WELL Building Tip #4: Access to Clean Water Is Essential for Healthy Buildings

Oculus Inc.’s WELL Accredited Professional (WELL AP), Joanne Fields, breaks down the WELL Building principles with practical wellness-driven design tips.

Joanne looks at water and hydration’s critical role in the daily experience of building occupants:

Water is something most people rarely think about until it’s unavailable. Yet access to clean, high-quality drinking water is one of the simplest, and most important, ways buildings can support occupant health.

Hydration plays a critical role in physical wellness, cognitive performance, and overall productivity. Even mild dehydration can affect concentration, energy, and decision-making, making convenient access to drinking water an important consideration in workplace and facility design.

The WELL Building Standard encourages project teams to think beyond plumbing systems by creating environments where clean water is accessible, visible, and integrated into the daily experience of building occupants.

As a WELL AP at Oculus Inc., I work with project teams to identify opportunities that support healthier environments through thoughtful design strategies and evidence-based wellness principles.

Some examples of how Oculus applies this concept include:

• Providing convenient access to filtered drinking water throughout a facility
• Encouraging hydration through visible and accessible hydration stations
• Supporting water quality through filtration, testing, and maintenance protocols
• Reducing reliance on single-use plastic bottles
• Creating environments that make healthy choices easier for building occupants

Water may be a basic necessity, but its impact on health and performance should never be overlooked.

Follow along as I continue sharing WELL Building concepts and practical ways they can be incorporated into workplace design.

If you are interested in learning more about integrating the WELL Building concepts into your environment, email Joanne Fields at joannef@oculusinc.com.