Page 388 - The Engineering Guide to LEED-New Construction Sustainable Construction for Engineers

DoD Sustainable Construction and IAQ 349

The guide is laid out in a format that details the official intent and requirements of LEEDfor
each credit; then it provides special considerations for lodging facilities and unique
applications and requirements for USAF dormitories. Also, for each credit, a list of steps
is provided to evaluate or achieve the credit, including a summary of the official LEED
submittals required and applicable Air Force references. The intent of this format is to
ensure the project planning and design teams have consolidated information for review
and consideration as a tool to interpret LEEDfor lodging facilities.
The LEED Application Guide for Lodging is a useful tool for design and project
teams involved in construction of low-rise lodging facilities and specifically MILCON
for U.S. Air Force dormitories. This guide expands on the USGBC’s LEED green building
rating system by giving suggestions for interpreting the intent of many of the credits
and how they can be applied to the unique considerations for facilities of this type and
those located on Air Force installations. In addition to the information provided relative
to each credit and the steps to evaluate and achieve the credit, the references listed in
the guide provide a direct link to additional resources available to project teams engaged
in USAF lodging designs. The following summary is provided as examples of the
information included in the LEEDApplication Guide for Lodging for each of the LEED
categories and specifically for USAF dormitory projects.

Sustainable Sites
There are eight credit subcategories in the sustainable sites category of LEED. The write-
up in the USAF application guide has a significant amount of guidance for interpretation
in this category, perhaps due to the unique considerations for development on federal
government property and the planning and programming methodology used by the
Air Force for construction projects.
The LEEDApplication Guide for Lodging addresses credit subcategories such as site
selection, redevelopment, and alternative transportation, stating that achieving points for
these may not be possible due to the existing installation location, relationship and layout
of existing facilities, and installation general plan (which is the basis for site selection and
style of construction). Also, since much of the project planning is done in advance to get
funding approval for MILCON, the design and construction architect-engineer (AE) may
not be able to have any impact on these issues once a project is approved. Credits for
reducing site disturbance and providing for stormwater management many times rely on
local zoning regulations and defined (subdivided) parcels of land. However, zoning and
subdividing are usually not applicable on government property, although information is
provided to interpret the intent as it would apply for an Air Force project.
In some cases, design features that would meet the intent of the credit cannot be
achieved due to restrictions in military design. One example is construction of parking
underneath a building to reduce the heat island effect. This is prohibited for government
facilities due to Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection (AT/FP) concerns.
However, other useful sustainable features are promoted throughout the guide,
such as use of pervious concrete and design of constructed wetlands. The primary
references for this area include the USAF Landscape Design Guide, the Land Use
Planning Bulletin, and general plan for the specific USAF installation.

Water Efficiency
There are only three credit subcategories in the area for Water Efficiency, each of which
is well addressed in current Air Force guidances. Most of these guidances are available