February 2010

LEED-ND Regionalization - Project Spotlight: Muckleshoot K-12 School - New Staff Honors - Learning Opportunities - GreenBuildingAdvisor.com

Learning Opportunities

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New Staff Honors

Congratulations to the following staff members for receiving recognition of their expertise:

Nora Daley-Peng - American Institute Certified Planner

Nora is now a certified planner recognized by the American Institute of Certified Planners' (AICP). The certification requires fulfilling the AICP's education and experience requirements and passing their Comprehensive Planning Examination. AICP is the American Planning Association's professional institute, providing recognized leadership nationwide in the certification of professional planners, ethics, professional development, planning education, and the standards of planning practice.

James Jenkins - Certified Passive House Consultant

James completed a 9-day training on the ins and outs of the Passive House Building Certification Standard and passed the Professional Certification Exam. A Passive House focuses on maximizing the heat gain from the sun and internal heat gains of any building to maintain comfort with low energy consumption. As a CPHC, James can provide Passive House consulting, energy modeling, site inspections, verification and certification for Passive House project.

Brooke Best - Historic Preservation Advisory Committee member

Brooke was nominated, interviewed and selected for the seven-member Historic Preservation Advisory Committee (HPAC), a volunteer committee of professionals who guide 4Culture's historic preservation policy development and program planning. 4Culture is King County's cultural services agency which includes 4 program areas: Arts, Heritage, Preservation, and Public Art. The committee also advises on issues affecting the protection, enhancement, and interpretation of historic places throughout greater King County.

Thank you for being such a great resource to our clients and community!

LEED-ND Regionalization

Bonus points reward projects that respond to their location
by Nora Daley-Peng, ASLA, CSBA, LEED AP

How can we encourage the development of green communities that are appropriate to our region? I had the opportunity to tackle this question while serving on the LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) Pacific Regional Task Force for Washington. The USGBC invited us to recommend a menu of 6 LEED-ND credits eligible for regional priority points within each Washington zip code. The goal of the regional priority points is to reward LEED-ND project teams for addressing environmental issues specific to their region.

Our task force's approach to this assignment was to split Washington into two basic climatic zones - Western Temperate and Eastern High Desert. From there, we divided these climatic zones into urban, suburban, and rural areas. Then, we discussed the sustainability issues that are specific to the urban, suburban, and rural areas of each climatic zone. Finally, we selected six credits from the LEED-ND rating system that addressed these issues for each zone.

For example, in the Western Temperate - Urban Zone, one of the credits that we prioritized was the Civic and Public Spaces credit because public space is an essential amenity for high density living. In the Eastern High Desert - Suburban Zone, we recommended a bonus point for solar orientation. Since suburban building lots are generally larger and less constrained than in urban areas, solar orientation can really reduce energy use in this zone. From the Eastern High Desert - Rural Zone, one of the credits that we prioritized was light pollution reduction to preserve night sky.

The USGBC's LEED-ND Core Committee is now reviewing the recommendations from Regional Task Forces across the country. The Regional Priority credits will be "rolled-out" with the LEED-ND launch in early Spring.

The Regional Priority credits available for each registered project will be indicated on LEED Online based on the projects zip code. If a project achieves any one of those credits through the traditional route, an additional point is automatically earned. Projects may earn up to four Regional Priority credits.

Nora Daley-Peng is a Project Manager who consults on campus and neighborhood projects, low impact developments, and other green building projects.

Project Spotlight
Muckleshoot Indian Tribe K-12 School
In the fall of 2009, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe opened a new school near Auburn, WA and received a Silver certification under the LEED for Schools program. The school is designed to provide children a deeper understanding of their tribal culture and greater connection to the environment. The state-of-the-art facility provides just over 100,000 square feet of classrooms and specialized support spaces for all grades. The campus is rich with tribal symbolism, planted with native species and offers stunning views of Mount Rainier.

O'Brien & Company provided LEED Quality Assurance to experienced team members Mahlum Architects and BNBuilders and produced two Innovation Credits to put the project safely into the Silver level--and provide support for ongoing sustainable operations of the facility. Learn more...

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