Best in Building Health Top Ambassador Spotlight: Katie Luong, Brightworks Sustainability

Best in Building HealthFitwel AmbassadorsFitwel Providers & PartnersViral Response Module
Written By Marcos Reynaga

As part of this year’s Best in Building Health awards, we’re pleased to announce our first annual Top 20 Ambassadors List.

This new initiative shines a spotlight on industry-leading professionals from across the globe who have demonstrated exemplary engagement, leadership, and achievements as Fitwel Ambassadors. The honorees were selected out of a competitive group of nearly 4,000 professionals across 50+ countries worldwide for their success in project registrations and Fitwel certifications, and the number of people impacted through those efforts.

We’re kicking off a Q&A series with these healthy building experts to celebrate their stories, motivations, and insights, starting with Katie Luong of Fitwel Provider Brightworks Sustainability.

AT A GLANCE

Image: Katie Luong, Consultant, Brightworks Sustainability.

Name: Katie Luong

Role: Consultant

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Ambassador Since: May 2019

Katie is a valuable member of the Brightworks Sustainability team, serving clients across the United States from their Los Angeles office. As a Fitwel Ambassador, Katie has extensive experience helping clients achieve Fitwel certification for multiple building types, including commercial interiors, multi-tenant base buildings, and multifamily residential.

The combination of her passion for health and wellness and experience in the field makes her a stand-out Fitwel Ambassador. To date, she has contributed to the certification of 61 buildings, including Salesforce’s Global HQ in San Francisco, CA, which achieved the Highest Scoring Viral Response Module as part of the Best in Building Health awards this year. This project impressively pursued 98.5% of Fitwel Viral Response Module strategies designed to safeguard occupant health and wellness and mitigate viral transmission in buildings.

Learn more about what Best in Building Health means to her and how becoming an Ambassador has impacted her personally and professionally.

How does Building Health align with your values and Brightwork’s mission?
Best in Building Health involves projects that went above and beyond to prioritize health and wellness through design and operations. From large-scale community developments to a single office building, the Fitwel framework truly makes it accessible for anybody interested in the wellness space. The degree of flexibility provided by the Fitwel Standard allows me to provide customized approaches for my clients. I believe promoting health and wellness can drive market transformation for the better while supporting healthier lifestyles. Brightworks Sustainability cares deeply about the well-being of the people who are part of the places we help create.”

Why did you choose to become an Ambassador?
I first heard about the Fitwel Ambassador program through press and media. I chose to become a Fitwel Ambassador because I found the framework to be refreshingly simple and easy to understand.

How has becoming a Fitwel Ambassador impacted your life and career?
“I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to work on most Fitwel projects at my firm. I became Brightworks’ in-house Fitwel expert, which gives me a sense of purpose and fulfillment in my career. My work and relationships in the wellness space continue to evolve and I am excited to see more Fitwel adoption in the future.

Fitwel Course: Public Spaces - A Foundation for Community Health
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What are some of your favorite projects you’ve helped certify?
A few stand out for me. First, Salesforce HQ, where I worked with the Salesforce team to achieve the Highest Scoring VRM as part of Best in Building Health this year. I am beyond thrilled that each office team was willing to participate to truly create a safe working environment for their employees.

Second, I worked with Brookfield 5M, a unique mixed-use development that became the first Fitwel Community project in downtown San Francisco. A key highlight of the project is Mary Court, which contributes to social engagement and physical activity.

With Llewellyn Apartments (Fitwel Multifamily Residential), it was a pleasure working with High Street Residential to prioritize the health and wellness of their residents by implementing healthy food vendors and ample amenities for social resident engagement.

Cityline was another Fitwel Community project I really enjoyed. Working with the Sares Regis team on the six-block downtown redevelopment doesn’t come every day and I am impressed by their commitment to make it feel like a true community. Key highlights include designing walkability for several community assets, and including heavy community engagement from the very beginning.

What is your favorite Fitwel Strategy?
My favorite strategy is the lactation rooms for Workplaces. It is the most heavily weighted strategy but the most important, especially for mothers to feel they are comfortable and to have the privacy to step away from work. I am always pushing for this strategy to be included in office amenity design to make the workplace more inclusive.

About Brightworks Sustainability
As an early adopter of Fitwel, Brightworks Sustainability is pleased to have delivered over 6.5 million square feet of Fitwel certified space since the program’s founding in 2017. Brightworks' Fitwel portfolio ranges across the United States, including the first Fitwel certified projects in Hawaii and Ohio and two of the largest Fitwel certified developments to date - the Brookfield Properties 5M development in San Francisco and the Sares Regis Cityline development in Sunnyvale, California. Fitwel supports Brightworks and our clients in advancing strategies to improve public health outcomes in the communities we serve. By joining the inaugural cohort of Fitwel Proven Providers, we are excited to further leverage Fitwel for clients who aim to deliver best-in-class space.

Properties shown in image gallery:

  1. Salesforce Tower, San Francisco, CA. Photo Courtesy of Salesforce.

  2. 5M (View of Mary Court East + West), Fitwel Community, San Francisco, CA. Photo Courtesy of Brookfield Properties.

  3. Llewellyn Apartments, Fitwel Multifamily Residential, Los Angeles, CA. Photo Courtesy of High Street Residential.

  4. Cityline, Fitwel Community, Sunnyvale, CA. Photo Courtesy of Sares Regis.

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Marcos Reynaga
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