ROCHESTER, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Well Living Lab, founded as a collaboration of Delos and Mayo Clinic, along with Harrison Street, one of the nation’s leading investment management firms exclusively focused on alternative real assets, announced today that they will partner in an upcoming Healthy Aging study series. This series of studies will investigate the impact of indoor environments on the health of older adults and build upon both independent and collective work by each organization.
Studies geared toward healthy aging are part of the Well Living Lab’s research roadmap. The Well Living Lab and Harrison Street have explored how Harrison Street’s desire to study the effects of the indoor environment in senior living communities aligns with the Well Living Lab’s mission. The genesis of the experimental design was formed and solidified by conversations between researchers and those engaged with seniors on a daily basis.
There are several indoor factors to be studied and the first area of focus will be on lighting, which can impact physical activity, social engagement, cognitive function, and fall potential for older adults. To date, the Well Living Lab has combined the expertise of building, health, and behavioral sciences to conduct human subject studies in simulated settings. As the Well Living Lab expands its research beyond the walls of the Lab to real-world settings directly within select Harrison Street and other senior living communities, the advanced capabilities of the Lab’s field study platform will allow scientists to accurately monitor the impact of indoor lighting and other environmental factors such as air quality on resident health and well-being.
“This series of healthy aging studies will provide evidence-based insights that could help inform key decisions in the senior living industry,” said Peter Scialla, Delos President and Chief Operating Officer. “The implications of this research are intended to help enhance the health, wellness, and safety of older adults and ultimately reduce aging-related costs to consumers and society. We are thrilled to partner with Harrison Street as we continue to advance our research agenda together within the senior housing sector.”
“Harrison Street has had a strong focus on health and wellness initiatives since our founding in 2005. We proactively look for industry experts and technologies that can complement our experience and knowledge,” stated Jill Brosig, Harrison Street Chief Impact Officer. “Scientifically studying how indoor spaces impact one’s health and well-being is at the core of everything the Well Living Lab does, making them a model partner to collaborate with us to better understand the convergence of building science and health science in our senior living communities and help inform ways we can enhance residents’ lives.”
Harrison Street is a member of the Well Living Lab Alliance, a consortium of more than 20 leading global organizations across a variety of industries - including real estate, building, technology, design, housing, transportation, and more - that are committed to advancing science to generate evidence-based findings which can be practically applied for societal benefit. In addition to access to the Well Living Lab’s science-based health insights and emerging trends, Alliance members also benefit from exclusive networking opportunities, knowledge-sharing, participation in the annual Alliance summit, member showcases, and educational webinars, and access to early study findings.
“Harrison Street has been actively engaged in the Well Living Lab Alliance for the past three years,” said Barbara Spurrier, Well Living Lab Executive Director. “We are excited to realize the Well Living Lab’s broader vision to expand our research from the Lab into senior living communities and generate discoveries and science-based solutions to improve the health and well-being of older adults.”
About the Well Living Lab
The Well Living Lab, founded as a collaboration of Delos and Mayo Clinic, is dedicated to identifying how indoor environments impact human health and well-being. It conducts scientific research with human subjects in simulated real-world and field environments and shares practical findings that can be applied to improving indoor spaces where people spend approximately 90 percent of their time. The Lab has 5,500 square feet of sensor-rich, reconfigurable space adjacent to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Learn more at welllivinglab.com.
About Delos
Delos is a wellness real estate and technology company guided by the mission to be the world’s leading catalyst for improving the health and well-being of people around the world by improving the indoor environments where they live, work, sleep, and play. Informed by more than seven years of research and rigorous analysis of environmental health impacts on people, Delos, and its subsidiaries offer an array of evidence-based technology and solutions for residential, commercial, and hospitality spaces. Delos is the founder of the WELL Building Standard™, the premier standard for buildings, interior spaces, and communities seeking to implement, validate, and measure features that support and advance human health and wellness. Its subsidiary, the International WELL Building Institute, administers and continues WELL’s development and drives market adoption. Delos’ advisory board is comprised of leading professionals across real estate, government policy, medicine, and sustainability. For more information about Delos, please visit delos.com.
About Harrison Street
Harrison Street is one of the leading investment management firms exclusively focused on alternative real assets. Since inception in 2005, the firm has created a series of differentiated investment solutions focused on demographic-driven, needs-based assets. The firm has invested across senior housing, student housing, healthcare delivery, life sciences and storage real estate as well as social and utility infrastructure. Headquartered in Chicago with offices in San Francisco, London and Toronto, the firm has more than 200-employees and approximately $39 billion in assets under management and is owned by its senior leadership team in partnership with Colliers International Group Inc, one of the top global players in commercial real estate, creating long-term stability and strong alignment with investors. Clients of the firm include a global institutional investor base domiciled in North America, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Latin America. Harrison Street has been awarded Best Places to Work by Pensions & Investments for the last seven consecutive years and was named 2020 Global Alternatives Investor of the Year by PERE. For more information, please visit www.harrisonst.com.
