23 Sep WEEK 4_classmates post responses
What is the history around the development of a building rating system?
The environmental movement all started around in the 1960’s, and there was an embargo on oil and gas by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in 1973. That caused an energy crisis and people started to doubt their choices in relying on energy sources other than fossil fuels. Then, in 1993 the American Institute of Architects founded the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). This non-profit organization was established to promote sustainable practices in architectural design. David Gottfried, Michael Italiano and S. Richard Fedrizzi spearheaded the establishment of the USGBC. The UK’s Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) system was the first to create a sustainability assessment method in the world. Inspired by that, the USGBC decided to partner with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to create the LEED rating system for green buildings. LEED v1 was the first version and it took off in August of 1998, then LEED v2 was launched in March 2000. The most common version used is the LEED v3, that was launched in 2007, and updated in 2009, and the latest version is LEED v4. Regardless of the version, this system gave buildings a checklist of requirements in order to collect points in order for buildings to earn a one of the four certificates, certified, silver, gold, or platinum.
1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of these rating systems?
Some of the advantages of these rating systems are:
· They encourage sustainable design by providing requirements to earning certification. By reducing energy and water consumption, waste carbon emissions, is of course environmentally friendly.
· Buildings also become economically efficient, reducing operating costs by 8-9%, and adding up to 7.5% to its value, with a return on investment up to 6.6%.
· Encourages healthy building designs for indoor environmental quality, and it increases productivity and wellness for its occupants.
Some of the disadvantages of these rating systems are:
· Because of the points system, architects focus on earning easy points, rather than creating innovative environmentally friendly designs.
· It is very time consuming and expensive for small non-commercial projects.
· These rating systems do not consider the context and performance of a building, and once a building is certified, there is no guarantee that the sustainable practices are being followed
POST 2:
Discussions for a need of sustainable initiatives such as building rating systems started in 70s as people grew more aware of the unsustainable use of raw materials and energy resources. The real push towards a building rating system started in the late 90s with the creation of Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) in the United Kingdom. The U.S. Green Building Council launched the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) in 1998 (Spiegel, 2017). In the last two decades, LEED has significantly evolved over four versions. LEED v4.1 is the latest version of rating system to certify buildings. With each new version, LEED “raises the bar on the green building industry, from improving energy performance to emphasizing human health and integrative building design” (“LEED,” n.d., para. 1).
What are the advantages and disadvantages of these rating systems?
Advantages:
·
. Rating systems promote sustainable use of resources and are better for the environment.
. Rating systems create healthier and safer buildings for occupants.
. Accreditation to rating systems serve as business advantage. According to National Real Estate Investor, rating systems increase the value of buildings. According to a report from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which reviewed more than 50 studies, “buyers paid 10 percent to 31 percent more for properties that have earned a LEED certification, compared to comparable buildings without the certification” (Anderson, 2015, para. 7).
Disadvantages:
·
. Rating systems increase the cost of design and construction.
. Rating systems emphasize heavily on the final product, disregarding how sustainably the green elements of a building were manufactured.
. “LEED is a measurement tool and not a design tool. It is also not yet climate-specific, although the newest version hopes to address this weakness partially” (“The leadership,” n.d., para. 32).
POST 3:
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The early 1990’s with people and nature in mind to create better buildings focused on the environment. Human health and well-being, social equity and economic development were not serious considerations. In the begins of creating a rating system was to keep it simple and attainable. In the mid 90’s the Department of Energy gave a $300, 000 grant so that USGBC (United States Green Building Council) could continue to write standards and ensuring LEED got off the ground. In 1998 LEED was developed. It made the rating systems much easier to understand and much easier to put into use.
Just thinking to myself, I think one of the disadvantages is the cost of tiring down an older building and making it LEED, high fees for registration and certification along with commissioning fees. LEED takes time to understand and finding architects to invest in LEED itself.
An advantage I can think of, is making new buildings LEED as it helps with Climate Change and Human Health. Green buildings make long term savings. And this gives approach to building going GREEN.
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