Investa Leads In Tenant Wellness, With Australia’s First WELL Core & Shell Gold Precertification
29 May 2017
Investa: Barrack Place (‘Barrack Place’ or ‘the building’) has been awarded Australia’s first ever WELL Core & Shell Precertification at the Gold level by the International WELL Building Institute™ (IWBI™).
As a result of the Precertification, tenants at Barrack Place will enjoy enhanced health and wellness benefits, delivered via sophisticated planning and construction methods and focused stakeholder engagement by Investa.
Located at 151 Clarence Street, Sydney on the Southern end of Martin Place, the building is within walking distance to Wynyard and Martin Place train stations. Comprising 22,000 square metres of A-Grade office space and retail over 18 levels, it sits within a vibrant retail and entertainment precinct.
Administered by IWBI, WELL is a performance-based system for measuring, certifying, and monitoring features of the built environment that impact human health and wellness through air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort and mind. The precertification marks an important step in Investa’s pursuit of full WELL Core & Shell Certification for the Building on completion in late-2018.
Investa engaged with IWBI over a year ago to explore how WELL Core & Shell Certification could be adapted to the Australian office environment for the entire base building design at Barrack Place.
Shen Chiu, Senior Development Manager at Investa, said that being the first Australian development to achieve Precertification involved upgrading the building systems and improving the design, which is aligned with IOF’s commitment to designing and building for the long term benefit of tenants.
“New buildings provide a unique opportunity to deliver a healthy place to work from the ground up. The WELL Building Standard allows us to go one step further, by incorporating the science of wellness into the fabric of the building and locking in these benefits for decades to come,” said Mr Chiu.
Left to right: Shen Chiu, Senior Development Manger, Investa, Elizabeth Miles, Director, Technical solutions & Workplace Wellness Committee Chair, International WELL Building Institute, Hugh Irving, Development Manager, Investa
“While individual tenancies within buildings have achieved WELL Certification in Australia, we are leading the way with the first WELL Core & Shell Precertification in a new development. Achieving this will allow tenants at Barrack Place to leverage certain aspects of the building’s design and services when doing their own space planning and our team will continue to manage the implementation to ensure it is carried through to WELL Certification.”
While relatively new in Australia, WELL Certification is fast becoming the new global standard in good building design. Currently, more than 394 projects encompassing more than 7.7 million square metres are registered or certified through the WELL Building Standard globally.
Rick Fedrizzi, Chairman and CEO of the International WELL Building Institute, said by achieving Australia’s first ever WELL Core & Shell Precertification for Barrack Place, Investa has demonstrated an important commitment to tenant health and wellness.
Penny Ransom, Group Executive and IOF Fund Manager asserts this latest achievement for Barrack Place reflects IOF’s commitment to the performance of our buildings for the benefit of our tenants, and sustainable long term returns for our unitholders.
Awareness of the benefits of WELL Certification is becoming more widespread among tenants, as they place increasing importance on their office space contributing to the health and well-being of their staff.
Dr Marianne Foley, Australasian Consulting Sector Leader at Arup, a pre-committed tenant at Barrack Place, has praised Investa’s initiative in approaching IWBI and achieving this WELL Precertification.
“We are pursuing a WELL rating for our tenancy also and Investa’s commitment to the WELL Core and Shell Gold Precertification has significantly helped us in achieving this goal and further demonstrates the quality of the building,” she said.
“As a company we have a strong focus on overall employee health and wellbeing. In IOF and Investa we have like-minded partners and in Barrack Place the ideal corporate headquarters for our needs.”
Barrack Place is currently being leased by Investa and Savills. For more information, visit www.barrackplace.com.
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Source: Investa - www.investa.com.au
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External Links: www.barrackplace.com
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