flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Comment period for update to USGBC's LEED Green Building Program now open

Comment period for update to USGBC's LEED Green Building Program now open

This third draft of LEED has been refined to address technical stringency and rigor, measurement and performance tools, and an enhanced user experience.


By By BD+C Staff | February 20, 2012
This article first appeared in the March 2012 issue of BD+C.

The USGBC announced that the third public comment period for the proposed 2012 update to its LEED green building program will open March 1, 2012. The comment period, which will close on March 20, marks the start of the LEED 2012 program delivery process.

This third draft of LEED has been refined to address technical stringency and rigor, measurement and performance tools, and an enhanced user experience. The technical changes have been informed by market data, stakeholder-generated ideas, expert engagement and advances in technology. Additional performance-based management features will help projects measure and manage energy and water usage, site and building material selection, and indoor environmental quality.

LEED 2012 extends itself as a long-term engagement tool for organizations and projects, enabling a focus on continuous improvement. Programs aimed at helping organizations use LEED to benchmark building performance in preparation for certification and for tracking performance of their buildings post-certification provide opportunities for ongoing engagement between project teams and USGBC both before certification and after the plaque is awarded.

For LEED projects outside of the U.S., LEED 2012 will offer a new global perspective. Through modified language, new requirements and options that increase flexibility, LEED 2012 makes it easier for the international community to engage.

In an effort to redefine and enhance the user experience, LEED credit requirements have been rewritten to better align with documentation already required by the architecture and construction fields. Improvements to submittals, documentation paths and LEED Online improve LEED usability.

As the LEED program evolves to address the dynamic needs of the building industry, the development process is based on principles of transparency, openness, and inclusiveness, and includes multiple comment periods where input received is incorporated into LEED. The third public comment documents, including technical refinements, scorecards, and responses to comments from the previous public comment period, will be available on usgbc.org/LEED2012 beginning March 1. Members of the public can comment on any substantive changes made since the second public comment period, which ran from Aug. 1 through Sept. 14, 2011.

Once the comment period process concludes, LEED 2012 will be balloted in June and launch in November. To vote in the ballot, USGBC members must opt-in to the Consensus Body beginning April 2. The Consensus Body is made up of employees of USGBC national member organizations in good standing, and ensures ballot participation from the full diversity of members who are using LEED in the marketplace. To be eligible to join the Consensus Body and vote in the LEED 2012 ballot, members must be in good standing by March 1, and be maintained throughout the balloting period.

Members of the media are invited to a press-only webcast on Thursday, March 1, 2012 at 2 p.m. ET.

To register, visit bit.ly/LEED2012mediawebinar.

To learn more about LEED 2012, visit usgbc.org/LEED2012. BD+C

Related Stories

| Oct 23, 2014

Architecture Billings Index shows strong demand for institutional, mixed-practice design

AIA reported the September ABI score was 55.2, up from a mark of 53.0 in August. This score reflects an increase in design activity.

| Oct 22, 2014

Customization is the key in tomorrow's workplace

The importance of mobility, flexibility, and sustainability in the world of corporate design are already well-established. A newer trend that’s gaining deserved attention is customizability, and how it will look in the coming years, writes GS&P's Leith Oatman.

| Oct 21, 2014

Passive House concept gains momentum in apartment design

Passive House, an ultra-efficient building standard that originated in Germany, has been used for single-family homes since its inception in 1990. Only recently has the concept made its way into the U.S. commercial buildings market. 

| Oct 21, 2014

Hartford Hospital plans $150 million expansion for Bone and Joint Institute

The bright-white structures will feature a curvilinear form, mimicking bones and ligament. 

| Oct 21, 2014

Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid release plans for resorts in Nanjing and Wuhan, China

Jumeirah Group, a hotel group forming a part of investment group Dubai Holding, has chosen Zaha Hadid and Norman Foster to design two of three of its proposed resorts in Nanjing, Wuhan, and Haikou.

| Oct 21, 2014

Inside LEED v4: The view from the MEP engineering seats

Much of the spirited discussion around LEED v4 has been centered on the Materials & Resources Credit. At least one voice in the wilderness is shouting for greater attention to another huge change in LEED: the shift to ASHRAE 90.1-2010 as the new reference standard for Energy & Atmosphere prerequisites and credits.

| Oct 21, 2014

Perkins Eastman white paper explores state of the senior living industry in the Carolinas

Among the experts interviewed for the white paper, there was a general consensus that the model for continuing-care retirement communities is changing, driven by both the changing consumers and more prevalent global interest on the effects of aging.

| Oct 20, 2014

Singapore Sports Hub claims world's largest free-spanning dome

The retractable roof, which measures a whopping 1,017-feet across, is made from translucent ETFE plastic panels supported with metal rigging that arches over the main pitch.

| Oct 20, 2014

Institute for young innovators breaks ground at the University of Utah

The five-story, 148,000-sf building is designed to function like a student union for entrepreneurs and innovators, with a 20,000-sf “garage” that will be open for any student to attend events, build prototypes, and launch companies.

| Oct 20, 2014

UK's best new building: Everyman Theatre wins RIBA Stirling Prize 2014

The new Everyman Theatre in Liverpool by Haworth Tompkins has won the coveted RIBA Stirling Prize 2014 for the best building of the year. Now in its 19th year, the RIBA Stirling Prize is the UK’s most prestigious architecture prize. 

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Warehouses

California bill would limit where distribution centers can be built

A bill that passed the California legislature would limit where distribution centers can be located and impose other rules aimed at reducing air pollution and traffic. Assembly Bill 98 would tighten building standards for new warehouses and ban heavy diesel truck traffic next to sensitive sites including homes, schools, parks and nursing homes.



halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021