices with poorer views
used significantly more sick leave hours.
“Children progressed through school curricula 20-26% faster when
learning in daylit environments”
Economics of Biophilia – Browning (2012)
People who work in well-ventilated offices with below-average levels of indoor
pollutants and carbon dioxide (CO2) have significantly higher cognitive functioning
scores—in crucial areas such as responding to a crisis or developing strategy—
than those who work in offices with typical levels.
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Center for Health and the Global Environment, SUNY
Upstate Medical University, and Syracuse University.
October 2015

7. V E R D E X T R A
Financial, Operational & Sustainability Consulting
The Impact on Design and Operations
DESIGN FACTORS
• Access to natural light
• Fresh air ventilation
• Biophilia
• Public vs private spaces
• People-focused architecture
• Selection of interior finishes
critical
• Fitness & nutrition
OPERATING FACTORS
• Ventilation / fresh air changes
• Chemical compound
monitoring
• Enhanced temperature & air
quality monitoring

8. V E R D E X T R A
Financial, Operational & Sustainability Consulting
The Impact on Real Estate Assets
• It is no longer ‘just’ about sustainability
• Occupiers are already select corporate space based on H&W criteria
• Expectations of landlords may include responsibility for health factors
• Technical demands within leases may change to require additional
servicing…..and thus costs
• PM/FM teams will need a new ‘toolkit’ to understand impacts
• Longer term value erosion for ‘unhealthy’ buildings?

9. V E R D E X T R A
Financial, Operational & Sustainability Consulting
Here, then, is what I wanted to tell you of my
architecture. I created it with courage and
idealism, but also with an awareness of the
fact that what is important is life, friends, and
attempting to make this unjust world a better
place in which to live.
Oscar Niemayer