What is missing in LEED? (Rocky Mountain Masonry Blog)

Well written article. Good, thoughtful read.

http://rockymountainmasonry.blogspot.com/2008/02/what-is-missing-in-leed.html

• Life Cycle Assessment
• Repair and Maintenance
• Passive Heating, Cooling, and Lighting
• Embodied Energy and Embodied Water
• Retiring Carbon Credits
• Social Equity Credits

Ontario's 1st LEED Platinum Green Building

• Architect: Montgomery Sisam Architects Inc.
• located in Vaughan, Ontario
• 2-storey, 1095 m2 building: office space for 25 occupants and a works garage
• construction is engineered wood framing with brick and wood siding
• cost premium aprox 10%
• expected to achieve a 66 % annual energy savings
• heating: heat pump system with a slinky ground source loop
• cooling: chilled water fan coils supplimented by cooled floor, using the same tubing as the radiant heating system
• concrete “earth tube” delivers outdoor air to the basement mechanical equipment
• 2 heat-recovery ventilators deliver 100 % outside air to the offices via displacement ventilation
• power: partly by photovoltaic system and remaining needs buying electrical power from a supplier of green (renewable) power—Bullfrog Power
• composting toilets (rarely used in offices) and waterless urinals means that the centre uses no water for wastewater conveyance, , together with low-flow plumbing fixtures throughout the building conserve 80% of the potable indoor water normally used in a building of this size
• 95 % of regularly occupied spaces have an abundance of daylighting and 90 % of these spaces have a view to the outdoors
• furniture is certified as “low off-gassing.”

Source: http://www.trca.on.ca/Website/TRCA/website.nsf/frmNewsArticleDisplay?OpenForm&NoteID=NT0001A1E6

TruStile’s MDF doors

• Available in TruStile’s 350+ door styles
• Certified by SCS (Scientific Certification Systems) to be constructed of 82% recycled content
• Eligible for LEED^® credits for Materials and Resources
• Manufactured with low-emitting adhesives
• No-added formaldehyde MDF option is an ideal choice for builders who are concerned about indoor air quality
• More durable and long-lasting than hollow-core doors

Santiago Calatrava's Chicago Spire

Shelbourne Development and Santiago Calatrava Chicago Spire

• aka The Twisted Tower
• Popular Science Engineering Grand Award Winner from their Best of What's New 2007
• 2,000 feet
• 1,193 condos
• the tallest residential building in the world (tall enough to see the curvature of the planet from the top floors!)
• completed in 2011
• green touches:
  
• cooling system that draws water from the Chicago River
• cisterns for collecting rainwater for landscaping
• reflective glass that will prevent migratory-bird collisions
• aiming to earn LEED “gold”
  
• thechicagospire.com

Largest Low-Rise Green Development in Canada

Oct. 24 - The Toronto Economic Development Corporation (TEDCO) and Monarch Corporation announced today that they will develop the largest low-rise green residential community in Canada.

• called Evergreen
• environmentally friendly homes built to the new LEED-H
  
• Toronto's Midland and St. Clair area (Scarborough)
• combined development area will equal close to 24 acres
• eventually encompass a mix of 196 town homes and single-family homes
• cost for green building for each unit could rise by as much as 8-9% or $12,000 of the direct building cost

Dubai 1st Green City in the World

The instruction issued by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, that all buildings in Dubai would have to be constructed as per environment-friendly "green building standards" from January next year (2008). come as a major boost to the international climate initiative.

The latest decision makes Dubai one of the first in the world, and the only city in the Middle East region, to go for the "green building standards".

This system also has a plethora of benefits to derive from. For example, a green building, according to the US Green Buildings Council, can save, on an average, 70 per cent of electricity, between 50 and 60 per cent of water, and 36 per cent of energy more when compared to the standard buildings.

B.I.M. - the wave of the future

Architects in California say factors such as building information modeling, green building and industry consolidation are changing the way they do business.

For instance, Irvine-based Ware Malcomb has placed a big emphasis on having its project management teams become LEED-accredited, says CEO Larry Armstrong. At the same time, Ware Malcomb is preparing its staff to do BIM projects later this year, he adds.

“(BIM) is a freight train and it’s coming,” Armstrong says.

Peter Devereaux, president of Los Angeles-based Harley Ellis Devereaux, calls BIM “the wave of the future and it will transform our industry.”

BIM also means that design firms will be looking for more experienced, licensed architects and that will mean less opportunities for the drafters and novice architects, Darden adds.

“Everywhere you will see people trying to hire licensed experienced architects,” Darden says. “With BIM, there is no room at the bottom.”

Finding experienced and qualified architects is a concern for Kit Ratcliff, president of Emeryville-based Ratcliff.

There has been a 50% falloff in the last 10 years in U.S. licensed architects, Ratcliff says. “We are running out of architects,” he adds.

Source: http://california.construction.com/features/archive/0710_Cover.asp

Sidwell Friends Middle School (Washington, DC)

architect: Kieran Timberlake Associates

• the greenest school in the U.S., the first to earn a platinum LEED rating
• if initial cost of going green is high- savings can be even greater:
  the energy bill for primary and secondary schools in the U.S. is $6 billion--and that's per year (more than spent annually on computers and books combined)

Features:

• constructed wetland (first in Washington, DC), treats building waste water on site - part of a closed system that recycles water back to the building and lavatories
• Green roof vegetation holds and filters rainwater; gutters and downspouts direct rainwater to a biology pond, which supports native habitat. Herbs grown by students on the green roof are supplied to the cafeteria
• Building orientation
• passive and mechanically assisted ventilation
• solar chimneys
• solar panels
  5% of the building’s total electrical load is generated on the roof
  
• double-glazed windows
• Window placement, skylights and reflective panels maximize use of natural light so energy for lighting in this building is 10 – 15% of that of a comparable code compliant building
• Recycled, rapidly renewable and locally produced materials such as cork, gypsum, linoleum, bamboo and wheatboard substrate
  Exterior cladding is western red cedar (reclaimed from wine casks)
• Paints, carpets and adhesives were selected for low emission of volatile organic compounds
• carbon dioxide sensors in the classrooms automatically adjust temperature by detecting how many people are inside

Source: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1663859,00.html

321 North (Plantation, FL)

one of the country's first green communities will rise:

• 33-acre development has an environmental focus
• $350 million project is still under review
• could begin as soon as 2008
• 600 residential units, along with office and a revamped shopping mall, all within walking distance to help cut back on car use
• Eco-friendly materials will be used throughout the project
• green screens where plants can grow on some outside walls and rooftops
• tinted glass that will allow for the shading
• sustainable woods like bamboo and palm and products made of recycled material like the carpets and countertops
• maximizes the amount of natural light that gets indoors
• paints, adhesives and other materials will also have a low chemical content
• part of a nationwide pilot program to expand LEED for Neighborhood Development
  (LEED certified building ends up with 35 percent cost reduction in energy consumption and 40 percent in reduction of water consumption than a non-LEED building)
• economic data supports the decision to green your facilities

Source: http://www.nbc6.net/news/14151987/detail.html

India Tower (South Mumbai, India)

- LEED Gold-rated project
- expected to be completed in 2010
- mixed-use program that changes with each rotation
- least possible impact on the environment
- integrate current innovative sustainable systems and technologies – solar shading, natural ventilation, daylighting, rainwater harvesting, and green interior finishes and materials
– one of the greenest skyscrapers in India

Source:
http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/08/23/
india-tower-indias-greenest-skyscraper/

LEED affordable housing complex (NYC)

• rental community
• located in the South Bronx
• 64 spacious units within 16 three-family and eight two-family houses
• all reserved for families of four earning about $42,000
• LEED for Homes pilot program
• water efficiency, indoor environmental quality and green design process as well as sustainable site planning, energy, materials and resources

LEED for Homes now in Canada

Developed in the U.S., the LEED program has come to Canada in stages, with commercial, institutional, industrial and multi-unit residential certification now in place. With increasing concern over environmental issues, there's been growing demand for the individual homes component, which has been tested in the U.S. for two years and is due to be formally launched in November, said council vice-chair Andrew Pride, also vice-president of energy management for Minto Homes.

"We're going to take the U.S. program and make it Canadian," he said.

The U.S. expected 50 builders and 300 homes to be certified under the pilot project, but ended up with about 400 builders and 6,000 homes, Pride said.

"Rather than trying to market LEED for Homes and create demand for it, they've been trying to manage the demand and grow fast enough to meet it," Satnik said. "There's been no lack of interest. We're already seeing the same in Canada."

Kipling Transit Hub 2010 (Toronto)

City of Mississauga is contributing $5.5 million towards the project. Construction is slated to start next year. GO Transit and the Toronto Transit Commission, through the Province, are chipping in the balance.

When completed in 2010, Mississauga Transit buses will use the terminal to link with GO and the TTC, re-routing from the outmoded Islington station. The facility will also serve as the Mississauga Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system’s easterly connection once it is up and running.

The facility will be fully accessible for persons with disabilities and LEED certified as a “green building.”

Interesting! And good news for a change. Wonder who's going to win that bid?

WIRED Living Home (CA)

• Living Homes with WIRED Magazine
  
• Architect: Ray Kappe
• Cost: $4 million modernist home in Los Angeles
• Size: 4,000 sq ft
• Features: LEED® Gold rating, passive heating and cooling, solar power, automated theatre, temperature, and lighting...
  
• Open later this year for public tours
• For the family that wants all the toys but wants to be as green as they can about it (perfect for my friend DW... if they could just make one half the size at an affordable price!)
  

Source: http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/07/06/prefab-friday-wired-living-home/#more-4903

Gaia Napa Valley Hotel (CA)

"World's First and Only" - Gold LEED Certified- Hotel
Also... you'll find a copy of Al Gore's book, "An Inconvenient Truth", in each of the rooms for your reading pleasure."

See features at: http://www.gaianapavalleyhotel.com/html/green-lodging.asp#americancanyon-ca-feature

Bank of America's new headquarters - One Bryant Park

Interview by:
Matthew Wheeland
"will be the first LEED Platinum skyscraper in the country, and it's been called the world's "most sustainable skyscraper." The project's architects, Cook+Fox, have incorporated the most cutting-edge green technologies:

• 2.2 million square feet
  
• cost of water has gone up 40 % since we started the project
• waterless urinals will save 3 million gallons of potable water a year
• collecting rainwater ...to reuse ...for landscaping and washing the sidewalks, but we're really using it for flushing the toilets and for the cooling tower
• the cost of energy is not going to go down
• 5.1 megawatt cogen plant ...use that energy to make ice at night... melting ice in the middle of the day... less energy to create the air conditioning"

4000 LEED Student Residence beds (CA)

"American Campus Communities Inc., an owner, developer and manager of student housing, has been selected by the University of California, Irvine (UCI) to begin the planning process for the development of up to 4,000 on-campus beds...(using) LEED silver or higher certified rating."

LEED vs Green Globes Study

Something to consider (affordable over high profile) especially for low or tight budgets...

"A 2007 University of Minnesota study compared LEED to Green Globes. The study found that Green Globes is less costly, easier to work with and less time-consuming than LEED."

Click here for the full report: http://www.thegbi.org/gbi/Green_Building_Rating_UofM.pdf
Click here for a comparison chart: http://www.thegbi.org/gbi/pdf/ProcessComparison.pdf

Proposed Standard 189P (USA)

"Being developed by a partnership between the USGBC, ASHRAE, and IESNA ... say the baseline standard, which will apply to new commercial construction and major renovations, will be fleshed out by 2007.

The new standard will be largely based on LEED, with prescriptive measures for environmental performance drawn from its five categories.

code agencies could adopt Standard 189P as a baseline, while mandating additional sustainability measures as they see fit. This would relieve states and municipalities from needing to draft special legislation to mandate green buildings by, for instance, referencing LEED or other voluntary rating systems."

Also see: http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=1647

"Currently the standard is open for public comment and comments will be accepted through July 9, 2007 at www.ashrae.org/publicreviews. The committee plans to release the standard by late 2007. Upon completion, Standard 189 will be an ANSI-accredited standard that can be incorporated into building codes...(just as Standard 90.1... has been almost universally adopted as a baseline standard for energy efficiency)"

Minto Roehampton - Green Apartments

"Yonge and Eglinton is now home to Toronto's first Green apartment building. Minto Roehampton is a 16-storey sustainable rental building, designed and built to embrace healthy living, promote energy savings and sustainability and protect the environment.

Minto Roehampton is a LEED(R)-Canada candidate for Gold Certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). Minto has also been selected among the very best in the country to construct an environmentally-friendly home as part of the CMHC Equilibrium Housing Initiative."

Source: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2007/07/c2277.html