I have been toying with the idea of becoming a LEED Accredited Professional and looking at the benefits of the time and money that it requires. This is an illuminating article on the pitfalls of the system which I found very interesting…
LEED works well if you’re a wealthy person building within a Northern city. But that probably includes about 1% of the world’s population. We need a green building rating system for the rest of us.
Read the article on ARCHDAILY here.
Furthermore I found the reader’s comments entertaining and illuminating – I love the passionate expression!
I agree that LEED has moved out of the certification business and is focusing on education and accredidation. Like you, I am grossly disappointed. Having processed numerous LEED jobs it has become clear that the reviewers are based in India, have NO design or construction cridentials, and base their “review” on checklists that automatically spit-out comments compiled by lawyers who make their money being obscure. It’s a pitty that LEED went in this direction. I would have preferred a system that was streamlined enough to capture 10% of the market by now instead of a pathetic 0.5%. Fortunately, we have alternatives.
A much needed change. LEED has become the symbol of all that is wrong with sustainable building.
The LEED certification program is a massive, creativity-snuffing bureaucratic boondoggle and the enemy of intelligent & responsible site-specific and client-specific design.
I’ve never understood this rhetoric. No one rating system will be right for all different building types but LEED has helped to transform the industry and continues to do so. The USGBC is a consensus based organisation. If you think it should change, get involved. If you don’t believe in the system, don’t use it. And “gizmo green”??? Most of our highest achieving LEED certified projects have used the most passive of systems. In no way does LEED preference gizmoness. It’s not a secret that it doesn’t make sense for all projects, in all places, at all budgets. Nor does it guarantee performence. That doesn’t mean it’s not a useful system. Can’t we give this argument a rest and put our energy into improving the built environment in measurable ways?
Love the earth. Love people. Love architecture.
Sustainable Building Design 