FIRST WELL CERTIFIED SPACE IN WISCONSIN!
It was announced today that Strang’s Madison Office is the first WELL Gold Certified project in the state of Wisconsin.
This prestigious distinction was awarded through the International WELL Building Institute’s WELL Building Standard™ (WELL), a performance-based certification system for measuring features of the built environment that impact human health and wellbeing. Strang’s office earned this recognition based on seven categories of building performance— Air, Water, Light, Nourishment, Fitness, Comfort, and Mind.
This 8,730 SF office space, which also recently achieved LEED® Gold certification, implemented some of the following practices to achieve a WELL Certified™ Gold rating including:
- Displacement ventilation – a ventilation strategy where air distribution comes from a low side wall so that contaminants are brought upwards out of the breathing zone as the air is heated
- Filtration on our drinking water to mitigate organic and inorganic contaminants, agricultural contaminants, and harmful public water additives
- Mindful spaces designed so employees can benefit from dedicated eating spaces and break area furnishings
- A lighting control system capable of boosting light during morning hours and tapering off later in the day to align with the natural circadian rhythm of the body
- Activity incentive programs
- Visual ergonomics (adjustable computer screen heights) and desk height flexibility and seat height flexibility
- Acoustic planning (designated loud and quiet zones and mitigating noisy equipment in the space) and sound masking
- Designing the space as a celebration of spirit and culture and incorporating biophilia (nature patterns), including the wood grain workstations, and plants found throughout office
Special thanks go out to Katie Lowery, Director of Integrated Controls Systems at Strang for all her hard work towards certifying our office as well as every other member of the Strang team who helped bring our vision of a healthy office to life.
“I’m so proud of our firm and design team to have achieved the first WELL Certified project in the State of Wisconsin! As a culture, we spend 90% of our time indoors and so it’s truly meaningful that our place of work contributes positively to our health. The WELL Building Design Standard has raised the bar on what it means to have a healthy workplace, both physically and mentally. Today’s climate has raised many concerns about maintaining health and our staff has the assurance that we are placing occupant health and well-being as a top priority through our design standards and operations. We’re happy to have done what’s right for our own workplace and are even more excited to share our knowledge with clients who wish to do the same for theirs.”
– Katie Lowery, LEED AP, BD-C, WELL AP
Strang has been a leading practitioner of WELL™ designed facilities, continually seeking out ways in which we can transform our buildings and communities to empower us to live healthier, safer, and more productive lives. It is our great honor to be recognized for our efforts within our own Madison offices and demonstrate how Strang provides thoughtful design centered around health and wellness in the built environment.
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