About the Project
The Hensel Phelps Northern California Regional Office renovation project comprised 21,000 SF of improvements to an existing office building, providing a new home for the region’s growing operations. With the San Francisco Bay Area leading the way in green building, Hensel Phelps chose this office to explore WELL Building Certification and focus the details of the office around employee wellness. Key elements of the project that highlight this commitment include a revamped patio space, a restorative living wall, a large kitchen which acts as a gathering space and a large training room to facilitate region-wide events.
“By providing our employees with the best environment for them to work in, we’re positively impacting stakeholders across Northern California.”
Mark Rothman, Corporate Director of Design and Sustainability, Hensel Phelps
Challenge
Hensel Phelps wanted a sustainably focused space that would put the health and wellness of its employees first, while balancing the costs of its long-term investment in a new regional office building. The Hensel Phelps team identified WELL Gold certification as the path to achieve their goals for balancing day one employee comfort with the life-cycle costs of the renovation.
Solution
The WELL framework allowed Hensel Phelps to mix and match WELL optimization features with what was most important to Northern California employees and work culture. The project embraced healthy materials, selecting finishes with low to zero volatile organic compounds (VOC) that were high in recycled content and other environmental attributes. The design of the office included intentional layouts of the space maximizing natural light by moving private offices to the interior, with 70% of all workstations within 25 feet of windows or atria. Other key strategies that helped the team achieve the WELL building goals included selecting lighting that mimicked natural daylight, purchasing window shades that minimized glare and choosing acoustically sound wall materials to maximize concentration.
Result
The Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) validated Hensel Phelps’ efforts when they certified the project WELL Platinum, which is the highest level achievable in the WELL certification framework. The project scored exceptionally high marks in WELL’s wellness benefits and resources category for offering employees access to a private wellness room, onsite showers, bike storage stations, healthy food with whole grains and limited sugars, filtered alkaline water and wholesome drink options. As of June 2024, this project is only 1 of 14 WELL Platinum Certifications to have been awarded in California. Learn more about Hensel Phelps’ wholistic approach to sustainability and building for the future: https://www.henselphelps.com/the-hensel-phelps-way/sustainability/
