IWBI collaborates with market leaders in Taiwan to promote people first places
Joint efforts to advance people’s health and well-being across the places and spaces where we spend our lives
New York, NY (December 21, 2020) – The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) announced today that the WELL Building Standard (WELL) has become a significant recognized pathway for industry leaders in Taiwan to transform buildings and communities into places that help people thrive. Two years after establishing its footprint in Taiwan, WELL is gaining tremendous momentum through close collaborations with market leaders and industry experts.
In recognition of the market momentum and collective efforts made by pioneering project teams, IWBI members and visionary thought leaders who are helping to guide Taiwan’s second wave of sustainability into building people first places, IWBI rallied the local WELL community in the iconic Taipei 101 Tower on December 18, 2020, to celebrate Taiwan’s WELL journey.
Taiwan Architecture & Building Center, Taiwan Wellness Building Association, and SEED, the official association for LEED professionals in Taiwan, joined IWBI’s celebration on Friday, calling Taiwan’s building industry to action on the health and well-being front.
“After 50 years of continuous evolution, building sustainability has finally got to the point where we begin to focus on what’s most important to our built environments – the health and well-being of the people,” said Chiang Cheming, professor at Chengkung University and chief counselor at Taiwan Wellness Building Association. “The WELL Building Standard provides an important framework for the industry in our pursuit of buildings that help people feel healthier and happier, and ultimately have a positive impact on people’s overall well-being.” He urges practitioners in Taiwan to be part of the global WELL movement.
“It’s exciting to see industry leaders and WELL champions in Taiwan are coming together to focus on people’s health and well-being in the buildings and communities we create through our daily work,” said Richard Chang, senior director of IWBI (Asia). “With such strong industry support, WELL is quickly becoming an efficient tool to help build people first places in Taiwan.”
“It takes a village to achieve the intended outcomes of healthy buildings, from materials to design and to construction,” said Chiu Chang Yueh, administrative deputy minister in charge of Taiwan’s interior affairs. “It’s in the interest of the public sector in Taiwan to support this shift towards healthy buildings.”
Highlights of the celebration and recent key milestones in the market include:
• Induction of new IWBI membership in Taiwan: Delta Electronics at Keystone level, and, Bao Pu Construction Development and Hopax Bio-Medical at Cornerstone level;
• Award ceremony and plaque presentation for four recently certified WELL platinum projects: SEDIA PTE. LTD. Taiwan Branch & LKP Architecture, INFANCIX Postpartum Care Center, JAHO Life Plus+ (Gemcare Maternity Center Dunhua), JAHO Life Plus+ (Gemcare Maternity Center Zhongshan);
• A pledge by healthy building advocates, practitioners, solution providers, and representatives from local sustainability certification sector to collaboratively work towards a market transformation prioritizing people’s health and well-being;
• To date, there are 24 WELL projects in Taiwan including eight WELL Certified projects totaling three million square feet of space;
• 359 people have either become WELL Accredited Professionals or have registered to take their WELL AP exam;
• Organizations including TABC are among the early adopters pursuing the WELL Health-Safety Rating for Facility Operations and Management.
About the International WELL Building Institute
The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) is leading the global movement to transform our buildings, communities and organizations in ways that help people thrive. WELL v2 is the most recent version of its popular WELL Building Standard (WELL), and the WELL Community Standard pilot is a district scale rating system that sets a new global benchmark for healthy communities. The WELL Health-Safety Rating is an evidence-based, third-party verified rating focused on operational policies, maintenance protocols, emergency plans and stakeholder education to help organizations get back to business. IWBI mobilizes the wellness community through management of the WELL AP credential, the pursuit of applicable research, the development of educational resources, and advocacy for policies that promote health and wellness everywhere.
International WELL Building Institute, IWBI, the WELL Building Standard, WELL v2, WELL Certified, WELL AP, WELL Portfolio, WELL Portfolio Score, The WELL Conference, We Are WELL, the WELL Community Standard, WELL Health-Safety Rating, WELL Health-Safety Rated, WELL Workforce, WELL and others, and their related logos are trademarks or certification marks of International WELL Building Institute pbc in the United States and other countries.
Media Contact:
Yan Tai: yan.tai@wellcertified.cm
