Hello, Thank you Tristan for adding a WELL discussion to this site. My rpoject is an 18 floor residential project. The staircase is use for Fire exits. But to achieve the Feature 64， the accessor ask the project must to meet the following requirment:
1, the staircase and corridor and lift lobby must be ventilated and filterated to assure the air quality meet the Feature 1.
We donot think the staircase should be included in the consideration, for people will not use the stairecase regularly.
We want to khow any other project's assessor will ask this requirement?
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John Mlade
LFA, RESET ASP, WELL Faculty, LEED FellowWight & Company
LEEDuser Expert
6 thumbs up
July 27, 2016 - 10:04 am
Hi Xinrong,
Meeting the air quality requirements of Feature 1 is a precondition for the building when pursuing WELL. I also believe that stairs and lobbies should pass the air quality test as occupants are encouraged to use the stairs. The WELL Performance Verification Guidebook provides some insight into how and where the air samples will be taken. Nonetheless, assessors have some discretion, particularly for sampling CO, PM2.5, PM10 and O3 as these measurements are taken using handheld equipment. I doubt an assessor would select the stairs as one of the zones for formaldehyde of TVOC because of the required testing methodology.
It is not clear how this requirement has anything to do with Feature 64 though. In my mind, it is a good idea for the stairs to comply with Feature 1 regardless of whether Feature 64 is pursued.
There is no hard requirement for ventilation in Feature 1 or Feature 64. However, ventilation and filtering is a good strategy in support of improving air quality. It may be possible that the assessor is recommending this because construction methods, mechanical system design, or because of outdoor air quality conditions.
Xinrong Zhao
August 2, 2016 - 11:34 am
Thanks John! I understand the stairs should be ventilated and have a good air quality to comply Feature 1. But, in local requirement of Fire Escape , there should no pipe duck or facilities in the staircase. We now couldnot find ways to desgin the ventilation and filter in the staircase.
Brian Salazar
President, LEED AP, WELL APEntegra Development & Investment, LLC
56 thumbs up
August 10, 2016 - 4:46 pm
Xinrong - You may want to contact IWBI directly. They may have a work-around in cases where code conflicts with the requirement.