Oficinas Bioconstrucción becomes the first building in Mexico to be awarded prestigious WELL Certification

San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon, Sept, 25-2017 Bioconstruccion y Energia Alternativa (BEA), a leading company in green building consultancy in Mexico, announced today that it has been awarded, WELL Certification at the Silver level for its BEA347 headquarters, located in the metropolitan area of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, by the International WELL Building Institute™ (IWBI™).

Created through seven years of rigorous research and development working with leading physicians, scientists, and industry professionals, the WELL Building Standard™ (WELL™) is a performance-based certification system that combines best practices in design and construction with evidence-based scientific research. WELL Certification seeks to positively impact human health and wellness in order to increase focus and productivity and reinforce the social sense of the occupants.

To meet the requirements of the WELL Building Standard, the 430-square-meter project holistically combines architectural and engineering improvements and incorporates health-focused internal policies. It is not the first time that the BEA347 building received worldwide recognition for its avant-garde achievements in sustainability: this office has been an international case study, being the first building in Latin America to obtain multiple international accreditations, such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification for New Construction and Major Renovations in 2011, and for Operations and Maintenance in 2015, both at “Platinum” level. BEA347 was the first building in the region to comply, monitor and display real-time performance metrics using the Arc Platform.

WELL Certification was carried out in-house by BEA’s collaborators, led by André Bernath, who became the first WELL AP credential holder in Latin America in 2015. “Implementing this new standard in Mexico was a challenging task but we had a very clear objective and a great confidence in the results”, explains Bernath. “The requirements of this new certification made us change our work methodology, focusing on the occupant, bringing us new experiences, and hoping to replicate them in future projects”.

BEA347 earned the distinction based on seven categories of building performance – air, water, light, nourishment, fitness, comfort and mind – and achieved a Silver level rating.

Project features that helped BEA347 achieve its WELL Certified™ Silver rating include:

Air
? Implementation of ventilation systems with broader filters to prevent the entrance of harmful agents to the occupants’ respiratory system.
? A detailed maintenance and balanced control of HVAC system.
? Creation of cleaning procedures that include activities, training, and specific frequencies, as well as lists of high-and-low-contact objects.
? Changes in purchase policies to verify that products comply with the maximum allowed limits of harmful elements, such as volatile organic compounds, asbestos, lead and mercury.
? Updates to the tobacco smoke control policy, prohibiting completely the use of any product that emits tobacco smoke, both inside and outside the property.

Water
? Assurance that water supplied does not exceed the maximum limits allowed by WELL of organic and inorganic elements, such as coliforms, lead, arsenic, mercury, copper, styrene, benzene, among others.

Nourishment
? Promotion of good nutrition through posters placed inside the office and distributed through the company channels.
? Replacement of faucet keys in order to improve the hygienic action when hand washing, by combining the correct height of the faucet with water pressure.
? Disposable soap dispensers that supply liquid, antibacterial, non-fragrance soap.
? Paper and disposable drying towels.
? As a good practice, the company will provide food that meets WELL specifications when performing extraordinary off-site events.

Light
? General luminaires were replaced ensuring the minimum average illumination level of 215 lux.
? In work stations where 300-lux level is not obtained, individual desk lamps were supplied.
? To avoid high contrast between areas, the building has semi-transparent doors, large windows, solatubes and glass walls that avoid an abrupt luminosity change when moving between areas.
? A lighting simulation, through a specialized computer software, was used to identify lighting solutions that do not affect the occupants, taking into consideration the circadian cycle.
? To minimize glare, all work-stations windows have user adjustable blinds.