New RICS guide to healthy buildings design & delivery: What does it say about lighting for wellbeing?

Lighting for wellbeing finds its way into a new landmark guide for buildings specifiers, published by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
 
Launched in October 2023, the document, titled ‘The design, delivery and management of healthy buildings: a practical guide’ - is part of new strategic collaboration with The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI). The IWBI’s WELL Building Standard is the world’s leading roadmap for creating and certifying spaces that advance health and well-being, already used by more than 44,000 projects worldwide.

Together, these leading organisations will encourage built environment professionals to adopt strategies that advance health and well-being in buildings and organisations worldwide. They will place particular focus on integrating health and well-being into the valuation of properties, working to advance benchmarking, regulatory frameworks, and standards, with an emphasis on the built environment sector in Europe. RICS’ new guidance has also been informed by the IWBI’s standards among many others.

‘Go to’ guide on design for wellbeing 

RICS’ new guide builds on its International Building Operation Standards (IBOS). One of Europe’s best respected design for wellbeing consultancies, Ekkist, is the lead author of the document. It already looks set to become a go-to playbook for anyone aiming to design ‘buildings for health’.

The new RICS guide sets out guidance for the practicalities of designing a healthy building. The information covers every stage of a project, from the initial definition through to running the completed building. It sets out various ways in which planning and construction professionals can include features that promote health and well-being, or mitigate factors that damage health. This ranges from improving air quality to tackling loneliness – and, importantly, the authors make a clear connection between wellbeing and effective lighting. 

RICS guide highlights 

The guide highlights:

• Why guidance is needed
• The impact of buildings on our health
• The role of health and wellbeing in ESG
• Health and wellbeing in the construction process
• Next steps and further guidance

The guide contains a short, but helpful section on lighting - with a specific focus on the specification of circadian lighting that can help to support human circadian rhythms. It includes a checklist of typical interventions to consider: 

• Reducing risk of flicker and glare
• Colour rendering index (CRI) criteria to accurately represent colour
• Circadian lighting systems
• Balancing contrast and brightness for neurodiversity

The guide also advises specifiers to be aware of glare and flicker - both are often associated with health issues ranging from visual discomfort and eye fatigue to headaches and migraines.

The guidance on lighting concludes with a simple - but positive message:

Specifying circadian lighting, where appropriate, or dimmable lighting can also help to support human circadian rhythms, sleep health and productivity, and is particularly important in spaces without access to natural light.”

How to access a copy of the RICS guide

Click to access a copy of RICS: The design, delivery and management of healthy buildings: a practical guide. [A PDF of the document should download automatically] 

Keep learning about wellbeing

Tamlite was one of the first lighting manufacturers to embrace the concept of ‘Lighting for Wellbeing’. We understand the crucial role that lighting plays in creating environments that promote productivity, enhance mood, and improve overall health. Our commitment to this concept has driven us to develop innovative lighting solutions that not only illuminate spaces, but also positively influence the well-being of individuals.

We offer a CIBSE Approved CPD that captures and communicates the fundamentals of our expertise in this area. It covers all the aspects of how lighting can influence wellbeing across various areas of our lives – with a particular emphasis on the workplace.

Book our Lighting for Wellbeing CPD now. Experience the flexibility of choosing between in-person or online delivery, tailored to your needs.