The Ultimate Zen Home

New building certification based on your wellness

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to talk with Roh Habibi, agent with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in San Francisco and Million Dollar Listing San Francisco star, about his business and trends he is seeing in the Bay Area. Roh was a treasure trove of great insights, but there was one thing he shared with me that really piqued my interest – Well Buildings.

I’ve never heard the term before so when I asked Roh to elaborate I became captivated with his description of building homes, businesses, hospitals, schools – you name it – from the perspective of human wellness.

The Well Building Standard states that it “focuses on human wellness within the built environment. It identifies specific conditions, that when holistically integrated into building architecture and design, enhance the health and well-being of the occupants.” The standards and measurements are grouped into seven categories: Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Fitness, Comfort and Mind. A certified building or home must reach a certain score in each of the categories.

During a recent smart home discussion hosted by Coldwell Banker, I heard someone refer to the home as a conscious home. As our homes become more conscious due to the Internet of Things (IoT) within them, I can see how Well Buildings will flourish. Imagine that your home not only has the ability to make decisions based on your historical use without you having to make a decision (say for instance the temperature in your house), coupled with a living environment that was built with your wellness in mind. And the thing is we don’t have to imagine – it’s here.

Photo credit: Flickr user Vincent Carrella

Athena Snow

Senior Manager, Public Relations & Giving for Coldwell Banker. Grew up in Sarasota and attended college at Western Carolina University. Athena wanted to wake up in that city that doesn’t sleep so headed to Madison Avenue to start her marketing career. She has been with this awesome brand for more than 15 years and can be found generating buzz about CB in every way possible. Athena helps to grow the brand’s position as the most storied real estate company within the industry and has led many high-profile endeavors; she was at the forefront of the brand’s pioneering smart home campaign, raised $6 million in two years to build 130 Habitat for Humanity homes, and led the Homes for Dogs program in partnership with Adopt-a-Pet.com that resulted in tens-of-thousands of dogs finding their furever home. She currently leads the CB Supports St. Jude program, which encourages the Coldwell Banker network’s 96,000+ real estate agents to make donations to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital for every real estate transaction they represent. In her spare time, you can find her either digging up a new area in her yard for another flower bed or planning her next travel adventure. She's the proud mom of three cats Jolene, Ziggy and Lucy.