Page 198 - Green Building Through Integrated Design

174 GETTING STARTED—PREDESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

defer to an outside consultant; however, the owner may want the expertise that a
specialized LEED consultant brings. What’s more important is that the responsi-
ble person has the authority to demand documentation, studies, and analyses on a
timely basis from other building team members).
5 Are LEED certification requirements already contained in the scope of services
for the design and construction team? Are extra costs for LEED analyses and
actions built into the project budget?
6 If LEED certification is not yet a program element for this project, what will it
take to secure this decision from the owner or client? If the owner’s not willing to
commit, can the building team push ahead any with making the project “LEED
Certifiable?”
7 Have we selected design team participants and consultants who are experienced
in sustainable design and construction? Are they willing to “push the envelope”
in key design areas to help us reach our goals? (This is a critical decision, espe-
cially with the selection of the architect and mechanical engineer, the two key
participants in most high-performance building projects; without an engineer
willing to try new ideas and to be a part of the integrated design process, the
LEED-certification effort is akin to pulling a tooth the old-fashioned way, with a
string around the tooth tied to a doorknob.)
8 What sustainable design resources (financial, expertise, partnering, LEED project
management software) among the stakeholders and design team members will be
available for this project? Does the project team have the authority to use these
resources, as it requires?
9 Have all key design team members taken sustainable design workshops, including
the daylong LEED Technical Review workshop? If not, is some form of formal
training in the LEED system part of the design team requirements? (After all,
nearly 75,000 people have taken LEED trainings, as of May 2008; it’s not unrea-
sonable to ask people to “get up to speed” on the system if they want to work on
the project.)
10 Are members of the design and construction team certified as LEED-Accredited
Professionals? If not, will at least one design team member commit to becoming
LEED Accredited during the project’s early design phase?
11 Have we reviewed case studies of similar LEED-certified projects for inspiration
and guidance?
12 Have we completed a review of the LEED Credit Interpretation Rulings (CIRs)
for guidance as to how we might set up our project?

PLATINUM PROJECT PROFILE

Artists for Humanity Epi-Center, Boston, Massachusetts
The 23,500-square-feet, four-story Artists for Humanity Epi-Center houses art
studios and gallery space in Boston. At $183 per square foot, the total project cost
was $4.3 million. The energy cost for the building built to minimal ASHRAE