The Healthy by Design Building Institute (HDBI) has awarded Navana Property Group IMMUNE Building Standard™ certification for One Palace Place, a luxury apartment building managed by the company in central London. It is the first time that a residential asset has achieved certification.
The standard was launched in 2020 by developer Genesis Property, a leading member of the European Property Federation, to combat the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic through better design and management of buildings, supporting wider wellbeing initiatives across the built environment. Developed initially for offices and industrial spaces, the global standard has now been expanded this year to also cover residential assets.
Navana achieved the IMMUNE™-Strong label for One Palace Place which includes 35 private apartments, alongside a 312-seat theatre, studio, restaurant, and bar open to the wider public. An independent IMMUNE™ assessor considered Navana’s operational practices alongside the fabric of the building, its design and how it is maintained.
Navana’s path to certification included making targeted interventions in spaces where people frequently interact. These spanned putting in place touchless systems and automatic hand sanitisers in the main entrance and lift lobbies. The company also increased the cleaning frequency of high-touch and footfall areas such as the main entrance, lifts and stairwells. Staff underwent additional training and special consideration was given to spaces often used by Navana’s team and external contractors to help reduce their potential to spread infections, as well as keeping them safe.
Mark Fitzgerald, managing director of Navana Property Group, said: “Last year people probably spent more time at home than ever before, but while we’ve seen changes in the way offices, transport hubs and shops are managed to keep people safe, there’s been little discussion about what should happen in a multi-residential setting. People want reassurance, particularly as we learn to live with Covid-19 and prepare for possible future outbreaks. This is not about creating sterile spaces, but about making sensible design and management changes. IMMUNE™ certification shows our commitment as a professional property and asset manager to do everything we can to keep our customers healthy and well.”
Liviu Tudor, founder of Genesis Property and president of the European Property Federation, said: “This is another major step in our journey started in April 2020, shortly after the pandemic outbreak, when we initiated IMMUNE Building Standard™ as a blueprint for the healthy buildings of the future. We've come a long way since and we have leveraged relevant expertise in creating healthier built environments where people spend most of their time in, at home and at work. Our track record with this innovative standard and Navana’s visionary approach led to the first IMMUNE™ certified residential building in the world, paving the way for our post-pandemic homes.”
IMMUNE Building Standard™ is a coherent index of standardised measures, grounded in science, designed and developed to assess and certify the resilience of the built environment. Build Green, an independent authorised building assessor and a contributor to the development of the standard, evaluate and recommends properties to become IMMUNE™ certified with one of the three labels: Strong (3 stars), Powerful (4 stars) or Resilient (5 stars).
