The research shows that occupants of WELL-certified buildings are 39% more likely to be satisfied with their experience than those in LEED-certified buildings. Both certifications aim to improve building performance, but only one puts human wellbeing at the forefront.
The WELL Building Standard focuses on how buildings impact people. And according to this research, that focus makes a difference in human experience.
The study found that WELL buildings scored higher for both overall building satisfaction and satisfaction with specific workspaces. This finding speaks to a growing awareness that buildings are not just physical structures. They are spaces where people think, connect, and spend much of their lives, and real thought should be given to how a space feels, sounds, and supports the people who use it every day.
As Moodsonic’s co-founder, Evan Benway, puts it:
“For those of us designing spaces for neurodiversity, cognitive performance, or mental health, it’s not just about meeting technical specs. It’s about how we make people feel in the environments they spend much of their lives in.”
The WELL Building Standard is leading a shift in the built environment. It includes detailed guidance on how to design for mental health, cognitive performance, and sensory wellbeing.
Sound plays a central role in this, and there have been exciting developments in WELL, with sound and multi-sensory design, biophilic principles, and neurodiversity all moving to the forefront. This signals a clear message: environments that feel better perform better.
Too often, workplace design has focused on visual aesthetics or sustainability metrics alone. But experience is in the thoughtful consideration of the details. A space with intelligent soundscaping and design for the other senses can feel more alive, more restorative, happier and healthier. It can support different needs to flexibly give people what they need, when they need it.
This research makes the case for putting experience at the heart of design. It shows that when we design for people, the result is happier occupants. When you get the sensory experience right, everything else follows.
