The world’s first office building awarded with The IMMUNE Building Standard

Mace, the international consultancy and construction company based in London, has obtained the first IMMUNE Building Standard™ certification in the world for its headquarters located in the City of London. The landmark office building in London’s historic centre and primary central business district has achieved a Powerful IMMUNE™ label, recognising the successful measures implemented to keep employees safe during a global pandemic and confirming its resilience to health risks. The IMMUNE™ Powerful certificate and plaque were awarded to Mace’s team, represented by board members and team members from the project management and facility management divisions, in a virtual ceremony in early December.

The IMMUNE Building Standard™ is a global open-source standard designed specifically to help combat health risks in the workplace, reduce fears, particularly in the context of Covid-19, and build trust among employers and employees in their efforts to safely return to the office.

Pioneered by Liviu Tudor, European business-property entrepreneur and president of the European Property Federation, and developed in Romania together with an international team of experts in health, technology, architecture, constructions, engineering, and facility management, the IMMUNE Building Standard™ serves as a blueprint to improve the immunity of office buildings against pandemics and other bacteriological or toxicological threats.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has radically changed the way we live, work and interact and has underscored how important it is for companies around the world to be prepared for such a crisis. Excepting hospitals, clinics and “clean rooms” dedicated to scientific research, no other building has been truly prepared so far to face a pandemic challenge like Covid-19. Mace has shown outstanding leadership in boosting the immune system of its workplace and certifying its resilience with IMMUNE™. I am happy to congratulate Mace on this impressive achievement and I am confident that this is just the first step towards ensuring healthier office environments across the globe”, said Liviu Tudor, founder of Genesis Property and president of the European Property Federation.

In the past months, Mace has applied extensive measures from the collection of 120+ IMMUNE™ criteria recommended for safer and healthier workplace environments, building on its “safety first” culture, and has now achieved the Powerful label for its headquarters, equivalent to 4 stars out of 5. The certification is based on the IMMUNE™ exhaustive assessment process conducted by Build Green, an independent authorised building assessor and a contributor to the development of the IMMUNE™ standard.

“The IMMUNE Building Standard™ demonstrably recognises the health and wellbeing measures we have implemented at Mace’s headquarters in London, keeping our employees safe during the pandemic. The Facilities Management team at Mace has worked in partnership with colleagues from across the business to allow operations to continue from all our offices, implementing control measures that focus on the wellbeing of all our staff. Coupled with flexible working arrangements, we have created a workplace environment for our colleagues where they can work and perform safely”, says Maud Santamaria, Head of Workplace Experience at Mace. The company has health, safety and wellbeing firmly ingrained in its philosophy, a culture that is today more relevant than ever, overarching employees, business partners and communities the company is part of.

The 120+ measures for IMMUNE™ buildings

The IMMUNE™ standard is inspired by technologies and procedures developed and successfully applied in hospitals and medical clinics, adapted for use in offices. Specifically, the standard is based on an IMMUNE™ Assessment Scoring Index including 120+ measures recommended for implementation in buildings, that includes technical solutions for architectural engineering, technology and design, as well as operational protocols applied permanently or ready to activate in specific risk scenarios.

The IMMUNE Building Standard™ was initiated in response to the Covid-19 pandemics and was developed in a very short timeframe, mid-pandemic, following a one million euro investment in research and development, testing and implementation. The standard is dedicated to office buildings and can also be adapted for buildings in use for hospitality, retail, health care, education or residential purposes.

Following the certification of Mace’s headquarters, an office building in Romania is in progress to be the first awarded with the highest IMMUNE™ label – Resilient, equivalent to 5 stars out of 5. The building is Ericsson’s headquarters in Romania, located in the H3 building of West Gate Business District owned by Genesis Property, and is set to receive the certification in the near future.

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About Genesis Property

Genesis Property is one of the most important class A offices developers in Romania. With over 20 years of experience in the industry, the company owns over 150,000 square meters of Class A office space that houses over 20,000 employees: Novo Park in Pipera and West Gate Business District in the Military area. Genesis Property is also the developer of the first private student campus in Romania, West Gate Studios, and of Studio One Accommodation Suites, a 4-star accommodation unit.