What Makes a Proper Green Building?

Did you know that buildings are responsible for 38% of the United States’  energy consumption?

Did you know that buildings are also responsible for 6% of global greenhouse gas emissions (not including the 21% caused by the manufacturing of materials)?

Ever since the Oil Embargo in the 1970s, the architecture community has been searching for ways to design and build self-reliant buildings in terms of energy. This interest in energy independence combined with an increasing global focus on climate change has led architects trying to create buildings that have a lower total impact on the environment.

Of course, the execution of this goal looks different for every “green” building, as technology is constantly evolving and architecture is an expressive form of art. Yet, in recent years, there has been an emergence of different guidelines that architects have adopted, thus creating a generalized definition of what constitutes a green building.

This semester I am taking a course in sustainable architecture  and, so far, we have explored Green Logics, the development of sustainable architecture, and various green building certifications. There are several green building certifications out there,  but there are three extremely popular systems that we have focused on: LEED, Living Building Challenge (LBC), and WELL.

At first glance, each of these certification systems are seemingly complex, as a building itself is also complex. From checking if the materials are reasonably sourced to the decrease in overall energy dependence through green building strategies, these certifications seem to cover everything.

Yet, it is important to know what each of these certifications stand for because the future of architecture may depend on them. Let’s take a brief look at what it means for a building to hold each of these certifications.

LEED Certification

In 1998, the United States Green Building Council adopted the first version of the Leadersip in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification system. According to the USGBC the LEED certification system,

“is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. Available for virtually all building types, LEED provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings. LEED certification is a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement and leadership” (“Why LEED Certification?”).

LEED, unlike the next two certifications, is achievable for a majority of buildings, whether built already or a new construction. The goal of the LEED system is to provide transparency in the building process including aspects such as material compositions, overall energy consumption for the building process, and overall energy and water usage once in operation.

The LEED system works off of a point system with four possible ratings: Certified (40-49pts), Silver (50-59pts), Gold (60-79pts), Platinum (80+ pts). Even more interestingly, the way to gain these points varies depending on which type of building is involved, also known as which LEED system is being used.

Currently, there are 3,800 LEED Platinum certified buildings in the world, including The Tower at PNC Plaza in Pittsburgh. Did you know that Penn State’s Millennium Science Building is actually Gold certified? The things you never know about the buildings all around you.

LEED provides an attainable blueprint for all buildings, including homes, to become less harmful to the environment and its inhabitants!

WELL Certification

The WELL Certification, established in 2013, shares the LEED system’s desire to create buildings with low impacts on the environment. However, the WELL system holds a higher priority on the health and wellbeing of its inhabitants.

This focus on the health and wellbeing of inhabitants not only includes physical health but also mental health. According to version 2 of the WELL certificaiton system, ” WELL is premised on a holistic view of health: human health as not ony a state of being free of disease… but also of the enjoyment of productive lives from which we derive happiness and satisfaction” (“WELL v2”).

In fact, buildings, especially work places, have found that the buildings have positively impacted their inhabitant’s productivity, satisfaction, and overall mood! This is not suprising as there is a well developed correlation between one’s well-being and being emersed in the environment, which, as a green building standard, WELL strives to incorporate.

The WELL system is also based on a point system. For WELL certification, a building gains points based on its performance in each of the certification’s ten concepts. These concepts include air, water, nourishment, light, movement, thermal comfort, sound, materials, mind and community.

There are currently over WELL certified 4,000 projects in over 60 countries. There are six projects in Pennsylvania, including the Two Doughboy Square building in, you guessed it,  Pittsburgh. This building actually was designed by Penn State alum Luke Desmone.

Living Building Challenge Certification

Finally, we have, possibly the most ambitious of them all, the Living Building Challenge (LBC)!

The Living Building Challenge focuses on creating “good” buildings, by which they mean environmentally undisruptive and healthy for inhabitants. The LBC buildings are based on three principles (“The Living Building Challenge”):

• “Regenerative buildings that connect occupants to light, air, food, nature, and community.”
• “Self-sufficient and remain within the resource limits of their site.”
• “Create a positive impact on the human and natural systems that interact with them.”

The LBC certification system is said to work towards creating buildings that are as efficient as flowers, plants that are self-sufficient, complex, and beautiful. With that being said, the system is based on 7 petals: place, water, energy, health & happiness, materials, equity, and beauty.

All builidings that are LBC certified must meet standards in each of the seven petals. Interestingly enough, the LBC certificaiton actually requires that their buildings only rely on current solar energy. The system also requires that the materials used in construction are “safe for all species for all time”(“The Living Building Challenge”).

Another one of the facets of this certification system is that it actually requires the building to be operational for over a year before the building can receive the certification! During this year, data is collected on how the building functions, including its energy and water consumption, air quality, and happiness of inhabitants.

There are currently only 15 Living Building Challenge certified buildings in the world. Two of these are actually in Pennsylvania, once again in Pittsburgh. Both the Phipps Conservatory’s Center for Stustainable Landscapes and The Frick Environmental Center have received certification!

What You Can Do

As is typical of my architecture related posts, there is not much for us to do- yet. Right now, just try to remember what you read about these programs so that if you ever find yourself in a building certified under one of the systems you recognize the building’s environmental impacts!

Another thing you could do, if you really liked the idea of green building certifications, is to check out each of the certification’s requirements (petals, points, you name it).

• LEED: http://leed.usgbc.org/
• WELL: https://v2.wellcertified.com/wellv2/en/overview
• LBC: https://living-future.org/lbc/

Although most buildings today still cause detrimental effects to the environment, the goal of these emerging certification systems is to reduce this reality in the future! While not all buildings, especiall those alreayd built, can feasibly become LBC or WELL certified, they can definitely start by working up the LEED system hierarchy! Then, hopefully someday, a majority of new buildings will be LBC or Well (or possibly an even more environmentally friendly certification yet to be developed) certified thus forever restricting the negative effects of buildings on our home– Earth!

Expand Your Horizons

“Why LEED Certification” 

“WELL v2”

“The Living Building Challenge”