In his New York Times Op-ed piece, “Don’t LEED Us Astray” (10 May 2010), Alec Appelbaum addresses an essential problem of the LEED rating system: it measures the possibility of a building performing in a sustainable manner, instead of the building’s actual performance. This is a valid and understandable complaint. However, there exists an additional lack in the LEED rating system that is much more grave: its myopic focus on new-build construction.
What is LEED?
On the one hand, the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a standard developed by the United States Green Building Council – note the word “building.” Based on a system started in the United Kingdom called BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method), LEED came into existence in 1998. Today, LEED is the nation’s most recognized rating system for environmental standards.
As Mr. Appelbaum notes, for better or worse, LEED has become the torchbearer for sustainable building. Structures such as 1 Bryant Park aspire to LEED’s highest rating: platinum. While it is unrealistic to believe that all new building will come to a halt, LEED needs to award substantially more points for the reuse of existing building stock, and employment of reclaimed materials in construction.
A Major Oversight
As it stands now, LEED awards one point – as much as you would get for screwing in a bike rack in front of the building – for using an existing structure. This boggles the mind. I could build a zero energy thermodynamically perfect house, and I’d still be in the red when it came to expenditure of fossil fuels because of the energy it took to create this structure in the first place. Constructing a LEED platinum building uses considerably more fossil fuels than a typical renovation of an existing structure.
Factors that contribute to this are: transportation of waste material; landfill or incinerator use; oil burned to remove structure; residual planetary impact of the waste as it biodegrades. My company, for example, refuses to take on new build jobs, including additions. Instead, we believe in innovative design solutions, and a re-envisioning of space in order to meet a client’s goals.
A Process of ReUse
Recently, we have been in the process of building a LEED Platinum home and commercial space in Philadelpia’s Fishtown area. As it stands, the property is a 6500 square foot shell. However, the brick walls are in fine shape, and most of the joists will continue to do work for years down the line. The previous project general contractor refused the job because he said the building should just be ripped down. We approach it differently. Our first step in deconstruction will be to salvage all the flooring and set aside the re-usable material for re-use. The other material we will re-mill for use elsewhere. The remainder of the deconstruction material will be sorted and portioned out for re-use, with the goal being 100% recycling. Not unlike the goal of the Native Americans to use every part of the animal, instead of just the meat.
In addition, over 90% of our framing material will be coming from struck movie sets in the Philadelphia area. Instead of dumping the used TJIs and dimensional lumber, we have arranged to purchase and clean up the lumber for re-use. All our kitchen and bathroom cabinetry will be fashioned from local reclaimed material – milled up joists, staves from old water towers, siding from local barns.
With these moves, we have taken care of most of the framing, the cabinetry, and a large chunk of the floors – the remainder will be reclaimed from elsewhere. How much does LEED award us? Half a point for each section. We end up with a point and a half – again, half a point more for what we would get with a bike rack out front.
As we speak, in Las Vegas and California, a mini-building boom occurs. Despite extensive tracts of unused and empty housing surrounding cities, builders continue to build new. This is the most egregious example of America’s need to build, build, build. In the same way we are addicted to oil, we are also addicted to the creation of new buildings.
An Alternative to Waste
LEED needs to present a counterpoint, and award points for it. I would like to take this opportunity to present one: SlowBuild. We have been following the tenets of this philosophy since the inception of our company. Energy and thought are expended on figuring out how best to incorporate existing building stock and material into a finished project. The act of creation engages the design mind, reclaimed material, and the environment. Sustainability, job creation, and a consciousness of the physical surrounding in which the building stands are central goals.
The United States Green Building Council has a great weight on its shoulders. Other rating systems – the Living Building Council, Passive House, Green Globes – carry little weight with the public, or anyone else. While Mr. Applebaum points out a central problem on the energy front, we need to take a step back and look at the larger picture. LEED should be considerably more aggressive in rewarding builders for a thoughtful and considered approach, using existing building stock and reclaimed material at every possible turn.
Brendan Isaac Jones was born in Colorado and raised in downtown Philadelphia. In 1997 he moved to Alaska, and in 2005 he joined Local Carpenter’s Union 1281 in southeast Alaska. He has also worked on barn-building, framing and finish carpentry crews in California, Kentucky, and Michigan. Brendan spent a year as a timber framer in New Hampshire at Bensonwood Woodworking, building Homes in Nantucket, Vermont, and New Hampshire.
Brendan studied at Columbia and Oxford Universities, graduating from Oxford with a B.A. and M.A. in French and English literature. In 2006 Brendan returned to Philadelphia to start Greensaw. Brendan was recently featured in the New York Times; click here to read the article.
Discussion: 2 Comments
Hooray for responsible contracting!
I believe even the push to renovate and redecorate too often has mindless consumerism rather than respect for materials, budget and conservation at its core! Granite countertops and stainless steel appliances are not inherently better than existing alternatives.
Personally, I think an aesthetic that allows for mixed eras (not everything brand spanking new) needs to be promoted (so it can become trendy!)in home sales, home living, and home re-building! In the same vein, realistic use-lives of appliances, countertops, floors, windows, blinds, etc. also need to be published and promoted as hip. Keep what you have and update around it or re-purpose it!
Thanks, Greensaw for throwing a well-used wrench into the works and getting people to re-think their wasteful ways!
[...] Isaac Jones, the owner of Greensaw, on the SlowBuild philosophy where he mentions our project: Perspectives: Building, the New American Addiction by Brendan Isaac Jones, Owner of Greensaw Design … This entry was posted in Green Building and tagged Brendan, Greensaw, LEED. Bookmark the [...]