Page 191 - Green Building Through Integrated Design

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GETTING STARTED—PREDESIGN

CONSIDERATIONS

Sustainable design projects often involve a myriad of considerations, ranging from
seeking higher levels of energy efficiency to using recycled-content materials to
incorporating daylighting, and so on. Many projects mistakenly assume that the only
real question is whether to seek LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building
Council. However, the decision to seek LEED certification, unsupported by a com-
mitment to integrated design and to funding for the specific costs of certification doc-
umentation, is likely to be a recipe for frustration and ultimate futility. For this rea-
son, many projects registered under the LEED system have failed to finish the
process, as discussed in Chap. 5. According to those estimates, fewer than half and
perhaps less than a third of all LEED projects registered through the end of 2004 had
achieved certification by the end of 2007, even allowing for a three-year time lag
between registration and certification.*
I support the LEED system and encourage my consulting clients to include it in
their projects wherever possible; however, sustainable design involves a far broader set
of considerations. The following sections incorporate and expand the LEED criteria to
a broader range of design, construction, and operational considerations.
There are many excellent books and web sites that provide answers to specific sus-
tainable design questions. However, often the issue is asking the proper questions at
the proper time, to fulfill sustainability mandates from a client or owner. To draw out
of building team members the full range of intelligence, experience, and expertise they
already possess, I prepared a set of questions that apply just about any project with
sustainability goals. These questions are organized by the phases of design and con-
struction that naturally occur in most projects, and range from the general to the very
particular, as the design process moves toward the final construction documents.
You’ll find them in this and the following chapters.

*“Where Are All the LEED Projects?”, Environmental Design & Construction, July 2007, www.
edcmag.com/Articles/Featured_Special_Sections/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000134921.
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