LEED Certification in Architecture and Interior Design

 The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, also known as LEED is a third-party green building certification that promotes sustainability in the architecture and interior design world. The USGBC website states “LEED-certified buildings save money, improve efficiency, lower carbon emissions, and create healthier places for people.” The purpose of the program is to encourage builders to create structures that support healthy living, leading to healthier communities, cities, and countries to produce a sustainable world. Not only can buildings be LEED certified, but designers can also become certified to heighten their knowledge of green buildings and provide the best sustainable designs for their clients. To become certified as a designer you must pass the LEED exam. There are no prerequisites to the exam, but it is highly encouraged you have experience building a green building or an educational background in sustainability. For a building to become LEED certified it must reach a list of requirements that fall into the category of Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum standards. These categories include carbon, transportation, water, waste, environmental qualities, and materials.

Some well-known LEED buildings include the Willis Tower in Chicago, The Empire State Building in New York, Facebook Headquarters in California, Shanghai Tower in China, The White House in Washington D.C., and many more. These buildings all have an important role in our history and still contribute to society to this day. Monumental buildings that are LEED-certified promote sustainability and show anyone who visits these sites that the future of design is green.

Looking into the future, LEED developed a new rating system that took place in January of 2023. The program maintains a suitable rating system and reassesses the requirements periodically as the market shifts and updates its products. The LEED V5 revised the credential exam to sharpen areas that are important and simplify outdated areas. The USGBC hopes to launch a single platform to document buildings throughout their lifetime. They also want to reduce documentation when it comes to certification in hopes of making it easier and quicker to become a LEED member. By broadening their marketplace, they also hope to reach all areas of sustainability in the architecture and interior design world.

One Step Further:

The 4 levels of LEED are Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum (Certified being the lowest and Platinum being the highest.) These categories are based on a point system where the more points a building receives, the higher the ranking it will be classified as. There are also categories within the certification such as building design construction, interior design and construction, building operation and maintenance, neighborhood development, homes, and cities and communities. These categories divide the building process and recommend what contractors, architects’ interior designers, and anyone else who contributes to the building process to do to make a structure LEED certified.

Sources:

What is leed in architecture? - Architecture (architecturemaker.com)

LEED rating system | U.S. Green Building Council (usgbc.org)

The Future of LEED | U.S. Green Building Council (usgbc.org)

Public LEED v5 Draft Expected in 2023 - Canada Green Building Council (CAGBC)

The 4 Levels of LEED Certification and How to Achieve Them - Smart CRE (smart-cre.com)

Additional Sources:

LEED_future-of-LEED-report_June 2022.pdf (usgbc.org)

LEED and Waste Management - Explained - YouTube

Inside One of the Most Sustainable Buildings In the World | Olympic House IOC - YouTube

Comments

  1. Delia,

    I thought your blog was very good and very informative. I could tell you put a lot of research into the blog due to the amount of sources you used and citations of sources throughout the blog. I liked how you first stated the definition of LEED than dived deeper into what LEED actually meant especially relating it to buildings that are well known. This allows me and other views to really get a better idea of what a LEED building looks like. One source that I found helpful and was informative was https://www.procore.com/jobsite/10-iconic-leed-certified-buildings-from-around-the-world. The link is to famous buildings across the world that are LEED certified and explains how the buildings obtain LEED certification.

    Your "One Step Further" was very interesting to me and something that I researched a lot myself. Your explanation on the different types of Level Certification was easy to follow. To further discuss the different level certifications and point system, you could break down how each categories have a certain amount of points. For an example, in my blog I stated that in the resource and material category, it contributes 16 points to the overall point system.

    Overall, your blog explained what LEED is and was easy to follow. Your extra sources related well to your blog especially the LEED and Waste Management one. That video went into depth about the different materials and recycling process used to make a building LEED certified.

    Well Done!

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  2. Marisa,

    Thanks so much for your well-researched summary of LEED and its initiatives. I thought you did a great job clearly summarizing everything. I was extremely impressed by your lengthy list of sources at the end! You clearly did a lot of research and probably learned a lot throughout the process.

    I also noted LEED's new rating system in my blog, but I didn't go into as much detail as you did, so I actually learned a little bit more about it by reading your blog! I also appreciated your extra sources at the end. I took a look at the last video on the Olympic House and thought that was such a fun, unique, extra link to add - as it takes a closer look at a particular building.

    For all the research you did, I do wish your blog had gone into a little more depth within some of the minor topics. For example, I thought your One Step Further section could have been a little more explanatory, and I would have actually enjoyed learning more about the various categories and their purposes. I found a source that talks about each category a bit more:

    https://neumannmonson.com/blog/leed-certification-pathways-categories

    Nevertheless, I enjoyed your blog, and admire your depth of sources. Good job!

    ReplyDelete

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