To outsiders, the workers in this under-construction office on the northern outskirts of Beijing will look like a normal group of employees – but the workplace will be like no other in China.



Every movement of the volunteers, students and interns working there will be monitored, measured, analysed and assessed. A team of scientists will be watching these human guinea pigs in a simulated real-life environment with sensors, microphones and wearable technology to monitor their physical, mental and emotional responses to the environment or building design.

When complete, the 25,000 sq ft Well Living Lab, the first scientific research centre in Asia to focus on the indoor environment, will feature a range of simulated homes and offices. The facility will make small variations to the environment – in lighting, air quality and noise levels, for example – and monitor how they affect workers’ health, happiness and productivity. The research findings will be used to change the way future buildings are designed.

A render of the new Well Living Lab, Beijing. The 25,000 sq ft research centre will be the first in Asia to focus on the indoor environment. Photograph: Superimpose Architecture

“More and more architects, interior designers and engineers are working together with scientists for healthy design, and thinking about how to make the space more like human beings’ natural life,” says Xue Ya, Asia president at Delos Living, part of the team behind the Well Living Lab.



Planned experiments include controlling the light in offices using a series of different types of windows and imported “smart glass” panels around the building, to analyse which has the most impact on productivity. A rotating research centre can turn 360 degrees, with adjustable interior lamps changing the colour, temperature, brightness and light spectrum. Large buildups under the floor and ceilings will hide hundreds of biometric and environmental sensors to monitor and record experiments. Entrants to the building will need to pass through three layers of doors into a protected environment with triple glazing.

Architect Ruben Bergambagt of Superimpose says the design needs “ultimate flexibility” to anticipate future experiments.

“Sometimes the research will be residential-focused, or for offices, or participants will spend a few weeks living and working on site and being part of the research – they need to change the building configuration constantly,” he says.

There is an existing Well Living Lab in Rochester, Minnesota, a collaboration between Delos and the Mayo Clinic that is only a quarter of the size of the Beijing site. Researchers there have used cognitive tests, wearable and environmental sensors, observation and ethnography in initial research, and an ongoing three-year project is looking at responses to artificial lighting that simulates natural light and its impact on stress, sleep, job satisfaction and productivity.

Narrated tour of the Well Living Lab in Rochester, Minnesota.

An initial research study, published last January, involved 18 workers monitored in a simulated open-plan office in the existing Well Living Lab. Over several weeks, lighting, temperature and sound levels were varied, and their impacts on health monitored. Experiments included making the office uncomfortably cold, adding high levels of noise, and taking away or adding daylight. The researchers quickly concluded that occupants strongly preferred daylight to electric light – but if electric lights were used, then certain types of blue-enriched lamps were found to improve workers’ sleep patterns, mood and alertness.

Chinese developer Sino-Ocean, which is building the lab in Beijing as part of a wellness-themed industrial park, will use the findings to adjust the way they run and construct their buildings in China. All their new office buildings will be built to the International Well Building Institute’s (IWBI) Well standard, which sets performance requirements related to air, water, nourishment, light, fitness and comfort. An example of Well research informing design is the finding that workers are less productive if stationed more than 7.5 metres away from a window.

A demonstration bedroom in Suzhou, China. ‘You can’t control the whole country, but you can control your home, your office.’ Photograph: Delos

Beijing is still regularly heavily polluted. In March this year sandstorms helped PM2.5 air pollution reach 238μg/m3; WHO guidelines say anything above 25μg/m3 is dangerous to human health. But despite its less-than-green reputation, China is already the biggest investor by far in green technology, investing more than double the amount the US does and five times more than Britain. A report from the US-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis in January concluded that China accounts for half of the world’s $2.2tn investment in energy efficiency, and is by far the largest force in global clean energy development.

As part of its 13th five-year plan, Beijing has mandated at least half of new urban buildings must be green-certified by 2020. According to the IWBI, 220 of the world’s 871 Well-certified projects are in China. The country also ranks number one outside the US for projects certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (Leed) green building rating, home to 1,240 out of 6,657 Leed-certified projects globally.

“People at the moment are putting a lot of emphasis on health in China,” says Terry Ma, general manager at Sino-Ocean. “We want to show people that if you want to keep healthy, the inner environment – where you spend 80% of your time – is the most important. You can’t control the whole country, but you can control your home, your office.”



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