This is a legacy version of the WELL Building Standard. Please check the latest version here.

Core & Shell Scope

WELL Core and Shell Certified projects integrate fundamental WELL Building Standard™ (WELL) features into the base building design and operation, which creates an incentive for future tenants seeking to support the health and productivity of their occupants. It also enables future tenants to more easily pursue WELL Certification for their interior spaces.

Core and Shell Certification includes the areas of the building controlled by the owner, including common spaces, such as lobbies and elevator banks, as well as any areas of the interior buildout managed by the project owner. Depending on the developer's scope, Core and Shell projects can receive Optimizations for complying with all parts of a WELL feature determined to be not applicable (see the WELL applicability matrix in the Introduction to the WELL Building Standard).

For further clarity, the following document outlines applicability determinations for Core and Shell projects.

  • Entire Building: These features are required to be met throughout the entire building, in both tenant and owner-occupied spaces. For features which are intended to impact all occupants, such as amenity and common spaces, Core and Shell projects should use the expected building occupancy or the default occupancy of 250 ft²/person (23 m²/person).
  • Extent of Developer Buildout: These features are required to be met in all common areas, spaces under owner control, and all portions of the interior buildout managed by the project owner.
  • Extent of Developer Buildout with Capacity for Tenant Achievement: These features are required to be met in all spaces included in the developer buildout and require that the building systems in place have capacity to allow tenants to implement the feature requirements within their leased space.
  • Extent of Developer Buildout and Confirmed Tenant Support: These features are required to be met in all spaces included in the developer buildout and require the building owner to provide tenants with full support to meet the feature requirements. This may include providing tenants fiscal allowance to implement the feature. Additional documentation may be required in these cases, depending on the type of support provided. Lease or sales agreements that leave the cost of implementation to the tenant do not qualify.
  • Common Areas and Spaces under Owner Control: These features are required to be met in common areas and spaces under building owner control.
  • Spaces Under Owner Control: These features are required to be met only in spaces that are used by the staff operating the Core and Shell building.
  • Spaces under Owner Control with Tenant Education: These policy-based features are required to be met for the staff employed by the Core and Shell project and require the project owner to provide education to tenants regarding the benefits of the feature and its relationship to the WELL Building Standard.

Mind

Feature 84: Health and wellness awareness

Part Scope
Part 2: Health and Wellness Library
Entire Building

Feature 85: Integrative design

Part Scope
Part 1: Stakeholder Charrette
Extent of Developer Buildout
Part 2: Development Plan
Extent of Developer Buildout
Part 3: Stakeholder Orientation
Extent of Developer Buildout

Feature 87: Beauty and design I

Part Scope
Part 1: Beauty and Mindful Design
Common Areas and Spaces under Owner Control

Feature 88: Biophilia I - qualitative

Part Scope
Part 1: Nature Incorporation
Common Areas and Spaces under Owner Control
Part 2: Pattern Incorporation
Common Areas and Spaces under Owner Control
Part 3: Nature Interaction
Common Areas and Spaces under Owner Control

Feature 97: Material transparency

Part Scope
Part 1: Material Information
Extent of Developer Buildout
Part 2: Accessible Information
Extent of Developer Buildout

Feature 99: Beauty and design II

Part Scope
Part 1: Ceiling Height
Extent of Developer Buildout
Part 2: Artwork
Common Areas and Spaces under Owner Control
Part 3: Spatial Familiarity
Common Areas and Spaces under Owner Control

Feature 100: Biophilia II - quantitative

Part Scope
Part 1: Outdoor Biophilia
Entire Building
Part 3: Water Feature
Entire Building