THE PURPOSE OF OUR DESIGN FORECAST IS TO SERVE AS A USEFUL TOOL TO CREATE ENGAGING, UNIQUE, AND LONGLASTING SPACES AND BRANDS. WE RESEARCH AND VISION HOW BEST
TO DESIGN FOR TARGET MARKETS, DIFFERENTIATE, AND ACHIEVE LONGEVITY. WE TEST AND SPOTLIGHT THE LATEST PRODUCTS AND PLACES AND REPORT ON NATIONAL AND GLOBAL TRENDS IMPACTING OUR INDUSTRY.
OUR FORECAST WAS BORN FROM AN HONEST INTENT TO ADD VALUE AND BE A COMMITTED CUSTODIAN OF BRIGHT IDEAS, INNOVATIVE THINKING, AND SHARING FOR A GREATER GOOD.
DESIGN DIRECTION
Americans spend 90% of their time indoors, where the concentrations of some pollutants are often 2 to 5 times higher than typical outdoor concentrations. Sitting is the new smoking physical inactivity is now comparative with smoking as the leading cause of preventable death in the world. With the average workday coming it at around 8.1 hours a day, and most people toggling back and forth between work, school, and home – it has become essential to design our indoor spaces to work for our health instead of against it.
Fitwel is a leading certification system committed to building health. Fitwel was created by the CDC and U.S. General Services Administration. It is currently operated by The Center for Active Design.
The fitness and wellness psychographic spans all demographic segments, and this cohort is educated on the impacts that indoor environments have on their wellbeing. Fitwel’s statistics support this – according to their data, Fitwel certified buildings benefit from faster lease-up times, higher tenant referral rates, more occupancies, and an overall increased ROI.
As creators of interior environments and communities, we see it as our responsibility to ensure the buildings we design are having a positive impact on people’s wellbeing.
There are still two primary certifications for ‘wellness focused’ buildings – The WELL Building Standard and Fitwel.
Both of these certifications focus on creating spaces that positively impact the health + wellbeing of building occupants. The biggest differentiators between the two certifications are the associated costs and the rigor of documentation. WELL’s documentation process is similar to LEED and typically requires hiring an external consultant. WELL projects must re-certify every three years. The certification costs are high, and there are ongoing costs associated with upkeep and recertification. Fitwel does not require an external consultant to support with documentation, certification costs are low, and there is no recertification necessary.
We have chosen to focus this Forecast Feature on Fitwel because it’s the more accessible certification. This Feature seeks to serve as a Fitwel crash course that demystifies Fitwel and shares its value.
LoSo Station | Crescent Communities + CID Design Group
LoSo Station | Crescent Communities + CID Design Group
83% of residents believe that living in a green apartment is good for their health
because of Covid, 71% of residents place an increased value on the healthy building features in their apartment communities
healthy homes have become more important to 54% of adults since 2020
rents in office buildings that achieved
and/or Fitwel certifications were between 4.4% and 7.7% higher per square foot than non-certified buildings
Multifamily is one of the fastest-growing asset classes receiving Fitwel certification, with the number of properties pursuing
increasing 122% year over year in 2021
We spoke with Zachary Flora, VP of Market Growth at The Center for Active Design (the current operator of Fitwel) to answer some of our most asked questions.
Q: Does a Fitwel certified project get higher rent rates?
A: We are actually seeing it go the other way around –projects that don’t have a Fitwel certification are having to lower their rents.
Q: Do prospective residents recognize the Fitwel brand?
A: We are finding that even though Fitwel doesn’t have name recognition, prospective renters don’t need to know something is healthy in order to get the impacts. For example, a person doesn’t need to know the health benefits of natural daylight to know they like being in a naturally lit space.
Q: What other ways does a Fitwel certification position a project for a positive ROI?
A: One thing we are seeing is when a project goes to sell, it’s attractive to potential buyers to know the building is being operated to Fitwel standard.
Gen Z is often considered more pragmatic than other generations, and they place value in integrating health and wellness into their day to-day life.
Of Gen Z believe that the pandemic’s single most important effect on society will be taking care of one’s health.
looking to incorporate wellness seamlessly into daily life
an easeful approach to wellness
has some prior knowledge of health and wellness
Strategies that impact surrounding community health broaden the impact of the project past the health of on site occupants, reaching those who live, work, play, or learn in the neighboring areas.
Strategies that reduce morbidity + absenteeism promote decreased rates of chronic disease + mental health conditions, reductions in disease transmission, + fewer missed days of work..
Strategies that support social equity for vulnerable populations ensure that a range of populations, have increased access to health promoting opportunities.
Strategies that instill feelings of well being promote inclusion, relaxation, + perceptions of safety, through rejuvenating and clean spaces, an enhanced connection to nature, + opportunities for social engagement.
Strategies that enhance access to healthy foods provide occupants with expanded availability to fruits, vegetables, and other nutritious food options.
Strategies that promote occupant safety decrease risk of crime and injury, protect bicyclists and pedestrians from vehicular traffic, and increase stair safety.
Strategies that increase physical activity incorporate opportunities for movement into everyday life whether through encouraging active transportation, promoting stair use, or expanding access to indoor and outdoor fitness areas and equipment.
is not part of your strategy,
can still use the criteria as a guidepost.
consider these categories to be the most critical and impactful.
A T E R
water is essential for health
I R
of
I G H T
Access to safe, clean water is a human right. Elevate this experience and spin it into an amenity with hyper purified and remineralized water. Reverse Osmosis purification removes contaminants from water, but it also removes the minerals, so it’s important to remineralize the water after purification. Offering clean, purified water helps reduce reliance on bottled water. Communicate the benefits of clean water with creative signage.
WATER AT ELEVATORS
Consider installing purified water bottle filling stations on every floor at the elevator banks. This highlights clean water as an amenity, and makes it accessible to fill a water bottle on the way out or on the way home.
To really elevate clean water as an amenity – offer filtered water in unit. This can be done with an under counter purification and remineralization system.
Breath is the foundation of life. Indoor air quality is a major player in health. With most people spending 90% of their days indoors, it is the primary air we breath. VOCs, off gassing, pollution, mold, and uncirculated air can lead to a decline in health. Like a fish in a dirty tank, we need the air around us to be clean for optimal health.
Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization (NBPI) generates an electronic charge which produces a high concentration of positively and negatively charged ions that circulate continually, searching out contaminants and stealing a hydrogen atom. When stripped of a hydrogen atom, biological pathogens are destroyed. This tech is easy to install on existing HVAC systems. the cost is only about $1 per square foot, and it can connect into the power already available for the HVAC system so no additional power is required.
Eyes are the window to the soul. With this proverb in mind, we are reminded that it is essential to have the appropriate exposure to the full spectrum of light to stimulate our visual cortexes. Our moods are heavily influenced by the color and angle of light making it a major player within a space.
The changing angles of the sun through the day and through the equinoxes influence the human psyche. Incorporating daylight into a space helps us connect with our primal selves and sync to the cycles of our planet. Prioritizing exposure to natural daylight especially in coworking and living spaces primes us to be our best selves.
Circadian lighting is the concept that light can be used to support human health. This can be achieved through enhancing natural light exposure with windows, or through specialized electric light approaches. Supportive electric light can be adjusted to alter the intensity, color, or stimulus.
In closing, regardless of your stance on well and sustainable certifications, we see it as a measure of accountability that the foundation of what we are building and designing is fundamentally better for people.
It can be argued that the best thing about Fitwel (accessible, affordable, no recertification process) may also be the ‘worst’ thing about Fitwel. However, we believe the positive intentions of the program and those who build to its standard outweigh the cons.
Fitwel is an accessible and affordable way to hold ourselves accountable to these standards. While it is true that there is no recertification process and therefore no commitment to operationally uphold the program, there are still foundational elements that live on with the built environment regardless of operations.
DESIGN DIRECTION
JENN ZELLA
Principal + Director of Design
ANGÉLICA LEBRÓN APONTE
Assistant | Interior Designer
JAMI BACON Interior Designer
JULIA GILSTRAP Associate | Interior Designer
Fitwel https://www.fitwel.org/
Indoor Air Quality
https://www.epa.gov/report environment/indoor air quality#:~:text=Americans%2C%20on%20average%2C%20spend%20approximately,higher%20than%20typical%20outdoor%20conce ntrations.
Future Of Wellness Industry Market In 2022 And Beyond!
https://appinventiv.com/blog/wellness market statistics for future growth/#:~:text=According%20to%20research%20by%20the,grow%20at%20a%20historic%20rate.
Indoor Air Quality
https://www.epa.gov/report environment/indoor air quality#:~:text=Americans%2C%20on%20average%2C%20spend%20approximately,higher%20than%20typical%20outdoor%20conce ntrations
Gen Z: The Ultimate Wellness Consumer https://insider.fitt.co/gen z wellness/
DESIGN DIRECTION
CID has or is actively working in every major urban market in the US across 40 states and 65 cities, including Canada. A cri tical part of our process on every single project is a deep market study where we analyze the competition and development pipeline and carefully craft a competitive differentiation strategy. We collect and adapt programmatic and operational concepts and repor t on them in our forecast. This travel and study is key to channeling the market’s pulse and leading ahead of the pack.
We employ research from Esri Tapestry segmentation and PEW Research Center to go beyond the study of generational attributes, understanding psychographic and socioeconomic orientations of America’s changing population. We take the process one step further by identifying the key demographics that are shaping our markets and offering creative and tangible ways to design an d program to capture those specific demographics.
We study Axiomatic databases annually of completed new developments. We visit each community’s website and tally what amenities are advertised both in the home and community to report the most popular. We divide the research between urban and suburban markets. We also collect all extraordinary and unique amenities onto a “unique” checklist and note creative naming of amenities. We also follow key research reported by Kingsley & Associates and Costar, both leading real estate industry analysts.
We share our research with industry partners and they reciprocally share with us. Large manufacturers invest a tremendous amount of R&D money to be on the forefront, and we watch closely. Some of our favorite professional organizations, such as the Urban Land Institute, and powerful publications, such as Multi family Executive, produce leading research that we sift through and fold into our forecast.
Researching popular hashtag search trends reveals many real-time relevancy indicators. We keep a close eye on hashtags in project-relevant locations and study what qualifies as a shareable moment. Trade shows, festivals, conventions, talks, markets, boots on ground watching, listening, observing and covering hundreds of different shows.
CID DESIGN GROUP does not receive incentives or funding to promote any product, service, person, or place within our forecast. We research and share purely in the spirit of being committed custodians of bright thinking and sharing for a greater good.
