UNDERGRADUATE
Iris Hu—Minto Scholarship in Sustainable Practices![]()
Iris Hu—Minto Scholarship in Sustainable Practices
About the Award
For the highest mark in ASC 200 - Sustainable Practices.
Courses such as ASC200 deal with pressing issues of sustainable design and development; environmental, economic, and social concerns are thoroughly examined through evidence-based learning and analysis.
In one notable research assignment, the building rating-system of WELLv2 was critically examined in terms of its holistic sustainability. Despite WELLv2’s innumerable benefits for building occupants’ health and wellbeing, it was found to neglect its obligations to low-income communities and the outdoor environment.
From the analysis:
… Over 19,000 projects around the world successfully utilize WELL (IWBI, n.d.a), with greatest adoption by corporations (Baiceanu, 2018). For example, WELL has thousands of buildings by the thriving American investing firm JPMorgan Chase (IWBI, n.d.b). In these spaces, “addressing occupant health … [reduces] the largest line item in the 30-year cost of a building: the personnel” (Baiceanu, 2018, para. 6). However … one questions WELL’s ability to apply itself to a variety of projects, not just upscale corporate ones. Some mandatory WELL elements, like nature-themed design and fruit quotas (IWBI, 2020), may hinder WELL’s adoption in areas where these choices are unaffordable and/or incongruous … It seems that only affluent corporations in health-conscious cultures can reap [WELLv2’s] benefits.
… WELL’s mandates seem almost frivolous when, for instance, the United States is suffering from a “shortage of more than 7 million affordable homes for [the country’s] 10.8 million plus extremely low-income families” (National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2022, para. 2). While WELL offers the implementation of affordable housing units, the feature is optional and worth little (IWBI, 2020).
Lastly, WELL v2 lacks intentional measures for environmental protection. Because WELL focuses on human health, there are zero features that directly relate to wider environmental concerns like pollution or emissions (IWBI, 2020) … WELL considers only indoor air and water quality, and of these issues, only health-related concerns are examined.
For the highest mark in ASC 200 - Sustainable Practices.
Courses such as ASC200 deal with pressing issues of sustainable design and development; environmental, economic, and social concerns are thoroughly examined through evidence-based learning and analysis.
In one notable research assignment, the building rating-system of WELLv2 was critically examined in terms of its holistic sustainability. Despite WELLv2’s innumerable benefits for building occupants’ health and wellbeing, it was found to neglect its obligations to low-income communities and the outdoor environment.
From the analysis:
… Over 19,000 projects around the world successfully utilize WELL (IWBI, n.d.a), with greatest adoption by corporations (Baiceanu, 2018). For example, WELL has thousands of buildings by the thriving American investing firm JPMorgan Chase (IWBI, n.d.b). In these spaces, “addressing occupant health … [reduces] the largest line item in the 30-year cost of a building: the personnel” (Baiceanu, 2018, para. 6). However … one questions WELL’s ability to apply itself to a variety of projects, not just upscale corporate ones. Some mandatory WELL elements, like nature-themed design and fruit quotas (IWBI, 2020), may hinder WELL’s adoption in areas where these choices are unaffordable and/or incongruous … It seems that only affluent corporations in health-conscious cultures can reap [WELLv2’s] benefits.
… WELL’s mandates seem almost frivolous when, for instance, the United States is suffering from a “shortage of more than 7 million affordable homes for [the country’s] 10.8 million plus extremely low-income families” (National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2022, para. 2). While WELL offers the implementation of affordable housing units, the feature is optional and worth little (IWBI, 2020).
Lastly, WELL v2 lacks intentional measures for environmental protection. Because WELL focuses on human health, there are zero features that directly relate to wider environmental concerns like pollution or emissions (IWBI, 2020) … WELL considers only indoor air and water quality, and of these issues, only health-related concerns are examined.
Employees enjoy planters and ergonomic workstations at engineering firm Hilson Moran Manchester (Hilson Moran, 2020). As an affluent, progressive corporate office, Hilson Moran is the ideal candidate for WELLv2.