Frasers Property Australia’s head office in Rhodes has just received a rare Gold rating WELL certification.
It is one of the first in Australia and only the fourteenth worldwide.
The WELL Building Standard is revolutionising the way people think about buildings, it covers seven core concepts of health and explores how design can be optimised to advance human health and well-being.
BVN in conjunction with Frasers Property’s commercial division, led the $9.8 million fit-out comprising 3,700 sqm spread across two levels of an existing commercial building.
Completed in 2016 it was one of the first projects in Australia to target both 6-Star Green Star Interiors v1.1 (Green Building Council of Australia) and WELL (International Well Building Institute) certifications.
According to Ninotschka Titchkosky, BVN Principal the workplace is an enabler for team building, coaching and developing people, but is also seen as a means to directly affect occupant’s health – making employee wellbeing a top priority.
“The approach taken with the Frasers’ design makes conscious use of passive design as part of a strategy to encourage movement, both for wellness and to promote unplanned conversations and collaboration,” Titchkosky said.
Frasers Commercial & Industrial executive general manager, Reini Otter, said fundamental to the design is the belief that the built environment can directly affect employee health, ensuring staff well-being is a priority.
WELL buildings are given credits for seven categories including air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort and mind.
Some of the WELL features in the Rhodes office are:
Subtle active design to facilitate a healthier environment including:
Single point of entry for all staff; mingle with more people; walk to your desk through a town hall space designed to encourage interaction
Natural light and views – accessible to many and owned by no-one with sight lines across entire floor plate
Indoor plants and trees (three metres high) improve air quality and connection to nature
Thirty per cent sit-to-stand desks and standing conference and meeting points throughout.
According to the company, there has been a 56 per cent improvement in staff satisfaction for overall health and productivity.
Spatial comfort is up 77 per cent, indoor air quality has improved by 64 per cent and visual comfort recorded a 44 per cent increase in satisfaction levels.
Frasers Property also run several wellness in the workplace initiatives that include free access to Rhodes Corporate Business gymnasium for staff, and include design elements such as end of trip facilities with showers, lockers and change rooms, indoor plants and trees to improve air quality, plenty of natural light and access to outdoor spaces and the inclusion of passive design to encourage movement and collaboration within the workplace.