As it says in the press release below, I’ve been selected by the International WELL Building Institute (@WellCertified) to be part of the 2018-2019 WELL Community Concept advisory.
I’ve written about the WELL Building Standard (see: Just Read: The WELL Building Standard – promoting health for the people inside previously.
WELL is now at v2, and you can review it here.
What is a Concept advisor?
Advisors will work with the IWBI Standard Development team throughout the year to help ensure that WELL continues to align with the latest industry research, meets user needs and raises the bar for healthy, high-performing buildings around the world.
Why did I apply to become one?
Since humans spend 90 % of their lives in buildings, why not work to make sure the 🌎 learns to ❤️ better there, as well?
It’s what a doctor does, and specifically a family medicine specialist doctor, who is trained to have a portfolio of passions when it comes to health. Read on…
What areas?
Universal Design
Buildings, especially ones built for health care, should assist with healing. Their design shouldn’t cause harm. The consequences of poor design can be devastating, especially in health care. Fortunately, there are things we can do to make sure this isn’t the case.
For a more complete review of this topic see these posts:
- Just Read: “Universal Design” – Focus on Building Inclusive Bathrooms In the First Place
- Now Presenting: Designing Healthy and Safe Health Care Spaces for LGBTQ People
Metabolic Health
The ways the nutrition and movement choice architectures are created have huge impacts. In built environments, I see lack of intentionality as well as intentionality to harm based on information gaps.
Ironically, this manifests in health care environments, the places where health should be prioritized most.
The bigger picture is on the alarming side, especially when it comes to insulin resistance, diabetes, and obesity (in that order)
The situation above is directly related to diet. Pharmaceuticals are not going to rescue our population.
In What Capacity – My Statements of Independence and Freedom from Conflict
Speaking of family medicine, this is the lens I’m bringing to serve here.
In case you don’t know what a family medicine specialist is, I’ve written about that, too. The brief version: we’re different than other medical specialists, focused on the depth of a person and the elements of their families and communities that make them healthy.
This is a good place to remind of my statements of independence and freedom from conflict. Conflict free is the way to be 🙂 .
What else? Data Over Dogma
Because this is my blog post, I’ll say I am continually impressed at how this century is turning out. There is far more data over dogma than I’ve ever seen, and the rise of the citizen scientist with professional-level rigor is welcomed. My generation of health professionals is challenging previous mental models of what our work is supposed to be and where and how we are supposed to do it.
Plus, how great is it for doctors to be able to love designers in the quest for better health? Very 🙂 .
(NEW YORK – July 9, 2018) – The International WELL Building Institute™ (IWBI™) today announced the formation of a network of global concept advisories to explore, better understand and, ultimately, more accurately quantify the impact of specific health intents captured in the 10 WELL Concepts – Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Movement, Thermal Comfort, Materials, Sound, Mind and Community.
Source: IWBI Launches Global Network of Concept Advisories | International WELL Building Institute