AirRated, creator of the global benchmark for indoor air quality (IAQ), has announced major new deals with landlords across the UK property sector keen to demonstrate their commitment to healthy homes and workplaces. in recent months, AirRated has consulted on buildings developed, owned or operated by Derwent London, Legal & General Investment Management, FORE Partnership, General Projects, Brunswick Property Partners and Maurice Investments.
Survey data has found that IAQ is one of the most important factors for workers returning to offices, with 80% of UK respondents to a recent AirRated survey reporting that they had become more concerned about air quality since the start of the pandemic. 39% of respondents said workplaces were the space where they were most concerned about air quality, second only to Public Transport, which was chosen by 56% of respondents.
Since it launched in March 2020, AirRated has been commissioned to analyse the air quality of more than 10 million sq ft of space in Office, Residential, Education and Public Sector buildings in major cities around the UK. In addition to the AirScore that benchmarks a building’s performance, AirRated is able to provide monthly reports on indoor air quality to enable landlords and occupiers to monitor trends and make improvements.
Francesca Brady, CEO of AirRated, said:
“The pandemic has shifted the needle in terms of occupier expectations and we’re seeing a real gap opening up in public confidence. The return to offices in 2021 showed us that buildings that are well designed, well ventilated and well serviced were relatively well used. In contrast, large amounts of lower quality space remains mothballed more than 18 months after the beginning of the first national lockdown.
“Air Quality is top of the list of health and wellbeing priorities for the public, particularly those that live and work in cities. Air quality events like the high pollution levels London experienced in January are national news. Landlords and businesses are keen to demonstrate that their buildings take health and wellbeing seriously – while a huge amount of change is taking place in commercial real estate, one of the real trends of the post-pandemic world is the flight to quality as companies reflect on the quantity and the types of space they occupy.”
Newest to AirRated’s portfolio of clients is creative workplace developer Derwent London – whose 16-storey, 220,000 sq ft White Collar Factory office building will be assessed for an AirScore following a three-week environmental survey while the building is in use. Meanwhile its 217,000 sq ft 19-35 Baker Street building achieved a Gold rating while the 125,000-sq-ft Featherstone building is in progress to be certified with the AirScore D&O – an assessment of buildings prior to their completion.
General Projects has chosen two of its projects to be certified with an AirScore. 242 Marylebone Road has achieved a Platinum D&O score while Pollard Street in Manchester has a design assessment in progress.
Brunswick Real Estate has chosen one of its offices for AirScore certification. The 57,164 sq ft Power Road Studios in Chiswick achieved a Gold AirScore, demonstrating the project’s commitment to an occupier-first approach.
Maurice Investments’ 14 Bonhill Street building underwent an AirScore assessment, and
and most recently, Maurice Investments achieved Platinum certification for the considerate design on White Lion Street in Angel, London.
FORE Partnership achieved Gold AirScores for its flagship Cadworks development in Glasgow and its own head office in London. The 94,000 sq ft Cadworks benefits from a trailblazing wellness and sustainability strategy and is the first building in Glasgow to achieve an AirScore accreditation and net zero carbon in operation.
Basil Demeroutis from FORE partnerships said
“Our vision for Cadworks was not simply to build an exceptionally sustainable building, but also to create a workplace where people know that by coming in, they are taking positive steps to improve their wellbeing. With city centre workers ever more aware of how poor air quality affects their health, demand for clean air in workplaces has never been higher. Cadworks’ AirScore certification means that its occupiers can be confident that their health is being protected and indeed improved by coming to our building.”
Late 2021 Legal and General Investment Management (LGIM) announced a partnership with AirRated that will deliver IAQ certification to 2.3M sq ft of their commercial portfolio in the UK. AirRated has already certified 12 buildings for LGIM, including The Hyde in Watford, Apex in Reading and the 250,000 sq ft 245 Hammersmith Road, which all showed an exceptional standard of indoor air quality by achieving the Platinum rating. 120 Aldersgate Street and 26 Throgmorton Street in the City of London achieved the Gold rating.
The AirScore is a simple and reliable measure that provides the industry standard for Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in the built environment. The latest sensor technology is used to monitor five key parameters for IAQ: humidity, temperature, PM2.5, TVOCs and carbon dioxide. After a three-week monitoring period AirRated then awards an AirScore to buildings at one of four levels: Platinum, Gold, Silver or Certified. AirRated can help clients by making suggestions for remedial action prior to a re-certification if needed.
Using literature accessed online via QR codes, AirRated has also helped clients to communicate the importance of their AirScore to their tenants by explaining the five key parameters and how they impact IAQ in a clear and easily understandable manner. This not only helps occupiers to understand the air that they breathe, but also reassures them that the space they are in is both healthy and productive.
