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CIJEurope.com: Advance Tower in Budapest officially becomes a WELL-certified, human-centred office building
Advance Tower located on Budapest’s Váci Road office corridor has become the latest office building to receive WELL certification. The WELL Building Standard™ rates spaces that improve human health and well-being worldwide. Due to the International WELL Building Institute’s (IWBI) recent acknowledgement, two out of the three already WELL-certified office complexes in Hungary were developed by Futureal. Since 2020 Advance Tower has been part of Erste Open-Ended Euro Real Estate Investment Fund’s portfolio.
The purpose of the WELL certification is to create office buildings that, in addition to protecting the environment, have a beneficial impact on employees’ health and well-being. The Washington-based IWBI’s system examines projects based on 10 categories including air, thermal comfort, light, community, mind, movement, water, sound, materials and nourishment.
In Hungary Futureal’s Corvin Technology Park on Corvin Promenade was the first office project to become WELL-certified in 2021. This year both the Advance Tower’s first phase with a GLA of 12,100 sq m and the second phase with a GLA of 8,000 sq m achieved WELL Gold certification. The office complex was designed and is being operated according to the WELL Building Standard™ and it was also awarded with BREEAM sustainability certificate. The glass surfaces of the 8-storey, category “A” Advance Tower receive a significant proportion of natural light. Its intelligent building management system ensures mechanical and electrical systems operate at an optimal level to maximise energy efficiency. The entire office building is supplied with smart solutions and sustainable technologies including a rooftop garden with an intelligent irrigation system, low-emission heating and cooling system with UV-C germicidal air disinfection system on the supply side of the office comfort ventilation system and leak detection system.
Advance Tower has been chosen by prestigious companies such as APEX, KPMG Global Services consulting company and Thermo Fisher Scientific, one of the world’s leaders in serving science. The next generation office development project was acquired by Futureal’s long-term partner partner Erste Open-Ended Euro Real Estate Investment Fund in 2020, which was a significant step for the investment firm towards creating a portfolio of office buildings with excellent international tenant mix and high technical quality.
“ESG principles will continue to be a key priority in the operation of our properties. We have solid sustainability requirements, and we are working with our tenants in order to meet them. Advance Tower’s WELL rating is also an indication that ESG is becoming more prominent in our investment decisions and we are striving to increase the ESG compliance of our real estate funds in their day-to-day operations. We intend to continue to play a pioneering role in the compliance of Hungarian real estate funds with ESG criteria”, stressed Balázs Pázmány, Chairman of the Board of Erste Asset Management Ltd.
“Futureal aims to be at the forefront of sustainable development to create healthy, environment friendly, creative and productive spaces that attract and retain talents as well as improve ESG performance. It is demonstrated by the fact that two out of the three WELL-certified office buildings in Hungary were realized by our company. The WELL Building Standard will define the next decade of the real estate industry and we are committed to building all of our forthcoming office projects in line with it, as we focus on advancing comfort, well-being and health,” said Gábor Radványi, Chief Architect of Futureal Development.
Read the full article on cijeurope.com.