Global engineering consultancy Arup has partnered with global wellness specialists Delos to address the growing issue of health and wellness in buildings
Arup’s Building Performance and Systems (BPS) team have worked with Delos to create the new BUS Wellbeing survey; an improved methodology for assessment and tracking of occupant wellbeing in buildings.
The new BUS Wellbeing survey combines the pre-existing standard BUS Methodology Occupant Satisfaction Survey and Delos Building Wellness Survey. It will provide a more comprehensive analysis of building design impact on occupant wellness than ever before, covering a wide range of criteria for assessment, such as air quality, lighting and access to nature.
Dr Whitney Austin Gray, senior vice president at Delos, said: “The BUS Wellbeing Survey provides a simple way to track how investment in building design and performance is related to human health. Without global benchmarks, these investments cannot be evaluated and compared.”
The BUS Wellbeing Survey is designed for all projects looking to track outcomes related to human experience in buildings.
The survey is already in use with Adventist Health. It has been employed on its Consolidated Campus Transition Project, helping test the project’s latest building wellness features with the aim of achieving WELL Certification
The BUS Wellbeing survey meets the precondition survey criteria in the WELL Building Standard (WELL) for both WELL v1 and WELL v2.
Darren Wright, director of Building Performance and Systems, added: “While the standard BUS Methodology Occupant Satisfaction Survey focuses on occupants’ experience of a building e.g. thermal comfort, air quality, lighting, personal control, the Delos Building Wellness Survey assesses their wellbeing in terms of access to nature, nutrition, physical activity and mental health.
“By combining the two, the new survey offers clients a more comprehensive analysis of how a building’s design impacts its staff and business.”
