Milestones Across the Globe: Celebrating 2023 Project Achievements with IWBI’s Community

With 2024 right around the corner, we’re taking a look back at some notable engagements with WELL over the past year. WELL adoption regionally continues to soar, and we were excited to support many unique opportunities with remarkable partners.

In the Middle East and North Africa, we saw a 24-fold increase in WELL adoption, and more than 500 million square feet of real estate are now enrolled in WELL programs across 16 countries.

Most recently, Expo City Dubai achieved the WELL Health-Safety Rating for 23 of its buildings ahead of COP28, and Al-Futtaim Malls achieved the WELL Health-Safety Rating for three major malls in Dubai, becoming the first and largest indoor malls in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to achieve this designation. Meanwhile, for the second year in a row, Nakheel Community Management (NCM) was awarded the WELL Health-Safety Rating for its entire portfolio of 365 buildings. In 2022, Nakheel Community Management was the first management company in the UAE to achieve the rating for all 365 buildings.

The Museum of the Future achieved the WELL Health-Safety Rating in June 2023, and Honeywell achieved its first WELL Health-Safety Rating at its UAE office. Stantec, a global leader in sustainable design, achieved the WELL Health-Safety Rating earlier this year for five offices in the Middle East: UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

In Asia-Pacific, we also saw notable achievements – including Taipei 101, one of the tallest buildings in the world, achieving WELL Core Certification at the Platinum level. India-based Nucleus Office Parks achieved the largest portfolio of WELL Performance Ratings in the world, and MSD Australia received the first-ever WELL Equity Rating for an office in Australia.

Phyathai and Paolo Hospital Group in Thailand achieved the WELL Health-Safety Rating, making them the first group of hospitals in the world to do so, and City Developments Limited (CDL) achieved the WELL Health-Safety Rating across eight of their properties in Singapore. Finally, and reaching for the clouds, Mitsubishi Estate’s Tokyo Torch Tower – which at completion will be Japan’s tallest building – achieved WELL Precertification.

In Europe, the region’s momentum was as diverse and widespread as the organizations and sectors that engaged with WELL. Budapest’s Ferenc Liszt International Airport achieved the WELL Health-Safety Rating for its Terminal 2 complex.

In Italy, CityLife in Milan achieved WELL Community Certification at the Platinum level, the first urban area in the world to achieve certification at the Platinum level across three leading sustainability standards – LEED for Cities and Communities, SITES Certification and the WELL Community Standard. In a new partnership, IWBI has also chosen to enhance its engagement in Italy alongside GBC Italia and SIMA to promote well-being in Italian cities’ buildings.

In the United Kingdom, the Spine, which was opened by Liverpool City Council in May 2021 and is home to the Royal College of Physicians’ northern headquarters, has achieved WELL Core Certification at the Platinum level. The building, which is Liverpool’s highest building and its third largest by square feet, reflects Liverpool’s ambition to be a world leader in science, health and technology. Further south in London, 100 Liverpool Street – one of the first UK buildings to pursue WELL, enrolling as early as 2017 – achieved WELL Certification at the Gold level.

IWBI and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) announced a strategic collaboration to raise awareness and encourage adoption of strategies that advance health and well-being in buildings and organizations globally.

In Germany, EDGE Suedkreuz became the first building in the country to achieve WELL Core Certification at the Platinum level, and Die Macherei Berlin-Kreuzberg achieved WELL Precertification for the buildings M40, M50, and M60. In Switzerland, Zurich Insurance Group’s Quai Zurich Campus achieved WELL Certification at the Platinum level, one of the first in the country – and insurance industry – to do so.

Montgomery Square became the first project in the emerging market of Belgium to achieve WELL Precertification, and Smedvig’s rehabilitation project was the first in Norway to earn WELL Core Certification at the Platinum level. The CMS Warsaw Office, located in Varso Tower in Warsaw, Poland, is one of just five law firms globally to achieve WELL Certification at the Platinum level.

A massive congratulations to all WELL achievements in 2023! We can’t wait to see what milestones our community reaches in 2024.