After a nine-month, €375,000 retrofit, an office building in Bucharest, Romania has become the first building to achieve the toughest certification of the Immune Building Standard, developed to guard occupants against communicable diseases like Covid-19.
The 15,500-sq-m "Building H3" in the West Gate Business District, fully occupied by Ericsson, achieved 119 of 135 measures required for the Immune Resilient certification, including rounded corners in bathrooms for easier cleaning, hydrogen peroxide ions in the ventilation system to oxidise organic particles in the air, touchless doorways and lighting, and a dedicated isolation room for anyone who becomes infected.
The building now has a dedicated isolation room for anyone who becomes infected (Genesis Property)
The building is owned by developer Genesis Property, whose founder Liviu Tudor led the development of the Immune standard. Tudor is also president of the European Property Federation.
The standard claims to be the first, open source global certification for disease resistant buildings.Â
"We are no longer in the business of building walls, but in the endeavour of building trust," Tudor said in a press release.
Sensors monitor air quality (Genesis Property)
Other measures included giving elevator buttons and vending machines self-cleaning surfaces, repainting staircases with antimicrobial paint, limiting elevator occupancy and UV lighting in the elevator shafts clean the air.
Bathrooms got touchless soap dispensers and lighting, and a digital dashboard monitors air quality.
The building now has an "Immune Warehouse" fully equipped with PPE.
Measures include doors you can open with your arm (Genesis Property)
"When employees come back to their workplace, we want to welcome them to a physical environment where they feel safe, comfortable and will have fewer sick leaves caused by viral diseases such as Covid-19 or the seasonal flu," said Tudor. "We believe that it is our responsibility as developers to bring to the market a building with a real healthy performance that enables a healthy experience."
Awarded by an independent, third-party assessor, the Immune standard has three levels: Strong (3 stars), Powerful (4 stars) or Resilient (5 stars).
Images courtesy of Genesis Property
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