Richard Wei-Shun Chang

Richard Chang is a Vice President at the International WELL Building Institute™ (IWBI) in China. IWBI is a public benefit corporation with a mission to improve human health and well-being through the built environment. IWBI administers the WELL Building Standard® (WELL), the world’s first building standard focused exclusively on human health and wellness. The WELL building certification program is an evidence-based system for measuring, certifying, and monitoring the performance of building features and other aspects of the built environments that impact the health and wellbeing of the people in the spaces we create.

As a Vice President at IWBI Asia, Richard is responsible for supporting comprehensive advancement in the region, including market development, market strategy, technical support, and education on the WELL Building Standard and WELL Community Standard - Pilot. Richard is based in Shenzhen, but is responsible for business expansions in South and West China regions including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and helps develop Asian markets outside China, such as Southeast Asian countries. Richard has a creative management style for projects and teams; which is especially effective for integrating internal and external resources and implementing strategic plans.

As a British Registered Architect (ARB, RIBA), Richard was the principal lead to complete the first ever WELL Certified project in Taiwan. Richard’s professional experience enables him to advise at various stages of design, construction and operations of a WELL project. Now working closely with the technical teams in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, Richard is able to provide solutions from the perspective of a senior architect.

To promote WELL, Richard regularly attends key forums, exhibitions and seminars for audiences that include members of the general public, the building industry, and academia. Richard maintains excellent rapport with key individuals within the building industry, governments and academic institutions; and is able to effectively communicate the WELL Building Standard’s multi-faceted competitive advantages and operational values. As a WELL Faculty, Richard spares no effort in educating and training those interested in WELL, planning and promoting WELL-related courses, and continuing to explore innovative construction methods that advance the healthy building movement.

Based on years of experience in sustainable building design and project management in the United Kingdom and in China, Richard has been focused on the development of green buildings and architectural planning and design in the Asia market. Since joining IWBI, he has evolved his architectural ideology from energy-savings and carbon-reduction to one that is more “people-centric”, exploring how the built environment influences people’s health, happiness, well-being and comfort. Richard has solid business acumen for the Asia market. In life, he always shares his past multinational cultural experience and diverse lifestyles with his coworkers, having a positive and active impact on the IWBI Asia team.

The WELL market is heated up under the coordination of Richard, and is particularly prominent in South China and Taiwan. In addition to development of WELL projects and the cultivation of WELL AP talents, he also successfully guided the implementation of the first WELL Portfolio project in China. As well as assisting many like-minded partners to become IWBI International members, he actively organizes WELL promotional activities to support the diversity of individuals and organizations that recognize the values of healthy living.

Prior to IWBI, Richard worked as an architect for CPA in UK and gained nearly 10 years of architectural design experience, working on various sustainable building typologies, including commercial, residential and community, schools, leisure facilities, and cultural centers. After that, he was appointed to be the representative of Greater China for RISE, a management consulting company based in UK, where he was responsible for establishing joint ventures with Chinese real estate developers, as well as engaging in project management and business development for prefabricated buildings. During these years in China, Richard also served as an architectural and management consultant for several companies, implementing green building design and management with his strong belief and professional skills. Returning to Taiwan in early 2017, he began his journey with WELL. Today, leveraging the IWBI platform, Richard is living his dream of “improving the quality of human living environments”.