About Us

Ekkist is the UK's leading Heath and Well-being Consultancy for the Built Environment.

We were founded with the aim of promoting healthier buildings by combining the latest best practices, scientific evidence, and global health and well-being building standards for our clients. We collaborate with like-minded companies in the UK and around the world to advance the building industry's understanding of health and well-being.

We advise on all aspects of creating healthier places across all use classes, ranging from homes, to offices, to large masterplans. We support with third-party certifications, to strategic ESG documents, to thought leadership projects, to bespoke design guides. We also have our own frameworks for assessing schemes including the Healthy Homes Checklist, Design for Well-being® Framework and Office Health Reviews.

Our Expertise

Our team is composed of skilled and diverse individuals with a mix of property and non-property backgrounds. Our team includes surveyors, architects, and health specialists. This unique combination of expertise allows us to approach each project with a holistic perspective, ensuring that we provide comprehensive and tailored services to our clients. This allows us to have a broad of knowledge and experience to draw from, ensuring that we can provide the best possible service to our clients.

Our Philosophy

At Ekkist, we are dedicated to helping our clients create healthier environments for their communities using scientifically-evidenced advice that will lead to tangible change. Our mission is to lead the construction industry with our consultancy services for well-being, providing expert advice and guidance to ensure that every project we work on promotes a better quality of life for all occupants.

Meet the Team

Managing Director & Co-Founder

Olga Turner-Baker MRICS, WELL AP

Olga is Managing Director and Co-Founder of Ekkist, a design consultancy specialising in health and well-being in buildings. She is a Chartered Surveyor, WELL AP, member of the RICS Standards and Regulation Board, and former Chair of the RICS Eastern Region Board.

Olga specialises in consulting on the WELL Building Standard and was one of the first consultants in the UK to gain WELL Faculty status. In 2019, she was listed in the Forbes 30 under 30 in the ‘Manufacturing and Industry’ category for her work in health and wellbeing in the built environment.

Olga regularly speaks at events and conferences on the topic of health and well-being and is a member of several thought leadership groups on health and well-being, including the Construction Leadership Council’s health and well-being metrics group for Smart Buildings and WELL Homes Advisory Group.

Chief Operations Officer & Co-Founder

Jonathan Baker

Jonathan is the Chief Operations Officer at Ekkist, with diverse experience in marketing and as head of product management for a global manufacturing supplier.

A former Forbes 30 under 30 listee, Jonathan has a passion for growing firms’ capabilities in sustainability and well-being markets.

Jonathan oversees the Ekkist strategy and operations, ensuring a marketing-leading client service and supporting company growth objectives.

Head of Marketing & Thought-Leadership

Jade Leighton BA Hons

After two and a half years as a Health and Well-being Consultant at Ekkist, Jade moved into her role as Head of Marketing and Thought Leadership, putting to use her skills and expertise from her previous career in advertising and marketing .

Jade’s health and well-being specialisation comes from her other profession as a Holistic Nutritionist and Lifestyle Medicine Practitioner, and she continues to run her company alongside her work for Ekkist. Jade brings her first hand and academic knowledge of environmental, dietary and lifestyle impacts on human health to her thought leadership role, and offers fresh a different perspective to the team.

Ekkist Advisory Director

Ben Channon BSc mArch WELL AP

An experienced architect and WELL Accredited Professional, Ben is known across the construction industry as a thought-leader in designing healthy buildings.

Alongside his excellent track record of delivering human-led projects, Ben has written two books for RIBA Publishing on the ways in which buildings affect our mental well-being, and has spoken to businesses around the world on this subject. Ben has also advised bodies such as The WELL Building Institute and Future of London, sharing his knowledge around creating healthier places.

He is also an advocate for better mental health within the construction industry itself, having co-founded the Architects’ Mental Wellbeing Forum in 2017, and is an ambassador for the Architects’ Benevolent Society.

Associate Director

William Stewart MRICS, WELL AP

William is a highly skilled Chartered Surveyor and WELL Building Standard™ Accredited Professional who specialises in consulting on the WELL Building Standard.

Previously William worked for a property investor and developer for 6+ years where he managed a vast array of development and construction projects. He manages a range of high profile WELL projects at Ekkist, many of which are targeting WELL Platinum, for clients such as Landsec and Yoo Capital, as well as providing strategic ESG advice to major housing developers, such as Clarion and L&G.

William is passionate about creating places which benefit our health and regularly speaks on podcasts and at conferences to promote health and well-being in the built environment. William also leads the Bristol RICS Engagement Group.