LEED Progress & Action Plan

Well the last time that I wrote about my first LEED project, we just received our design review comments with on a few comments from the reviewer.  Well we submitted our responses to their comments and to our surprise they have accepted all of our credits.  So the project still has a fighting chance to receive a Gold certification.  Which puts us at the mercy of our contractor.

Which brings me back to our action plan that I have mentioned in a previous post (here).  So the spreadsheet has gone through some revisions as we understand more how the credits are to be tracked.

LEED Action Plan

LEED Action Plan

However the contractor is using the spreadsheet as a substitute for the actual product data and or manufacturer letters that we need to have on file for if the USGBC decided to audit one of these credits.  And this has been apart of an ongoing problem with this project from day one, incomplete submittals.  Which puts us in a hard place to be in.  First, we do not want to accept the submittal until we have all the data that we requested in our specifications.  However if we reject it without review, the owner thinks we are holding up the project.  So it is difficult to keep track of everything when we are getting multiple submittals for each product.

I would like to hear from anyone who has had trouble getting the required information for LEED documentation and how they dealt with it.

-Josh

Next Stage of Design

Well the waiting game has been over for awhile with the residential project that I have mentioned here in a previous post. To our enjoyment, our client definitely values our opinion and appreciates good design. Hence his reasoning for hiring us, after his disappointment with a drafter that he originally hired.

So his modest single story cottage will be truly transformed from the image below to what we hope to be an extremely energy efficient, durable and beautiful home.

Existing cottage

Existing cottage

Proposed design sketch

Proposed design sketch

Subsequently we are refining the design and bringing it more in line with our clients’ budget.  However this gives us a basic concept to work with as we select materials and generate construction details.  So now I get to really determine how this building is constructed and performs.  Furthermore as I progress, I am finding that I enjoy this aspect of the job more than the actual design work.

-Josh

Product manufacturer LEED NON-compliance

I am publishing this post more for an entertainment value than anything else.  As I have been reviewing shop drawings and LEED submittals to make sure a certain percentage of our building materials either have some level of recycled content or are manufactured within 500 miles of our project site as dictated by the USGBC LEED-NC rating system.  I am presented with this document as backup information for this companies NON-compliance with LEED and our product specifications.

As you can see I have hidden the identity of the company because there is nothing wrong with their product (fire extinguisher cabinet), and I happen to agree with their statements, however amusing it was at first to read.  If we are anticipating this product to get us over the hump to meet our projects recycled content or regional material goal, then we have not been doing our job correctly.

LEED action plan and documentation

Well after 2 two years of working on design and construction documents for my first LEED project, we are finally in the construction phase. Which for any LEED project means additional paperwork to contend with, along with shop drawing review.

Well after a week and a half of reviewing hollow metal frame shop drawings (which had no associated LEED data attached may I add), I get to jump right into scrutinizing our contractors LEED action plan. Which is basically a spreadsheet that we provided to them (currently flawed) to document how they plan on meeting the required benchmarks for Recycled Content, Regional Materials and FSC certified woods. So with this not only my first LEED project, but the office as well as the project manager working for the contractor. So it is basically the blind leading the blind at this point. But I guess the frustrating part is some of the office expectations of the contractor, as well as the lack of research and understanding from the contractor along with the fact that they are not submitting the appropriate forms and data with the shop drawings that we need to track the progress of these credits to get our buildings LEED certification.

I don’t know exactly where I was going with this post, or who I ended up complaining about more. But I guess what I have learned so far in the two months that this project as been under construction are that even if the requirements are in the project manual, you will not necessarily receive them when you want them, and sometimes you just have to bite your tongue when people are expecting when no one else knows what to expect.

-Josh

Waiting game

This is one of the worst things about the profession of architecture, the waiting game. Last month I was able to bring in my first client to work with the office. Nothing too big, just a small addition renovation project to a cottage. However, what makes this waiting game so frustrating is that, as my wife puts it, “They are the perfect client”. Since as an office, we recently had a restructuring of firm goals and are now incorporating sustainability into all of our projects instead of select few, along with sustainability as a passion of mine. This particular client has two goals for the cottage, durability and energy efficiency.

So after almost two weeks of working on developing a few design schemes for the client to review, I sit here and wait. Wondering what scheme are they going to choose, how they want to alter them, or blend schemes together, etc. Plus there are things about each scheme that can make the project very exciting, such as taking advantage of the views, daylighting and utilizing prevailing winds for natural ventilation.

I just can’t wait to start with the next step of the process and refine the design to allow the cottage to work the way they want the house to function both today and as the family grows and changes.

-Josh