Personal Musings on the LEED AP Process

Originally posted 2015-12-25 10:00:48.

As a new LEED AP, I could not help but reflect on my studying and the learning curve that I went through during the process.

First of all, thank you to all who helped along the way. Your support and advice was invaluable to my success. Without the support of family and my friends and colleagues who assisted with encouraging words and the occasional advice, I could not have completed the journey.

Second of all, I learned a lot. While much of the process is rote memorization, one can’t help but learn a lot about sustainable building practices and some of the easier ways to “go green.” I find myself looking at the world a bit differently. I notice things around the home and office that are both good, and not so good, for the environment and also for the bottom line as far as energy costs.

As I have discussed before, the economic impact of sustainable building is an emphasis that I see as a great tool toward “selling” sustainable building practices. I am more convinced than ever now that this is the way to go after going through the LEED AP accreditation process.

Good luck to all of you that are taking the exam over the next two days.

As always, please share your thoughts below or subscribe if you find this or other Musings of interest.

More Thoughts on “Green” (the Practice, not the Color) Building

Originally posted 2015-06-16 13:00:57.

20110504-RD-LSC-0654
20110504-RD-LSC-0654 (Photo credit: USDAgov)

It has been a while since I “mused” on the green building landscape.  While I am a LEED AP and have presented on green (read “sustainable”) building in the past, I am not totally sold on LEED as the be all end all in sustainable construction (the USGBC is a private rating organization that, like the rest of us, is imperfect).  I’ve also discussed, both here and elsewhere, the potential risks that come with any new(ish) building process.

Continue reading More Thoughts on “Green” (the Practice, not the Color) Building

Are “Green” Building Designations and Certifications Truly Necessary?

Originally posted 2012-11-19 09:18:52.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As anyone who reads this construction blog on a regular basis knows, I believe that the move to newer sustainable building practices (while bringing about a new or different set of potential risks) is both necessary and laudable.  Because of this fact, you may be asking why the headline for today’s post.  After all, I am a LEED AP and assisted in the drafting of the LEED/Green Building addendum to the ConsensusDOCS so I must be pro LEED (or any other) certification of buildings. To the extent that such certification encourages best practices and more sustainable building stock, I am pro certification.

Continue reading Are “Green” Building Designations and Certifications Truly Necessary?

Tall and Sustainable Is Not an Easy Fix

Originally posted 2016-10-26 11:35:05.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Way back in 2009, I discussed the interaction between taller and taller buildings and sustainable (“green”) building.  Back then, the reference was to the construction of skyscrapers in the Middle East and Europe.  The initially referenced ENR article was written in the context of an urban retrofit of some of Chicago’s taller buildings to make them more sustainable.

Continue reading Tall and Sustainable Is Not an Easy Fix

Be Careful with “Green” Construction

Originally posted 2012-05-07 10:11:32.

UT Dallas 74,000-square-foot (6,900 m2) Student Services Building (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As readers of Construction Law Musings can attest, I am an enthusiastic (if at times skeptical) supporter of sustainable (or “green”) building.  I am solidly behind the environmental and other benefits of this type of construction.  However, I have likened myself to that loveable donkey Eeyore on more than one occasion when discussing the headlong charge to a sustainable future.  While I see the great benefits of a privately built and privately driven marketplace for sustainable (I prefer this term to “green” because I find it less ambiguous) building stock and retrofits of existing construction, I have felt for a while that the glory of the goal has blinded us somewhat to the risks and the need to consider these risks as we move forward.

Continue reading Be Careful with “Green” Construction

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