Ryosuke Kinoshita uses the WELL AP to bring his vision to life

After more than a decade as a professional guitarist and music educator in Japan, Ryosuke realized he needed to be part of what he calls “the sustainability revolution.” He immediately sought out educational opportunities to help get him informed and involved, moving back and forth across the globe, following where his skills and passion for sustainable design took him.

Below, Ryosuke shares how he got involved with the WELL AP, and what the credential—and movement—mean to him.

1. How did you first hear about the WELL AP? What got you excited enough about it to apply, study and take the test?

I first heard about the WELL AP when applying to my previous company, a green building consulting firm in Tokyo. They announced that one of their employees achieved the first WELL AP in Japan on their website. After that, I did a little research about WELL, and I was impressed. Luckily, I was hired by that company and then earned my WELL AP. One thing that encouraged me to study and take the WELL AP exam is that WELL is so unique. The contents are comprehensive and engaging. Knowing WELL can be an eye-opening experience for everyone. For example, during the LEED workshop with our clients, most of the time they are fairly nervous and serious about the content, because a lot of technical material is involved. On the contrary, WELL gives us time to smile and even laugh in discussions because of its unique, human-centric features, such as yoga, food gardening, and fitness machines.

2. What’s one way becoming a WELL AP has impacted your life and/or career?

WELL dramatically impacts my daily, personal life in a variety of ways. I started going to the gym regularly and improved my diet. I even fast and meditate frequently. I use monitoring tools to track my sleep cycle and body composition.

WELL also definitely helps my career. I have gotten involved with a variety of clients through WELL Certification, and having the WELL AP credential helps advertise and verify my expertise in a variety of areas. WELL requires not only architectural and mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) knowledge, but also understanding of things like air and water contamination, nutrition and acoustic engineering. The WELL AP has helped expand my organization from a local green building consulting company to a globally sustainability consultancy.

3. What are some things you’ve been able to do (or you plan to do) as a WELL AP you couldn’t before? Why are those things important to you?

While this isn’t necessarily something I couldn’t do before, something I maybe wouldn’t have thought to do before is implement biophilic design in my personal space, especially with the introduction of plants. I’ve really enjoyed the change. Luckily, as I was preparing for the WELL AP exam, my previous company was working on a project in landscape maintenance, which meant I was surrounded by landscape professionals. They taught me how to grow plants, including tips for watering, soiling, and trimming. I learned a lot from them. For example, I was pretty surprised that there are special scissors to trim plants.

4. Did anything about the WELL AP surprise you? What was it? How would you prepare WELL AP candidates for that?

I was a little bit worried that I didn’t have specific expertise related to any WELL concepts, but a representative from IWBI told me that there are many WELL APs who have a decent background in architecture and MEPs, but little to no experience in the other concepts. With this in mind, I tried to focus my studies on those other concepts, the ones outside my comfort zone, so to speak, so that I could be a unique WELL AP candidate.

5. What’s something about the WELL AP–or the WELL movement in general–that isn’t often discussed, but you think deserves more attention?

One important thing I realized is that being a WELL AP means you will have a great opportunity to connect with people who have different backgrounds from you. For instance, I have met a variety of professionals, such as air and water analysis professionals and indoor acoustic engineers, through being part of the WELL Certification process. Making these connections has been very enjoyable.

6. Do you have any advice you’d give potential WELL AP candidates?

Enjoy your studying, and take time to explore what attracts your attention.

7. What does well-being mean to you? How do you incorporate it into your life and routine?
For me, well-being means maintaining a good state of mental health. Have good, quality sleep; wake up early; and work short hours, but be productive. Exercise a lot. Expose yourself to nature, ideally camping and hiking in the wilderness. Finally, avoid unhealthy food and eat healthier food while practicing portion control.

8. Is there a specific WELL concept, feature or set of features that have really resonated with you and that you’ve incorporated into your own life?

My favorite one is Circadian Lighting Design. I didn’t care about circadian rhythms before studying WELL. But now, my home work environment incorporates two methods to improve my circadian rhythm: Ceiling lights are fully dimmable, and my apartment has windows facing east and south. The east windows capture the morning sun, and the south window gives me good natural light exposure all day long.

9. How do you think COVID-19 has impacted your WELL AP practice and approach? How do you think that will change going forward?

COVID-19 has totally changed our lives, and it has been a major impetus to implement actual WELL features in our homes. Interestingly, the WELL Building Standard as constituted before 2020 already addresses several good anti-COVID-19 measures, such as hand washing and adequate air ventilation and sanitation. COVID-19 made a number of existing WELL features more attractive in a variety of environments. We can’t rely on COVID-19 to disappear forever in the near term, so we have to find ways to fight the spread of this highly contagious disease. As this virus evolves, we will improve our measures and look to discover new scientific insights into contagions. I’d like to see WELL practices continually updated to reflect the most current scientific evidence for us to cope with COVID.