Loading...
10/14/2002 - Packet Library Steering Committee Agenda October 14, 2002 I. Review of meeting notes and follow-up H. To Do List Review (Group) III. Biologist Report (Greg) IV. LEED Energy Credit (Craig/Margaret) V. Property Sale Closing (Craig) VI. Code Amendment (Craig) VII. Margaret Cam VIII. Public Information (Margaret) IX. Other Issues X. Agenda Building LEED - Register your Project Page 1 of 2 ._..._._._............._-_.....__,x S E A R TA F Di 3C Y 33 >Credit Interpretations >Login >Update 77777777 l relRESOURUS INIMS EVENTS MEMBERS certikication process 3 register your project 1 Training workshops 3 publications 1 professional accreditation I project list Register Your Project Project registration is the first step towards earning LEED Certification for your building project. The information supplied on the registration form will be used by the USGBC for project tracking, answering credit interpretation requests, and preparing project case studies upon certification. Aggregate data for all registered projects will be used to expand the growing knowledge base of green building costs and trends. The registration form may take up to 30 minutes to complete. Please provide available project data in the following categories: . Project Team . Project Information . Project Program Data • LEED Credit Checklist During project design and construction,we encourage you to update your project profile via our Website with changes or new information. The designated project contact will have access to complete all updates thorugh the Your Projects link at the top every page on this Website. Registration Forms: * Note: the registration form requests a broad array of project information to assist with project tracking and technical support. Please review the information contained in some of our current registered Rrq ects in order to assure adequate preparation. Non-member LEED Project Registration ($500) USGBC Member LEED Project Registration($350) REGISTER YOUR PROJECT http://www.usgbc.org/LEED/register.asp 10/18/02 LEED -Register your Project Page 2 of 2 http://www.usgbc.org/LEED/register.asp 10/18/02 FApf.RSHIF IN FN,FA}Y 8, FFV€RCN`_FNTDi Frequently Asked Questions FOCUS: Building Materials Building materials play a fairly substantial role within the LEED Rating System. The most common and fundamental questions from specifiers, manufacturers and LEED practitioners have been included in this document. For technical Q&A, refer to the LEED Credit Interpretation Rulings. • Can a single building product achieve points in the LEED Rating System? • What part do building materials play in the LEED Rating System? o The vast majority of building products will only contribute to achieving LEED points. LEED mostly sets performance-based requirements. In attempting to meet these requirements, LEED practitioners identify products that have desired attributes. Some LEED points will require that certain limits or minimums be met. Other points will necessitate gathering specific product data .� into a spreadsheet in order to calculate the aggregate environmental or health value of a set of products. • How do my company's building products apply to the LEED Rating System? o USGBC recommends that manufacturers familiarize themselves with the Rating System, make sure they completely understand the credits that apply to their products, and communicate the details to their clientele. • How can my company's building products become LEED-certified? o They can't be. USGBC certifies buildings, not the materials that are used to construct the building. Only a few LEED points are dependent upon third-party certification or proving equivalence to a given standard. Manufacturers often consider the broader marketing benefits of product certification. Environmental and health claims can be certified or reviewed by organizations such as Scientific Certification Systems (www.scsl.com), Forest Stewardship Council (www.fscus.or ), Green Seal (www. reanseal.or ), Green Guard (www.greenguard.com), Carpet& Rug Institute(www.carpet-rug.org), Building Green Inc. (www.buildinggreen.com), Energy Star Roof program(www.energystar.gov) and others. • Can my company use the LEED logo if it provides green building products or services? o NO!Only USGBC and LEED Certified buildings can use the LEED logo. All other uses violate USGBC's LEED trademark rights and are counterproductive to establishing a recognizable national brand name for green buildings. USGBC member organizations are encouraged to use the"USGBC Member" logo. - OVER - 1 Some tips specific to the "Materials and Resources" category: • MR Credit 1: Building Reuse(maintaining a % of structure, shell and non-shell components) o Quantify structural elements in terms of cubic feet. Quantify shell and non-shell elements in terms of square feet. • MR Credit 3: Resource Reuse(specify salvaged/refurbished materials) o Calculated as a percent of total cost of building materials (labor and equipment cost not included). • MR Credit 4: Recycled Content ***the most commonly misunderstood credit!*** o Products with ANY recycled content CONTRIBUTE to achieving points within this Credit. o In LEED Version 2.0, the percentages quoted in this Credit are based on a proprietary calculation scheme that is explained in the LEED Reference Guide. USGBC requires that the cost of each product is entered into a weightings calculation to place more "value" on post-consumer recycled content(versus post-industrial content). The tally of all these "values" are then compared to the total cost of building materials(labor and equipment cost not included). The LEED Calculator contains spreadsheets that accept data and calculate the results, in order to facilitate the process. Note: This credit will be simplified in LEED Version 2.1. It will have an option to use a default percentage for total material costs, and does not have the proprietary weightings calculations. o LEED excludes in-house waste from its definition of post-industrial recycled content because reusing in-house waste is commonplace. The purpose of this credit is to stimulate the recycling market. • MR Credit 6: Rapidly Renewable Materials o Defined by LEED as resources that are planted and/or harvested within a ten-year cycle. o Calculated as a percent of total cost of building materials (labor and equipment cost not included). • MR Credit 7: Certified Sustainably Harvested Wood o Calculated as a percent of the cost of all wood-based products used on the project(labor and equipment cost not included). o LEED requires certification based on the Forest Stewardship Council's "Principles and Criteria." There are other sustainable forestry certifications available, but the LEED development committees believe that FSC is currently the most comprehensive. Some tips specific to "Indoor Environmental Quality": • IEQ Credit 4: Low-Emitting Materials o Four points are available in regards to adhesives and sealants,paints and coatings, carpets, and composite wood and agrifiber products. o The credit does not apply to exterior paints and materials that are not exposed to interior spaces. Apply for an Innovation Credit if applicable to your project. Additional details can be found in the LEED Reference Package and Credit Rulings. Visit www.leedbuilding.org. 2 e design Online: Impressions of LEED Page 1 of 3 -� e design Impressions of "LEED" A Green Building Rating System An overview of"LEED," the U.S. Green Building Council's green building rating system. Posted 09 September 1998 Being a naturally suspicious type, I was not sure what to expect when I began my review of "LEED" (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). "LEED" is the U.S. Green Building Council's sg( USGBC) green buildings rating system,which is L BE Er currently undergoing beta testing and is slated for BU` .B formal implementation in the year 2000. A quick I.J review suggests that this is a serious tool for advancing "best practices" and not just a means of"greenwashing" everyday design and construction practices. In fact, it may be fair to say that "LEED" is not for the faint at heart--not because of the application and review process, but because of the expectations for design process. "LEED Building" is a voluntary designation/certification that may be sought by building owners (or other interested parties) for new or existing commercial, institutional, or high-rise-residential buildings. The "LEED Building" designation and an appropriate category or level of certification (Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze) are to be awarded to buildings that meet the "LEED" criteria. The criteria include both mandatory prerequisite elements and a range of optional elements that accrue ratings credits. Failure to meet the prerequisite requirements eliminates a building from consideration for the "LEED" designation. Forty-four credits,plus 4 bonus credits, are allocated under the "LEED" program criteria. A Platinum building must garner at least 36 of the 48 possible credits. A Bronze building must qualify for at least 22 of the 48 available credits (this is to be increased to 26 credits in the next revision of the "LEED" criteria). Some flexibility is available for those submitting .-� buildings with strategies that do not precisely fit the published criteria,but provide equivalent results. It is anticipated that the USGBC will award a "Green Building of the Year" designation to the building that http://www.state.fl.us/fdi/edesign/news/9809/leed.htm 10/18/02 e design Online: Impressions of LEED Page 2 of 3 accrues the highest score during a given year. The minimum prerequisites for"LEED" certification are interesting. As might be expected, "LEED" buildings must comply with prevailing standards for energy efficiency, air quality, and thermal comfort (ASHRAE Standards 90.1, 62, and 55, respectively). In addition,buildings must be commissioned(using GSA or Bonneville Power guidelines depending upon building size),must prohibit smoking, and must provide for the storage and collection of recyclables (among other requirements). The requirement that a building must be commissioned to even be considered for "LEED" certification is especially interesting. Once a building has been shown to meet the "LEED" prerequisites, credits are awarded for compliance with 13 distinct categories of"green" building characteristics, as summarized below: • Building materials measures (including VOC control and material source,reuse, and recycled content aspects); 7 credits • Construction waste management measures; 2 credits • Energy measures (including Green Lights, exceeding Standard 90.1, passive heating/cooling, waste heat recovery, and renewable energy sources); 10 credits • Building rehabilitation; 2 credits • Indoor air quality (including construction IAQ management plan and air quality monitoring); 3 credits • Landscaping (including erosion control and micro-climate control); 3 credits • Recycling provisions for occupants; 1 credit • Operations and maintenance measures; 2 credits • CFC, HCFC, and Halon elimination; 2 credits • Siting measures (including infill, small footprint, and rehabilitation); 3 credits • Transportation elements (including alternative transportation and good siting); 3 credits • Water conservation(including fixtures, grey water, cooling towers, and xeriscaping); 4 credits • Water quality(focusing on surface runoff control); 2 credits. http://www.state.fl.us/fdi/edesign/news/9809/leed.htm 10/18/02 e design Online: Impressions of LEED Page 3 of 3 Bonus credits are available for the following: • Using a "LEED"-certified designer; 1 bonus credit • Development in a brownfield; 1 credit • Biological waste treatment; 1 credit • Alternative fueling facilities; 1 credit. The USGBC notes that the "LEED" system is intended to be a definitive standard for "green" buildings. Based upon the "LEED" criteria, the USGBC would seem to be defining a green building as one having the following characteristics: • Highly energy efficient • High indoor environmental quality • Resource efficient • Sensitive to its effects on local and systemic surroundings. Full documentation on the "LEED" program is available on the U.S. Green Building Council's World Wide Web site. Walter Grondzik, Editor Related Information • U.S. Green Building Council's "LEED" system httjj7//www.usgbc.org//programshndex.htm Please take a moment to fill out our online article evaluation form. Your comments help us improve the quality and usefulness of this site. Thanks! {" " '' �«i {ilii lid�siqh news ill http://www.state.fl.us/fdi/edesign/news/9809/leed.htm 10/18/02 Page 1 of 5 July 25,2002 . , - Getting back to basics with LEED __"N W2002 . Many green solutions fall outside standard criteria By DREW A. GANGNES Index Skilling Ward Magnusson Barkshire Surveys The Leadership in Energy DJC.COM and Environmental Design (LEED) rating ., system has become the ;" N industry standard for gauging a design project's sustainability or"green- • ,k•Ann, ness."However, a LEED- " centric design can miss y many green opportunities , that fall outside then stringent LEED criteria. A back-to-basics .�`' Fl approach to site design �`• rnr�ral can identify intuitive and P3tVwt lria_ l simple solutions that are °e also environmentally H WOW UO, responsible. Performing a sustainability audit along the way can then determine if those pursuits satisfy LEED Images courtesy of Skilling Ward Magnusson Barkshire credits as an added bonus. Advanced design techniques were used to nestle an underground parking garage into a hillside, then sculpt the lid's surface while minimizing areas requiring The United States Green "premium"load-carrying capacity. Building Council published the LEED rating system in 1999 in an effort to "develop a standard that improves the environmental and economic performance of commercial buildings..."LEED's point system, which offers a maximum of up to 69 points for achieving prescriptive credits in six categories, has become the driving force behind incorporating sustainability into the design of all types of facilities, regardless of whether they are the commercial building project type originally envisioned by the LEED authors. Applying LEED standards to all types of projects has many positives. In particular, it has increased the design community's awareness of sustainability and green building practices. Many projects now begin discussing LEED expectations early in schematic design, and most consulting firms working in disciplines impacting a project's LEED rating now sport their own proprietary LEED rating resources and checklists. Moreover, LEED has been a valuable tool in breaking green design into ,-� pieces that people can get their arms around; the LEED categories themselves are great touchpoints for sustainability goal setting. Shortcomings http://www.djc.com/news/en/I 1135657.htm1 10/18/02 . Page 2 of 5 One problem with the LEED method of sustainable design is that it can foster an all-or-nothing attitude toward this pursuit. LEED audits have become a common activity during schematic design. All too often, however, green design is abandoned entirely once this audit shows a project falling short of the number of points required for LEED certification. Many projects have the potential to incorporate remarkably sustainable design solutions that don't fit into the defined LEED credits. Appropriately, the LEED system offers an"Innovation and Design Process" category to reward "out-of-the-LEED- : box"thinking. However, these credits At the Bremerton Navy Hospital parking garage site,civil and make up only a very mechanical systems were merged to route runoff through the small part of a LEED structure,rather than around it. rating. Finally,projects that are site-intensive with modest building facilities will find it impossible to garner enough LEED points to become certified. This is understandable, since LEED was framed around commercial building projects. However, site-intensive projects still look to LEED for sustainability credits and come up short. The concern is that if LEED rating is the only standard bearer for sustainable bragging rights, green design opportunities may be overlooked or ignored. An environmentally responsible approach In sustainable site design, looking at projects from the standpoint of environmental responsibility can help mitigate LEED frustrations. This approach simply asks at the outset of a project, "What sustainable design pursuits are available on this site?" Once these pursuits are collaboratively identified and accepted by the project team, the remainder of the design and construction process is concerned with advancing those pursuits. The LEED rating system can be brought to bear anywhere within the project process, but is used truly as a score card rather than a guideline, allowing ideas to lead the way instead of the LEED checklist. For example, early in the design of the recently completed Bremerton Navy Hospital expansion, it was determined that a water quality swale would be required for treating oily runoff from new roadways. The catch was that the ,.� new roadways were up-slope from the new hillside garage,while the site available for the 200-foot-long swale was down-slope. The standard solution would be to run a civil pipeline around the structure http://www.djc.com/news/en/l 1135657.html 10/18/02 Page 3 of 5 and down the steep slope, yet a back-to-basics thought process led to the pursuit of a solution through the structure. A joint civil/mechanical collaboration produced an alternative, connecting runoff collected up-slope in a civil pipeline with the mechanical plumbing system at the face of the garage. The runoff was then plumbed through the building structure and exited the garage on the down-slope side, where it again became"civil"as it dumped into the swale. This approach reduced the amount of piping required for the project and eliminated the need for trenching a storm drain line down a sensitive slope. On the same project, an undulating grade on the structural lid of the garage was desired to make the garage disappear into the native hillside. The normal approach would be to design the entire lid structure to support a maximum anticipated soil load. Civil grading design on both the finished surface and the lid structure itself dictated the structural geometry as a series of warped planes that approximated the surface grading above. This allowed both the earthwork design and the structural design to be optimized for the actual grading/loading conditions, versus a"maximum anticipated 3-foot depth." Both earth and reinforced concrete materials were saved in the process, resulting in a more sustainable and cost-effective design. An educational opportunity For an elementary school currently in design, storm water management facilities were identified early on by the design team as a potential educational opportunity. Rather than using a typical approach of large-scale underground tanks and supporting conveyance systems, a concept was developed for meeting much of the site's storm water detention requirements via above ground cisterns. The cisterns store water that is then fed to children's play devices, such as flumes and swales. This "micro-detention" approach avoids pumping systems and stores water where it is +•E,.ae� needed in a way that is educational, entertaining and environmentally friendly. �t Another educational facility project in Seattle has a program " goal of incorporating water into the site design to stimulate .-� creative thought. This "water stair" is one example of how nontraditional approaches to stormwater runoff control can provide site Conventional ideas for interest and educational opportunities. creating a man-made stream were discussed early on; these required recirculating pumps and http://www.djc.com/news/en/l 1135657.html 10/18/02 Page 4 of 5 filtration systems. An alternative concept has been developed that utilizes storm water from an existing public storm drain line running adjacent to the site and draining the watershed up-stream from the site. Diverting a portion of that water through a constructed stream will satisfy the program goal in a much more holistic and sustainable way. Water simply emerges on the site and runs through it, without the need for a recirculation system. Back to basics The green design elements described above would not reap a single LEED point, except perhaps an innovation credit. However, each is an example of a sustainable pursuit that responded to the question, "Is there a more environmentally responsible way to do this than the conventional approach?" This approach requires a collaborative design team effort, since many sustainable design ideas will span design disciplines. Early identification of pursuits is key to this process, so that each discipline can plan their work accordingly. Keeping the green pursuits in the project is another important collaborative effort. All too often, green pursuits are"value engineered" out of projects, based on inadequate understanding of the design. Including contractors in the design is therefore crucial; to ensure that cost comparisons consider all systems affected by a given green element(including life cycle costs) and to serve as a true partner when brainstorming construction techniques. Considering sustainable design from a standpoint of environmental responsibility can uncover significant opportunities that might otherwise be overlooked. Commercial buildings and other facility types that are reasonably well covered by the LEED rating system can become even more sustainable through this approach. Just as important, site-intensive projects—those that don't mesh as well with the LEED system—can easily incorporate sustainable elements that are environmentally friendly and user appealing. These projects,which include parks, recreational areas and even transportation undertakings, often have a high public profile, offering an ideal opportunity to further the connection of community and environment. Drew Gangnes,P.E.,is a principal at Skilling Ward Magnusson Barkshire and leads the Civil Engineering Department.He takes a holistic approach to site design,to provide civil infrastructure in an intuitive manner,utilizing back-to-basics techniques wherever possible. Other Stories: • Water storage goes underground • New brownfields law comes with big changes • `Green infrastructure' puts Seattle on the map • Detention ponds–all it takes is a little magic • Ground zero for groundwater http://www.djc.com/news/en/l 1135657.html 10/18/02 -- •, Page 5 of 5 • A pearl of a project on Oyster Creek • BetterBricks program stacks up energy savings • Shopping 'green' • Home Depot builds atop an old Oregon landfill • Making clean water the green way • Salmon in the city: Seattle restores fish habitat • A funny thing happened on the way to the dump • Reducing energy costs, post crisis • Managing stormwater in Pierce County • A battery of energy information • No more fuming at chemistry class • Seattle LEEDs the nation in sustainable building • New stormwater rules looming for contractors • An incubator for cutting-edge power projects • Linking up with the environment • Designers find new life for old cardboard tubes • EPA turns up the heat with temperature rules • AGC teams with WSDOT for environment's sake • A wholistic look at engineering • Toxic black mold—the next asbestos? • Mold: Getting a grip on the fuzzy stuff • A trail of mining waste turns into a trail of recreation • Does best available science work for all buffers? DO-Add Comment Nil-Print IAds Paoe 'Search Stories ` Find: I S eti In: All news Depth: I Last 30 dayswr Sort by: Score ,'r Help Tom Back 12002 Environmental Outlook I DJC.COM Copyright©1995-2002 Seattle Daily Journal and DJC.COM. Comments?Questions?Contact us. http://www.djc.com/news/en/11135657.htm1 10/18/02