WELL projects must be defined by a clear boundary. How to define the boundary is fully explained in the WELL Program Guidebook, but this page will cover some of the basics.

• Defining a project boundary

  • The project boundary may not unreasonably exclude portions of the building, space or site to give the project an advantage.
  • Projects must apply a uniform definition of the project boundary across features.
  • WELL project names should accurately reflect the project boundary.
    • Consider use of location, building and/or owner name. For example: Company Name, Chicago HQ, floors 30-33 or Wyzer Blocks, Phase 1.
  • Non-enclosed areas (e.g., balconies, rooftops, exterior lawns) may be included in the project boundary, but these are not counted when calculating billable area.
  • You must accurately communicate the scope of the certifying project in all promotional and descriptive materials and distinguish it from any non-certifying space.

  It is also possible for a single project to include multiple distinct structures that are not physically connected, provided the following conditions are met: 

  • The buildings are enrolled for WELL Certification. Locations pursing WELL ratings only or locations that are part of a WELL at scale subscription should enroll each building separately.
  • All buildings must be under the same ownership and management. 
  • The buildings must be located adjacent to each other (i.e., there is no land unaffiliated with the location intervening) and the project boundary must encompass all outdoor space affiliated with the enrolled property.
  • The buildings must be related to each other (e.g., part of a corporate or education campus, or a resort), and the project name must accurately describe the group of buildings.

  This pathway allows the group of buildings to be treated, for all intents and purposes, as a single building with one project enrollment and one project certification. The buildings are analyzed as a whole (i.e., in aggregate) for all features and with regard to project size. Since the buildings constitute a single project, documentation must be submitted for review at the same time and they must undergo performance testing together. The same set of features must be applied to all buildings, and the project will receive a single level of certification.

  Projects being constructed in phases

  Projects that are being completed in different phases have several options to consider:

  • Option 1 - Wait until all phases have been completed to submit for documentation review. You can consider conducting performance verification with a Performance Testing Organization for each phase individually and then submit the performance verification data for all completed phases in one set. Performance verification data is valid for one year. As an interim milestone toward final certification, consider WELL Precertification.
  • Option 2 - If the time between completion of the phases of the project is significant, you can consider enrolling the part of the project that will be complete earliest and adding the remaining area during recertification. In this case, the WELL project name must clearly reflect which phase is included in the initial certification. The project name can be adjusted at the time of recertification to reflect the new boundary. 
    • For example: A building is completed in two phases, split between floors 1-5 in phase one and floors 6-8 in phase two. At initial certification the WELL project is called Building X Phase 1 floor 1-5. At the time of recertification, the remaining floors are added and the project name is changed to Building X. 
  • Option 3 - Register each phase as an individual WELL project. Note, similar to above, the project name should clearly indicate which part of the building is being certified. Each of the individual registered phases would need to achieve features individually and must reflect the conditions in place within the project boundary. A project cannot earn points for amenities being completed in the future phase.  
    • For example: A building is being completed in two phases, Building X Floors 1-5 in 2023 and Building X Floors 6-8 in 2024. These two phases can be registered individually, but if floors 1-5 submit documentation in 2023, they cannot say in that submission that floors 6-8 will have a canteen to meet the Nourishment feature.

  Understanding project types

  Different types of projects present their own unique considerations for project boundary and feature applicability, so WELL offers two enrollment types: WELL Certification for owner-occupied spaces and WELL Core Certification for base buildings.

  • This typology is relevant for projects owned or leased by the project owner and where regular occupants are affiliated with the project owner. Within this category, interiors projects represent a special case of owner-occupied projects where the project boundary makes up less than 50% of the base building.

    In owner-occupied spaces, the project boundary should include areas within the owner's control/scope. Some WELL features do allow interiors projects to achieve credit for amenities located within the base building.

    Naturally, applicability questions around features are bound to come up. Below, we've highlighted some of the most common applicability questions for owner-occupied projects:

    Ventilation

    Ventilation and mechanical systems within your space must meet precondition feature requirements.

    Restrooms

    Bathrooms and other areas managed by the landlord or otherwise outside of your control can be considered outside the scope of the project. Furthermore, if your project doesn't provide drinking water within the project boundary, bathroom fixtures or other sources of drinking water outside the project boundary will be tested.

    Smoking Bans

    Feature A02 Smoke Free Environment, Part 2: Prohibit Outdoor Smoking is considered out of scope if no external space is included in project boundary. However, an outdoor smoking ban is required on terraces or balconies, if they are present.

    Food

    If a project does not provide or sell food the majority of days of the operating week it may consider some preconditions not applicable. Points may still be relevant for optimizations such as N04 Food Advertising, N07 Nutrition Education, N08 Mindful Eating, N10 Food Preparation, N12 Food Production and N13 Local Food Environment.

    Site Amenities

    Feature V05 Site Planning and Selection can be achieved for an interiors project if the base building meets the feature requirements.

  • WELL Core Certification is a distinct pathway for base buildings seeking to implement fundamental features for the benefit of tenants. Any building type can register for WELL Core, provided that at least 75% of the project area is occupied by one or more tenants and/or serves as common space in the building accessible to all tenants. Offices affiliated with the project owner but unrelated to the management of the project property may be considered a tenant so long as additional tenants unaffiliated with the project owner occupy at least 60% of the net leased area.

    When defining the boundaries of a WELL Core project, think of the building as a whole, not individual spaces. To register a WELL Core project, the project area shall reflect the whole building area, including leased spaces. 

    For WELL Core projects, features have varying scopes of applicability, depending on the relevant population and project area. These can be viewed with the WELL Core toggle “on” within the digital standard. The applicability scope can be viewed below the WELL feature requirements. 

    For example, some features, such as L05 Daylight Design Strategies or V04 Facilities for Active Occupants, must be met across the entire building. Other features apply only to spaces or personnel under the purview of the project owner, such as C06 Health Services and Benefits or C10 Family Support benefits.

    When in doubt, registered projects can request WELL coaching support via the Support tab of their WELL account. All others can contact us here.

  Defining your project boundary for mixed-use buildings 

  Mixed-use projects are buildings with two or more different uses in the same project boundary. Some examples of typical WELL mixed-used projects are: 

  • Retail & Office
  • Retail, office & multifamily residential
  • Retail, office & hotel
  • Retail, office & co-working space
  • Or any combination of the above or other use types
  • The WELL Core standard can be applied to mixed-use buildings, as long as the WELL Core eligibility criteria are met (at least 60% of the project area is occupied by one or more tenants and/or serves as common space in the building accessible to all tenants). 

  Mixed-use buildings with Multifamily-Residential

  Mixed-use buildings with multifamily-residential where dwelling units make up less than 40% of the project area may register the entire building for WELL Core. In these cases, dwelling units are considered "leased spaces", per the WELL Core guidance.

  Mixed-use buildings where dwelling units make up 40% or more of the project area should register one or more portions of the building as individual projects for WELL Certification or WELL Core Certification, as appropriate.

  Changes to the project boundary

  Changes to the project boundary can occur after enrollment. However, these changes must be approved. We recommend discussing these changes with a member of the WELL coaching team to help keep certification on track. Registered projects request WELL coaching support via the Support tab of their WELL account. All others can contact us here. Please note, an increase in project area could result in a change of fees. Changes to the project boundary after documentation is submitted typically result in additional documentation review fees.

• The WELL Community Standard™ pilot builds upon the WELL Building Standard™ and aims to impact individuals throughout the public spaces where they spend their days. A WELL community functions to protect health and well-being across all aspects of community life.

  WELL Community Boundary

  WELL Community Standard projects are district-scale: a neighborhood or group of buildings (e.g., a school district, all city-owned buildings or a specific proposed or existing neighborhood). The project boundary must be continuous, but may contain public rights of way, public infrastructure, future proposed or existing infrastructure, buildings and landscapes, as well as land and buildings under separate ownership or management.

  Project owners may use their discretion to determine project boundaries. However, once selected, the certification requirements must be applied consistently across the premises, including to properties under separate ownership (unless indicated otherwise in the standard).

  The area entered for the project to calculate the certification fees should include the gross area of all buildable land, both owned and not owned by the project owner, within the project boundary. ​Non-buildable land can be included in the project boundary, but excluded from the acreage submitted for the fees quote. Non-buildable land that may be excluded from the total area includes:

  • Tracts of land that are at least one acre (0.405 hectares) and are protected from further construction by easement, deed restriction, or other enforceable legal instrument that either (1) is retained in its natural state and open to public use, or (2) promotes the conservation of soils, wetlands, beaches or tidal marshes, streams or water supply  
  • Bodies of water
  • We understand that communities are often built over a number of years and in phases. If a project expands its boundaries as it completes different phases, the project is evaluated as a whole, rather than each subsequent phase individually for feature and program requirements. Your project boundary may be changed at any time before Documentation Review. Changes after Documentation Review may affect the project's certification fees. Contact us through the Support tab in your WELL account or the Support button on this page with the updated size and the reason for the change.

  WELL Community feature applicability

  Preconditions in the WELL Community Standard are intended to be achievable by all potentially qualified new and existing communities. The variety of optimizations and innovations provides various pathways for projects to achieve the necessary points for certification.

  For more information, refer to the Overview section of the WELL Community Standard.