This week, the Center for Active Design (CfAD) announced the 2022 winners of the Fitwel Best in Building Health® leadership awards, its flagship recognition program that identifies people and companies enhancing human health via Fitwel®, a leading certification system committed to building health. This year’s winners were recognized based on project submissions in 2021 to the Fitwel portal.
Created in partnership with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and operated by CfAD, Fitwel is a rigorous, third-party healthy building certification system that sets the industry standard for evidence-based strategies to promote health and wellness through the built environment.
“The 2022 award winners demonstrate not only an increased demand for Fitwel and healthy building certification, but significantly, an increased emphasis around the globe on prioritizing occupants’ health and wellness,” said Joanna Frank, President and CEO of CfAD. “With the growing focus on prioritizing human health, real estate owners and investors are meeting the demand for health-focused buildings with key strategies and programs to prioritize occupant health.”
The Best in Building Health awards honor those who meet and exceed Fitwel standards, but also recognize exceptional leadership and progress in the industry. This year’s special recognition awards feature companies that are leading the charge in driving market transformation through their buildings for health and wellness, sustainability, and social equity.
Social Equity Leadership: Harrison Street (pictured below) has been awarded the Social Equity Leadership Award for implementing strategies that ensure their facilities provide residents and occupants with access to health-promoting strategies focusing on public transportation, amenities, and universal accessibility across their DLC and Brightview portfolios.
Thought Leadership: QuadReal Property Group has been awarded the Industry Thought Leadership award for their commitment to driving research on the impact of buildings on human health and wellness.
For the first time, Best in Building Health is recognizing Fitwel Ambassadors for their commitment to serving as leaders and active participants in Fitwel’s healthy building movement. The Ambassadors with the Highest Scoring Project are two Ambassadors from Corgan, an architecture and design firm, who were a part of the Peloton HQ NYC certification effort.
Rachel Schiftan of Cushman & Wakefield has been named the Ambassador with the Most Certified Projects of all-time, at 60 projects. “Cushman & Wakefield assists clients in transforming properties across their portfolios to create distinctive, healthy places where people can thrive in all aspects of their lives,” said Schiftan, Associate Director, Energy & Sustainability Services at Cushman & Wakefield and Fitwel Ambassador. “We are honored to be recognized in several categories for our dedication to the healthy building movement as this not only aligns with our clients’ goals, but our goals for our own workforce. We look forward to supporting the Center for Active Design’s efforts to further evidence-based design and operations, now and into the future.”
Additional awards that highlight the adoption and implementation of health-forward strategies include:
Fitwel Excellence Award – Most Certification of All Time: Kilroy Realty Corporation
“While the pandemic has introduced uncertainty into many aspects of life, one thing that has become more clear is the importance of healthy spaces that support community and collaboration. We are proud that our longstanding commitment to designing and operating healthy buildings has once again earned us the Best in Building Health Award for Most Certifications of All Time,” said Sarah King, Senior Vice President, Sustainability, Kilroy.
Fitwel Promise Award – Most Benchmarked Projects of All-Time: QuadReal Property Group
“At QuadReal, our ongoing work with the Center for Active Design is an important part of our commitment to create places that support the health and wellbeing of our tenants and residents. The partnership began with a focus on certifying our office properties through Fitwel and has since extended to encompass education and research. We look forward to broadening our benchmarking efforts to ensure we consistently maintain safer and healthier environments across the entire Canadian portfolio we manage and are developing,” said Sarah Clarke, Senior Vice President, Office, Operational Excellence at QuadReal Property Group.
Fitwel Impact Award: All-Time Highest Scoring Project: Peloton/Corgan, Peloton HQ, New York, NY.
Peloton enhanced their commitment to employee wellbeing through renovations to their NYC headquarters. Forgoing the office cubicle, they designed collaborative work spaces indoors and outdoors, barista bars and kitchens on every floor, and an employee gym. Ultimately, the company is aiming to create work experiences for employees that are productive, positive, and additive to their daily life. “Since updating our offices, we’ve seen a consistent uptick in people coming into the offices — up from 5-10 to roughly 150-200 people daily,” says Peloton Director of Workplace Operations, Danny Santiago.
Below is the complete list of Fitwel Best in Building Health 2022 Winners, to be honored at a virtual event on March 24 that will showcase data and trends in the healthy building movement and feature key speakers from winning companies focused on the increasing role of health and wellness in real estate investment, design, and operations.
Fitwel Best in Building Health® 2022 : Recognition Categories and Award Winners
Special Recognition for Leadership
Social Equity Leadership: Harrison Street
Thought Leadership: QuadReal Property Group
All-Time Achievements (listed above)
Fitwel Excellence Award
Most Certifications of All Time: Kilroy Realty Corporation
Fitwel Promise Award
Most Benchmarked Projects of All Time: QuadReal Property Group
Fitwel Impact Award
Highest Scoring Project of All Time: Peloton/Corgan, Peloton HQ, New York, NY
2021 Distinctions
Greatest Number of Certifications
Consultant: Cushman & Wakefield
Building
Owner: Barings Real Estate
Tenant: Meta (formerly Facebook)
Greatest Number of Benchmarked Projects
Building Owner: Harrison Street
Greatest Impact on Building Health
Most People Impacted across Building Scorecards: Cushman & Wakefield
Most People Impacted across Site Scorecards: Beam Living / Steven Winter Associates
Highest Square Footage: Cushman & Wakefield
Highest Acreage: Fidelity Investments
Greatest Impact on Viral Response
Highest Scoring Module (tie): The Stock Exchange of Thailand | The Stock Exchange of Thailand / SCG Building and Living Care Consulting
Highest Scoring Module (tie): The Meridian Group Portfolio | The Meridian Group / Paladino & Company
Most Approved Assets: Boston Properties
2021 Highest Scoring Projects
Commercial Interior Space v2.0
M. Moser Associates | City Tower One Bay East, Hong Kong
Commercial Interior Space v2.1
Built: Takeda Pharmaceuticals | Takeda, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Design: Peloton / Corgan | Peloton HQ, New York, NY
Single-Tenant Building v2.0
Microsoft / Alfa Sustainable Projects | Microsoft Campus Herzliya, Israel
Single-Tenant Building v2.1
Built: Cushman & Wakefield | Alfabank Technopark, Moscow, Russia
Design: UL | Hotel Sun Chlorella, Kyoto, Japan
Multi-Tenant Base Building v2.0
LaSalle | 60 London Wall, London, United Kingdom
Multi-Tenant Base Building v2.1
Built: SBA Urban / Vesta Consulting | BLC2, Kaunas, Lithuania
Design: Element Four | 217 Bath Road, Slough, United Kingdom
Multi-Tenant Whole Building v2.0
Projekt Wadowicka Sp. z o.o. / Sweco Polska sp. z o.o. | Wadowicka 3A, Kraków, Poland
Multi-Tenant Whole Building v2.1
Built: Principal Real Estate Investors | Broadway Tower, Portland, OR
Multifamily Residential v2.0
UL | YuanXiJiaYuan, Beijing, China
Multifamily Residential v2.1
Built: Newcastle Limited / SCB | State & Chestnut, Chicago, IL
Design: UL | Herjing Gulf Villa Multifamily, New Taipei City, Taiwan
Retail v2.1
Built: UL | TaiMall Shopping Center, Taoyuan, Taiwan
Design: CBRE | Angel Central, London, United Kingdom
Community v2.1
Built: Beam Living / Steven Winter Associates | Peter Cooper Village & Stuyvesant Town, New York, NY
Design: Harrison Street | Cortland Cassiobury, Watford, United Kingdom
Commercial v2.1
Built: QuadReal Property Group | Southcore Financial Centre, Toronto, Canada
Design: QuadReal Property Group | World Exchange Plaza, Ottawa, Canada
Ambassador Awards
Company with the Most Ambassadors (All-Time)
Perkins & Will
Ambassador with the Highest Scoring Project
Caroline Compton / Corgan | Peloton HQ, New York, NY
Emily Frazer-Smith / Corgan | Peloton HQ, New York, NY
Ambassador Associated with the Most Certified Projects (All-Time)
Rachel Schiftan / Cushman & Wakefield
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