WASHNGTON, DC—The Global Innovator's Award was given at the CoreNet Global North American Summit here, and the winner is CBRE's Los Angeles headquarters building.
In its recognition, the group noted that “CBRE's headquarters is the first office work space to be certified by the International Well Building Institute. The workspace has more than 120 features in seven categories of wellness: the mind, comfort, fitness, light, nourishment, water and air. These improvements range from lighting designed to reflect natural circadian rhythms, hydration stations, live plants, exercise opportunities, sit/stand work stations and desks built atop treadmills.”
The award was presented at a recognition dinner on Tuesday night of the conference. Properly called The H. Bruce Russell Global Innovator's Award, the competition—this year consisting of seven finalists—recognizes excellence and innovation in corporate real estate. The winner is considered an industry game changer that elevates the practice of corporate real estate.
This past summer, GlobeSt.com had exclusive access to the finalist presentations, made at Emory University in Atlanta.
Presenters Lenny Beaudoin and Onno Zwaneveld of CBRE and Paul Scialla of Delos Living explained that at the HQ site, CBRE created a design focused on the health of the occupants, essentially moving beyond LEED's more brick-and-mortar focus. They accomplished this by adhering to the standards of the International WELL Building Initiative. Beaudoin told the judges that focusing on “the building itself is not enough to guarantee the well-being of people.”
Some 220 people to be exact, in 48,000 square feet of HQ space. Of course, there were also the brick-and-mortar considerations to address, such as the old space's lack of growth potential, its dated technology and the need to support greater collaboration.
As CoreNet Global's The Leader magazine reported, the HQ has also produced “a double-digit performance increase in employee satisfaction since the move-in as measured by a survey of occupant attitudes. Not surprisingly, the focus on wellness has contributed to an increase in productivity as defined by sales activity.”
A post-occupancy evaluation also revealed a 97% satisfaction rate, a reported 93% increase in business improvement and the admittedly subjective (but nonetheless impressive) sense on the part of 75% of the occupants that “they feel healthier.”
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John Salustri
John Salustri has covered the commercial real estate industry for nearly 25 years. He was the founding editor of GlobeSt.com, and is a four-time recipient of the Excellence in Journalism award from the National Association of Real Estate Editors.
