As we noted here a few weeks ago, the draft for a new version of U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program was released for public comment and review. In general, as a LEED Accredited Professional, what I saw in the program looked good. The changes that are proposed will make improvements to the system. Below is a discussion of changes we can look forward to in the next generation of LEED.
Have a restful weekend and make sure to check your email on Monday morning, May 19th, because the USGBC is set to open LEED v3 / LEED 2009 to public comment.
The first step in the process is simply sorting through the new naming convention. The overall initiative (LEED Version 3) is designed to improve LEED project execution, documentation, and certification. There are three key pieces:
If you own a home, you’re likely to have a remodeling story. The good, the bad, the never-quite finished. One thing’s for sure; every remodel is different. Given the depth and breadth of residential remodeling, the USGBC, in collaboration with the American Society of Interior Designers, is formally releasing their REGREEN Residential Remodeling Guidelines today at the INTERIORS 08 conference in New Orleans. Not to be confused with the LEED for Homes rating system (a certification program), REGREEN is a set of remodeling guidelines.
The number of LEED Accredited Professionals (LEED AP) has increased 20 percent year over year, bringing the total number of LEED APs to 25,000. Accreditation is received from the USGBC, and the rapid increase in LEED APs is a sign of the trend towards sustainable design, construction, and architecture.
There is an extremely informative website/magazine called Building Design & Construction (BD&C), which audits the number of LEED APs in largest United States design and construction firms. They’ve posted a complete list of their results, and here are the top five.
1. Perkins + Will.
2. Gensler.
3. Hellmuth, Obata, Kassabaum (HOK).
4. Stantec.
5. DPR.
BD&C’s article lists LEED AP numbers for each of the top 100 giant design and construction firms. This information is helpful, especially for companies and developers making their first foray into the green business, because it demonstrates who has the knowledge and expertise to build green.
Green building and sustainable design is a major trend that anyone in the industry should start to realize: real estate agents, designers, engineers, architects, contractors, home builders, developers, owners, REITs, RE management companies, etc.
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