Hilson Moran’s Manchester office has received WELL Gold re-certification from the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI). This is a significant milestone that underpins our dedication and commitment to creating spaces for people, that prioritise health, wellbeing, and productivity.
Our Manchester office first achieved WELL Gold in 2017, which was a pioneering move in the UK at a time when workplace wellbeing was rarely considered as a priority in design – so much so that we were the first commercial office space outside of London to achieve this accolade.
A globally recognised accreditation, the WELL Building Standard promotes health and wellbeing in buildings and communities, assessing factors that impact physical and mental health. It offers a framework for creating spaces that enhance wellbeing through evidence-based strategies, policies, and design. WELL’s unique approach assesses seven wellness concepts: Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Fitness, Comfort and Mind.
Our original office assessment featured many occupant focused improvements, including; low Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) materials, such as paints, carpets and furniture – as well as potato skin kitchen cupboard door finish; water filtration; enhanced ventilation; enhanced lighting; acoustic enhancements; biophilia; access to fruit and healthy nutrition, to name a few.
Since our initial certification, we have further enhanced our office by adding electric sit-stand desks to promote occupant musculoskeletal health improvements, additional lockers, and have upgraded our air quality monitors, responsibly recycling our existing units.
We ensured that these changes aligned with the WELL requirements by sourcing the sit-stand furniture from the second hand market to ensure any VOCs had off gassed, which also made this a low carbon choice in line with circular economy principles.
Recertification required a thorough review of our initial score card features to ensure ongoing compliance with WELL standards. This process involved staff surveys to check their satisfaction with the health & wellbeing features as well as rigorous water sample testing on a three month cycle and ongoing air quality testing, and ventilation adjustments – a failed volume control damper spring was identified and promptly fixed by our Landlord, Bruntwood.
The IWBI review verified our monitoring of features, and an approved Performance Testing Agent, CETEC, conducted on-site tests, evaluating air and water quality, light levels, thermal comfort, and acoustics performance – popping ballons to test reverberation!
This successful re-certification isn’t just about achieving a standard — it’s a reflection of our commitment to healthier, happier workspaces. Our Manchester office continues to be an example of how evidence-based strategies can create an environment where people thrive. We’re committed and have now rolled this out to other Hilson Moran office locations, with WELL assessment currently ongoing at our new office in London, targeting WELL V2 Platinum.
