Säterinportti Campus achieves the first-ever well-being cerificate for a Finnish property
The Säterinportti office campus in Leppävaara, Espoo, is the first ever property in Finland to have been awarded the international WELL Certificate. Säterinportti achieved the gold level of the WELL Core and Shell Certificate. WELL considers a building’s impact on the health and wellbeing of its users from seven different aspects. This is a rare occasion, as only a few individual properties in the Nordics have achieved the certification
At Säterinportti, significant investments have been made for the wellbeing of people working there, both in terms of comfort and building services. The property owner, Nordika, re-defined the campus concept and as part of the implementation, a unique Playground concept was established where different tenants could meet and interact. Nordika has also upgraded the property and offers mobile work stations, a café with great coffee and a high quality restaurant with locally produced food with a healthy profile. Special attention has been given to indoor air quality, ventilation and improved lighting in the building. The work to implement the concept has been carried out by the local asset management partner, Trevian.
“Employee wellbeing has been the development focus of the Säterinportti campus from the start. We want to offer our tenants in Säterinportti something more than only square metres, space where it is good to be and work. Research tells us that the workspace has a significant impact on our comfort and wellbeing, which in turn increases productivity of the employees and hence of the whole firm. The WELL Certificate is a manifestation showing that we have been successful in this work“, says Robert Högström, Head of Property Management at Nordika.
A rare accomplishment in the Nordics
In the WELL Core & Shell Certification, the impact of workspace on human wellbeing is evaluated in seven different categories related to building services and comfort. The property must invest in all seven categories, in order to have a chance to be certified. The categories are air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort and mind. Evaluation in all categories is based on scientific research, and on-location auditing includes measurements of e.g. indoor air quality and acoustics.
Tenants have been satisfied with the development of Säterinportti, too. Marketing Director Maria Heimonen at the tenant eCraft was involved already at the planning stage of the new wellbeing concept of Säterinportti, and she highlights the importance of workspace wellbeing for IT companies.
“Our employees have been very satisfied with Säterinportti. Wellbeing is visible in everything we do. We have a very high workplace satisfaction rate, relatively few sick leaves, and in general a healthy work-life balance. We believe that the working day must become an integral part of people’s wellbeing and recovery, and I do think we have succeeded in this”, says Maria Heimonen.
Director Heimonen believes that a wellbeing-focused workspace also offers business benefits.
“Competition for skilled IT professionals is extremely fierce, so we want to differentiate from our competition by investments in employee wellbeing and professional development. A workspace that supports general wellbeing has a big role in this equation”, she says.
Development of wellbeing will continue at Säterinportti.
“The WELL Certificate has to be renewed every three years, and we naturally plan to keep it. However, wellbeing is a whole ideology for us at Säterinportti, not merely a way of getting recognition”, says Antti Venermo, Director at Trevian Asset Management.
A joint effort of more than ten companies
The Säterinportti concept or workplace wellbeing has been an extensive project where the property owner, Nordika wanted to drive change. The other parties involved include Trevian as the local Asset Manager, Visiomo for the planning and design, Räihä for interior design, Espoon Haba as gym and exercising consulting, Soupster for restaurant services and nourishment consulting, CBRE for Project Management and Construction Management, Sitowise for HPAC and electricity planning and Construction Management, Helimäki Akustikot for acoustic design, Newsec for Technical Property Management, Lillehammer for space and interior planning, Naava for the green walls, and Green Building Partners, a consultant for wellbeing and WELL-certification. Representing tenant companies at Säterinportti, eCraft and CastorIT were involved in the project.
“It is with great satisfaction that joint forces with many parties involved has managed to not only achieve the certification – but to actually offer a truly unique work place for the people in our building. It is for the people we do this. A previously vacant and somewhat gloomy office campus is now amongst the most attractive work places in the Helsinki metropolitan area office market”, says Jonas Grandér, CEO of Nordika
