BOSTON — Green Cities Company announced their recently completed Boston property, Bower, has been awarded the 2021 Fitwel Best in Building Health Award, its flagship recognition program that identifies buildings enhancing human health via Fitwel®, the world’s leading certification system committed to building health for all.
With nearly 2,000 registered projects and more than 660 certified projects, Bower has been recognized to help lead and inspire the healthy building movement.
This year’s winners were identified based on Fitwel’s project data, which captured a year
marked by unprecedented challenges due to the global pandemic, met with impressive agility and responsiveness by leaders of the global real estate industry. Fitwel is a rigorous, third-party healthy building certification system operated by CfAD that sets the industry standard for evidence-based strategies to promote positive health outcomes for occupants and communities.
“Our team is thrilled to receive this national distinction in supporting the health of our tenants,” said Kelly Saito, Principal at The Green Cities Company. “Fitwel’s certification framework is a complement to the human-centered focus we have and will continue to take on in our investment management work.”
Many features of Bower were designed for deliberate health and wellness benefits, supported by a growing body of research. Exploring Bower, opportunities may be found to experience restoration, wonder, comfort and safety. Spaces are provided to induce feelings of happiness, improved mental concentration, reduced fatigue, reduced stress, blood pressure and heart rate.
A few examples include:
● Daylight & Views: Bower residents are especially connected to the outdoors through
plentiful amounts of daylight and views. Access to daylight allows residents to
experience changing sunlight and weather patterns, which are beneficial to mental
alertness. Its windows feature a light-sensitive coating that automatically adjusts to
outside light conditions, therefore reducing glare and eliminating the need to lower
window shades. This technology allows residents extended connection to the outdoors
and daylight at more times of the day unobstructed by closed window shades.
● Spaciousness: Bower features an indoor garden room with tall ceilings and skylights to
the outdoors. The spaciousness of this room provides an enhanced environment for
creative thought and meditation. Studies have shown student test scores to improve
when spending time in tall spaces versus those tested in very low-ceiling rooms.
● Living Plants: A variety of live (but not edible) plants throughout the common spaces of
Bower provides reassurance and comfort to our senses.
● Wonder: Art installations, skylights and unique architectural features located throughout
Bower offer opportunities to experience wonder and subtly alter attitudes for us all to be
a kinder to one another.
● Pleasing Forms: The look of certain forms can look and feel more natural than others
because man-made objects are typically manufactured using comparatively simplified
rules and inputs while naturally formed objects are often the result of more complex
inputs and processes. When designing Bower, Green Cities ensured that natural forms
were placed throughout the building to help their residents to reduce stress levels.
● Gratitude: Bower provides residents with volunteering opportunities to practice
recognition and gratitude to help put them on a virtuous cycle of improved mental health
and happiness.
● Immersive Nature Experience: Bower offers a lush landscaped sanctuary from the
surrounding busy streets and just a 5-minute walk delivers residents to the Back Bay
Fens, Boston’s popular spot for birders and an eclectic mix of walking paths, historic
structures, memorials, public gardens and spaces for passive and active sports.
Exploring the Fens offers an immersive nature experience in the middle of Boston’s Back
Bay.
