Hi, Andy (et al). Actually, there is a separate LEED system for Existing
Buildings (LEED_EB) which should have helped address some of those
considerations. Certainly the LEED system recognizes that it is more
sustainable to preserve existing than to "start over". However, I can
also attest to the fact that many old buildings are extremely
problematic to renovate, both for energy efficiency AND for
accessibility AND for integration of modern technology... I certainly
cannot speak to Hartwick's decision-making in this way, but it is
equally possible to be proud of a LEED-certified renovated building, too.
Marian
Andy Goodell wrote:
There was quite a fuss made about the Golisano Hall LEED building which
is now finished at Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY. In order to make
room on the terraced slope of Oyaron Hill, they took down the college's
second oldest building. To meet a certain amount of LEED points, only
18% of the building needed to be recycled, and the rest was added to the
landfills.
The question that everyone had was: Is it more sustainable to add a $16
million LEED building while landfilling an old one, or put that money
towards renovating the old building to become efficient. To my
understanding, LEED certification cannot be applied to existing
buildings, which is likely why that option was not seriously considered.
In my opinion, LEED certifications need to be completely overhauled. If
it's true that many of these actually use more power than conventional
buildings, that confirms that this system is highly flawed.
The problem is that most of these buildings are not going up for
sustainability reasons, but for marketing. College like Hartwick can now
say "Look! We are sustainable with a LEED building!" But I can assure
you that Hartwick has little care in the way of sustainability.
-Andy
Jenifer Wightman wrote:
Hey folks,
so Henry Gifford gave a talk last night and has written a critique on
LEED/Green building certification. thought it might interest.
for the article he wrote which is a little redundant, go to
www.henrygifford.com
and scroll down to:
Building Measuring Systems: My favorite way to rate the energy efficiency of
buildings:
By how much energy they actually use. Click Here for the
article<http://www.energysavingscience.com/articles/henrysarticles/BuildingRatingSystems.pdf?attredirects=0>
Read the e-mail the US Green Building Council sent to each chapter leader
in response to the revelation that LEED buildings use more energy than
comparable buildings: Click Here for e-mail, with
rebuttal<http://www.energysavingscience.com/documents/DearChapterLeaders.pdf?attredirects=0>
***
the second document is the USGBC answer to his article with Henry's rebuttal
in red.
amazing how there are 6 billion ways of seeing this single world. what is
the path to global rationality through locally contextual logic?
j
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