“One WELL”
Things are changing in the world of WELL. For the uninitiated, WELL certification is moving into a new version, dubbed “One WELL.” For those already familiar with WELL v2 and the suite of certifications and ratings from the International WELL Building Institute, One WELL revamps the user experience, bringing all their Independent paths towards health and wellness in the built environment back into one unified interface.
Although “One WELL” is currently open for public comment and not yet officially launched, there are some general takeaways that should hold true. For one, the 10 WELL Concepts, or areas of focus in the building standard, remain unchanged: Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Movement, Thermal Comfort, Sound, Materials, Mind, and Community. Within each of these Concepts however, there are now “Themes.” These look to further categorize several strategies working towards a shared goal.
The consolidation of information is intended to help demonstrate how a given strategy – e.g. particle filtration – is treated across the WELL ecosystem. In theory, the hope is increased accessibility and improved user experience for holders of larger building portfolios. This will allow the implementation of health and wellness strategies as they apply to a given building, location, circumstance, etc. The result is a more flexible approach to health and wellness, aided by how it presents information.
As a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic, IWBI and global practitioners developed the WELL Health-Safety Rating – a subset of requirements from the WELL v2 Building Standard. With the launch of this product, IWBI continued to carve out thematic achievements such as the WELL Performance Ratings and the Equity Rating. They’ve continued on this road and recently launched the Real Estate Rating, and Operations Rating. Interior Design Ratings (name TBD) is in development.
While attending the 2026 IWBI Flagship Summit in NYC, we were told there’s an effort at IWBI to shift away from these thematic achievements towards subsets of the WELL building standard that align with scopes of work. With the Real Estate Rating, Developers of Core and Shell buildings would no longer need to speak to the benefits of their own employees never to step inside the building. With the Operations Rating, facility management teams could likewise focus on facility management aspects and not require input from an architect or design team.
With these additional Ratings being launched – and adding to the sometimes-dizzying number of options - One WELL is coming to the rescue for folks to see how a strategy applies across them all.
Closing Remarks – Musings from the NYC Flagship Summit
This year’s NYC Flagship Summit occurred during a time of hardship in the world. Cruelty reigns in the U.S. – to put it as lightly as utterly possible. It’s a hard time to be hopeful. However, I was inspired by another’s revelation in the face of division: Sustainability (including health and wellness) stands firmly as a unifying mission bringing us all together for a common good. While there are increasingly more reasons to divide and deride, people from around the world continue to collaborate and commit themselves in this tribe of individuals interested in supporting one another and the planet. Sustainability as a core principle unites the world – and THAT, makes me hopeful.
If you’re interested in bringing WELL strategies into your next project and want to understand how One WELL can work for you, feel free to reach out we would be happy to help guide you.
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