The first phase of Centrum Południe, Skanska’s largest office project in the capital of Lower Silesia, has just received the prestigious WELL Core & Shell certificate. It proves that during the stage of designing the investment, the greatest emphasis was placed on solutions-oriented towards people, their health, and needs. Centrum Południe is the first building in Wroclaw to be awarded such a distinction.
The survey that has been recently conducted on behalf of Skanska office unit in Poland revealed that Polish employees prefer to work from an office at least 3-4 times a week. More than half of the survey respondents declared that, at the moment of completing the survey, they worked exclusively on-site, which confirms that offices still play a significant role in the operations and development of many businesses. Whether office spaces are friendly and fully safe for their users is verified by international certificates. The most important of them, the WELL Core & Shell, has just been awarded to the first phase of a new Skanska’s development: the Centrum Południe complex. It is the first one on the Wroclaw market to obtain such a distinction.
Comfortable working conditions
WELL measures the quality of office spaces. The process involves verifying more than 100 parameters of each building. The system focuses on the mental and physical health of people and their behaviors, the matters related to the use of an office building as well as on its design. When assessing a given investment, experts take into account issues connected with, for instance, access to fresh and clean air, good quality of water as well as appropriate lighting, temperature and acoustics. Tools, technologies and solutions which have an impact on the health and well-being of employees are analyzed, too.
The first stage of Centrum Południe has been designed to meet the requirements of the WELL certificate to the greatest extent possible. The tenants of the complex use, for instance, particle filters, adiabatic humidifiers and ventilation systems, which ensure appropriate room humidity and provide up to 30% more fresh air than is required by the office spaces standards. The filters are designed to retain pollen and fungal spores that can cause allergies. Besides, the air-conditioning system, based on chilled beams, is quiet, while the façade of the building reduces noise coming from the city streets.
The water available at Centrum Południe is tested for the presence of more than 30 chemical compounds – consequently, the employees can drink it safely from any tap in the building. In addition, the users of the complex are also provided with an adequate amount of daylight.
Centrum Południe has been developed using the materials with low emissions of volatile organic compounds. In addition, no harmful pesticides are applied on the green areas around the complex.
– Investing in certified offices – the ones that provide their users with the highest comfort as well as health and safety standards – has nowadays become not only one of the aspects of building competitive advantage of a company, but also a manifestation of concern for the well-being and productivity of employees – says Monika Chacińska, environmental expert at Skanska’s commercial development business unit in CEE. – Obtaining yet another WELL Core & Shell certificate confirms that we provide our tenants and investors with office spaces that offer the best conditions for working and development of business – adds Monika Chacińska.
However, this is not the first time when Skanska paves the way in terms of office certification. Another Wroclaw investment of the Swedish developer, Green Towers, was the first in Poland to receive the LEED certificate at the Platinum level.
WELL x 2
The first phase of Centrum Południe was completed and commissioned in July 2020. In January 2022, it was purchased by Stena Real Estate BV. In addition to the WELL Core & Shell certification, the project has received two other important accreditations: WELL Health-Safety Rating, awarded to office spaces that have the highest safety parameters, thus reducing the risk of disease transmission and creating healthy and friendly workplaces, and LEED Platinum, which evaluates the building for its environmental impact. Currently, work is underway on the second stage of the investment.