About Us

Ekkist is the UK’s first health and well-being consultancy for the built environment.

Founded with the goal of creating healthier buildings by bringing together current best practice, scientific evidence and the application of global health and well-being building standards for our clients, we wanted to set up a consultancy collaborating with like-minded people and companies, working to advance the building industry’s understanding of health and well-being.

Our team is made up of diverse and talented individuals from both a property and non-property background to ensure a wide-reaching knowledge and experience base.

We advise on all aspects of creating healthier places, ranging from private homes to large masterplans, strategic ESG documents to design guides, working across all use classes.

Our mission is to provide clients with the advice they need to create healthier places to live, work and play, and to lead the construction industry in consultancy services for well-being.

EKKIST CORE TEAM

Olga Turner

Managing Director & Co-founder

MRICS, WELL AP

Olga is a Chartered Surveyor and WELL Building Standard™ Accredited Professional. She has a strong consultancy track record of UK and international projects, ranging from small boutique residential schemes to large masterplans, which she advised on during her time as a Residential Development Consultant at Savills and CBRE. Olga led the day-to-day residential consultancy for ... (more)

Olga is a Chartered Surveyor and WELL Building Standard™ Accredited Professional. She has a strong consultancy track record of UK and international projects, ranging from small boutique residential schemes to large masterplans, which she advised on during her time as a Residential Development Consultant at Savills and CBRE.

Olga led the day-to-day residential consultancy for Peabody’s Thamesmead masterplan and Capco’s Earl’s Court, as well as designing a consultancy framework for advising on design for wellbeing, and in 2016 was shortlisted as one of the industry’s Rising Stars by the Estates Gazette. She was also selected as an industry mentor by the President of the RICS, taking part in the RICS international women mentoring programme in 2017.

In August 2017, Olga left CBRE to set up Ekkist and now leads the design of Ekkist’s products and propositions for Build, Blueprint and Bespoke, as well as the delivery of services for Ekkist Advisory.

She studied Geography at the London School of Economics and holds a Masters in International Planning and Urban Design from the Bartlett School of Architecture at UCL.

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Jonathan Baker

Director & Co-founder

Jonathan has a background in management and marketing, having overseen a range of high profile projects during his time at Zurich Insurance, both in London and across the UK. He has worked with senior stakeholders to create and successfully implement marketing strategies, including the development and launch of new products, brand campaigns and operational change ... (more)

Jonathan has a background in management and marketing, having overseen a range of high profile projects during his time at Zurich Insurance, both in London and across the UK. He has worked with senior stakeholders to create and successfully implement marketing strategies, including the development and launch of new products, brand campaigns and operational change programmes, and his skills lie in product development and implementation.

More recently, he was responsible for the management, performance and development of three of the largest broker accounts across the UK. In September 2017, Jonathan left Zurich to set up Ekkist, where he is responsible for operational management, finance and marketing.

Jonathan holds a degree in Geography from the London School of Economics, and has a Diploma from the Chartered Insurance Institute.

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Ben Channon

Director, Ekkist Advisory

BSc (Hons) March RIBA WELL AP

Ben is an architect, author, TEDx speaker, WELL AP and mental health advocate, and is well known in the industry as a thought leader in designing for happiness and wellbeing. He has nearly ten years of experience in the architectural sector and developed a specific interest in design for mental health and happiness after experiencing ... (more)

Ben is an architect, author, TEDx speaker, WELL AP and mental health advocate, and is well known in the industry as a thought leader in designing for happiness and wellbeing. He has nearly ten years of experience in the architectural sector and developed a specific interest in design for mental health and happiness after experiencing anxiety in his mid-twenties. This led him to research the relationship between buildings and happiness which formed the basis of his first book: Happy by Design. Ben now speaks on this subject to businesses and universities worldwide.

Ben qualified as a WELL Accredited Professional in 2019, and in 2020 he joined the WELL Mind Advisory panel, using his expertise to raise the bar for healthy buildings worldwide.

He also co-founded the Architects’ Mental Wellbeing Forum, which is focused on improving mental health within the industry. He is also an accredited mindfulness practitioner with the Mindfulness Association and is interested in how buildings can help us to be more mindful and present every day.

Jade Leighton

Head of Marketing & Thought Leadership

Jade works as Ekkist’s Head of Marketing and Thought Leadership. Jade’s health and well-being specialisation comes from the fact that she is a Registered Nutritionist and fully qualified Lifestyle Medicine Practitioner. She also has extensive experience in client services, after six years working in the advertising industry. (more)

Jade works as Ekkist’s Head of Marketing and Thought Leadership. Jade’s health and well-being specialisation comes from the fact that she is a Registered Nutritionist and fully qualified Lifestyle Medicine Practitioner. She also has extensive experience in client services, after six years working in the advertising industry.

William Stewart

Health & Well-being Advisor

MRICS, WELL AP

William is a Health and Well-being consultant at Ekkist and a Chartered commercial property surveyor with 6+ years of working for a commercial property investor and developer. In 2019 William graduated from UCL with an MSc in Project Management from the Bartlett School of Architecture. Many of the lessons learnt from this masters degree are ... (more)

William is a Health and Well-being consultant at Ekkist and a Chartered commercial property surveyor with 6+ years of working for a commercial property investor and developer. In 2019 William graduated from UCL with an MSc in Project Management from the Bartlett School of Architecture. Many of the lessons learnt from this masters degree are implemented into William’s work.

His previous roles were exceptionally diverse and he has gained a wide range of consultancy skills in this position. Within his previous role he managed a vast array of development and construction projects. At Ekkist, William is responsible for carrying out detailed research to support the implementation of health and well-being frameworks and Certification applications for clients. William’s exceptional planning and organisational skills are evident in his ability to manage a vast array of workflows to a high degree of accuracy.

William is also WELL AP and specialises in consulting on the WELL Building Standard.

Ori House interior – view blueprints here

“For us, architecture for well-being is about designing for comfort, beauty, resilience, but most importantly, our health and well-being”