FLOORING designer and manufacturer Milliken says it’s been awarded WELL certification at the platinum level for its Clerkenwell showroom by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI).

The distinction was awarded through IWBI’s WELL v2 pilot, the next version of the WELL Building Standard. WELL is the premier building standard to focus on enhancing people’s health and wellness through the buildings where we live, work and play.

Milliken’s three-storey showroom is a multi-functional space used as a gallery for showcasing flooring collections, sample storage and distribution, client meetings, hospitality and events, meeting space and as a flexible work and wellbeing hub for Milliken employees.

Created through seven years of rigorous research and development working with leading physicians, scientists, and industry professionals, the WELL Building Standard is a performance-based certification system that marries best practices in design and construction with evidence-based scientific research.

Milliken’s London showroom at 5 Berry Street earned the distinction based on 10 categories of building performance — air, water, nourishment, light, movement, thermal comfort, sound, materials, mind, and community — and achieved a platinum level rating. Platinum is the highest of the three WELL certification levels achievable.

‘We congratulate our friends at Milliken for achieving WELL certified platinum for their London showroom,’ said IWBI President and chief executive Rachel Hodgdon.

‘It’s our pleasure to celebrate Milliken’s outstanding leadership with this latest achievement as the first UK project to be WELL certified under WELL v2, and to do so at the highest level of certification. As an industry leader Milliken has underscored its commitment to advancing people first places and is inspiring others to support human health and wellbeing.’

Alison Kitchingman, Milliken’s marketing and design director, commented: ‘We’re extremely excited and proud that our stunning Clerkenwell showroom is the first showroom/retail space in the UK to be WELL certified. To receive the highest level of certification – platinum – is an amazing achievement and reflects our philosophy and commitment to wellbeing in all the spaces we help create.’

Some of the many features that reportedly helped Milliken’s London showroom achieve platinum status include:

• mind – employee support and promotion for mental health since 2016
• movement – movement network and circulation, free yoga classes and floorcoverings to aid circulation and engagement
• materials – declare and cradle-to-cradle – silver certification for flooring and declare for desking
• sound – background noise managed with cushion-backed carpet, window units and HVAC with minimal noise pollution
• air – installation of indoor air quality monitors

WELL is grounded in a body of evidence-based research that explores the connection between the buildings where we spend approximately 90% of our time, and the health and wellness impacts on the people inside these buildings.

To be awarded WELL certification by IWBI, Milliken’s London showroom underwent rigorous testing and a final evaluation carried out by Green Business Certification Inc (GBCI), which is the third-party certification body for WELL, to ensure it met all WELL certified platinum performance requirements.

Milliken says it’s a leading supplier of floorcoverings, with a history of delivering dynamic carpet and luxury vinyl tile collections from its award-winning design studios and manufacturing facilities in Wigan, UK.

‘Combining global insight with national expertise and proprietary technologies, Milliken is at the forefront of innovation and design, offering high-performance, expertly-engineered products,’ it says.