Comfort and Health: A Few Key Figures

ARQBOREA IN MADRID (SPAIN), an office building that has obtained WELL Health-Safety Rating and Platinum WELL Core & Shell certification.

Quality of living

Spotlight

3 min

12/05/2026

The impact our living environments have on our well-being and health also has direct implications in terms of performance and economic outcomes. This tangible link is the subject of numerous studies, showing that a healthy, well-designed living environment leads to concrete gains.

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

OFFICES

+10 points in productivity in better-designed spaces

A study published in Building and Environment⁽¹⁾ shows that very practical improvements in offices, such as better ventilation, more effective filtration, increased natural light, materials with low volatile organic compounds, and good thermal and acoustic comfort, result in an average increase of 10 points in employee productivity. In open-plan offices, the Center for the Built Environment (United States) has shown that a 10 dB reduction in ambient noise can improve concentration by 30%.

The office spaces of the energy network operator Liander in Duiven have been completely redesigned by RAU Architects: now BREEAM-certified, the buildings have been enclosed within a “climate greenhouse” featuring a floating roof and benefit from a large glass atrium. Credits: Marcel van der Burg.

Also read: Quality of life and the environment : the same battle

HOMES

Up to +26% higher sales price for homes with high environmental comfort

In the United States, research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has shown that homes with better air quality, ventilation, material emissions, and natural light command a rental premium of 4% to 7% above comparable properties⁽²⁾. In Europe, a recent study in Turin found that naturallight has as much influence on house prices as surface area or floor space. The best-lit homes can command a premium of up to 26% in sales price and 21% in rent⁽³⁾.

Water street

Water Street Tampa (United States) is the first neighborhood in North America to achieve the WELL Community certification – Gold level, awarded by the International WELL Building Institute (the label that evaluates buildings based on their impact on occupants’ health and well-being). The project integrates, at both the building and public space scales, design principles that promote access to natural light, indoor environmental quality, environmental comfort, and connections with the outdoors, recognized drivers for supporting users’ physical and mental health. This comprehensive and coordinated approach makes the neighborhood an international benchmark for well-being-oriented urban development.

PLACES OF LEARNING

+5% improvement in academic performance when classrooms are better ventilated

In schools, light and indoor air directly influence academic success for students and working conditions for teachers. Several studies show that increasing ventilation flow rates leads to an average performance increase of 5% in standardized assessments⁽⁴⁾. Stabilized CO₂ levels reduce drowsiness and improve concentration. Exposure to natural light is also a factor in academic success⁽⁴⁾.

*The preschool in Guastalla (Italy) was designed to encourage interaction among children, with teachers, and with nature.*

Also read: The sustainable school of tomorrow is for today.

Explore all our Quality of Living articles

Sources:

N. Ildiri, H. Bazille, Y. Lou, K. Hinkelman, W. Gray, W. Zuo, Impact of WELL certification on occupant satisfaction and perceived health, well-being, and productivity: A multi-office pre- versus post-occupancy evaluation. Building and Environment, 2022.
B. Hano, A. Keitaro, The incremental value of smart buildings upon effective rents and transaction prices. Thèse du MIT, 2018.
S. Loro, V. Lo Verso, E. Fregonara, A. Barreca, Influence of daylight on real estate housing prices. Journal of Building Engineering, 2024.
L. Heschong, R. Wright, S. Okura, Daylighting Impacts on Human Performance in School. Journal of the Illuminating Engineering Society, 2013.