UK Green Building Design

LEED 2009 is set to begin beta testing in February of 2009, with the full transition and launch of all new tests to happen by summer.
One of the biggest changes to the LEED Rating system is the incorporation of regionalism, where there is a possibility of a project team earning extra points that are prioritized in a project’s environmental zone. Also, some of the existing credits will be rewritten and fine-tuned based on user experience and comments about the old rating systems.

Besides the change in the point rating system, there is another change that is affecting those who are on the front line of the green building movement through LEED, the LEED Accredited Professionals.

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There are over 65,000 people who are LEED APs around the entire world, many of which who have helped bring LEED and the USGBC to where it is today in the world of sustainable architecture and green building design.

There is no longer just a LEED AP, as those who will be implementing the LEED rating systems for LEED 2009 will be a part of a three tiered credential system. The first tier is called ‘LEED Green Associate’, the second ‘The LEED Accredited Professional’, and the third ‘The LEED AP Fellow.’

The first tier, the LEED Green Associates, will be for ‘the people who support the LEED rating system,’ as said by Beth Holst, VP of credentials for the Green Building Certification Institute. The exam for the LEED Green Associate will cover basic green building knowledge and will not require the in-depth knowledge that it takes to bring a project to LEED certification. The types of people who are fitted for this exam are the product manufacturers, the marketers, the finance people, customer service, and students. It is unknown how many of these people are already LEED APs, but this exam will be much more suited for their needs, as they will probably never get into the actual details of LEED certification, which is reserved for the next tier, the LEED Accredited Professional.

The second tier, the LEED Accredited Professional, will be specialized credentials that get’s into the ‘in-depth knowledge of the rating system for the area that you work in most.’ These specialized rating systems will include specializations in New Construction, Interiors, Homes, Operations and Maintenance (previously LEED for Existing Buildings), and Neighborhood Development. The exam and rating systems will be similar to the existing version, with the changes in regionalism and the addition of new Water Efficiency credits, which was commented to be a minor lacking in the current version of the LEED rating system. There will be other changes, all of which will be announced when the new LEED reference guides come out mid to early 2009.

The third and final tier is reserved for the LEED AP Fellow. The LEED AP Fellow is a person who demonstrates great knowledge in the LEED rating system, distinguished with years of experience and leading green building design. This is an elite class of leading professionals that will be of much fewer numbers than the previous tiers of the new LEED credentialing system.

Beta testing for the LEED Green Associate’s exam begins in February of 2009, and the entire rating system is planned for launch in mid 2009. This is a great step towards refining the somewhat controversial rating system, which should make it more accepted and specialized for buildings living in certain regions of the world.

Many people are anxiously awaiting the new rating system, and will be curious to see how widely accepted it will truly be. It’s a step in the right direction, and we should all thank the USGBC in their efforts to stay current in today’s constantly changing green building market and it’s technologies.

By: Intheleed.com

www.intheleed.com Intheleed.com provides the latest study materials and help to those who want to become a LEED Accredited Professional. With helpful tools, tips and credit summaries, Intheleed.com has become the #1 Free online LEED AP Exam Resource. If you are interested in the LEED exam, please visit intheleed.com for more information.

Green building rules the roost.

Nowadays the North Coast Builders Exchange is engaged in the planning of a green-building education center and it seems that it could be equipped by mid-summer. 

Revit3D.com - BIMBoom Revitlution.

In my personal effort to expand from Revit to BIM to IPD and LEED and Green Building Analysis & Design, I’m sure I’ll be spending a lot of time following her blog to see how it can help us with Revit. 

Vanderbilt University’s Campus Recognized for "Green" Building

These three residence halls are LEED-Silver certified and The Commons Center is LEED-Gold certified, making it the first higher-education building and the second overall to obtain this designation in Tennessee. 

Tourism for Tomorrow 2009 - 12 finalists named.

This group of companies, comprising the Puntacana Resort&Club, the Punta Cana International Airport, and the Puntacana Ecological Foundation, has been instrumental in building a network of tourism infrastructure in an impoverished region of the Dominican Republic. Grupo PUNTACANA not only offers employment opportunities for the local population, but also provides health and education services, transport infrastructure, and fundamental conservation activities. 

RIBA to push architects’ role in green retrofitting programme …

There is work in this for all scales of practice.” A spokesman for the UK Green Building Council also backed the RIBA’s efforts, claiming architects would be vital in helping design out inefficiencies in heating and energy. 

Technorati Tags: center, curriculum, green building education, green credits, green education, green grass, services

Finding environmentally friendly furnishings and home decor used to be a challenge. Products were either hard to find or out of reach price-wise for the average consumer. Today however, eco conscious flooring, window coverings, and counter tops are becoming much more accessible. Even major national retailers are selling things like bamboo linens, biodegradable cleaning products, and energy efficient appliances.

Here are a few of the latest green products for your home. They’ve been selected based on their aesthetics, functionality, and their innovative use of recycled materials.

1. Green Planet Paints has created a line of interior paints that produce zero volatile organic compounds, so they won’t negatively affect your indoor air quality. Non-toxic and reasonably priced, these environmentally friendly paints are available in over forty colors that will match any dcor.

2. Vetrazzo has become one of the hottest products around. Made out of recycled glass shards, Vetrazzo surfaces can be used for flooring, counter tops, and more. Vetrazzo is smooth to the touch, heat-resistant and beautiful to look at, and offer a great alternative to marble or granite.

3. Another option for counter tops comes from a small business owner in Washington State. Squak Mountain Stone was created by Ame Quiriconi as a means of reducing landfill, and stimulating the local economy. Defined on its site as "a fibrous-cement material comprised of recycled paper, recycled glass, coal fly-ash and cement," Squak Mountain Stone has all the good looks and durability of natural stone, but weighs much less and is made from recycled materials.

4. Featured in several national publications, the designers of SCRAPILE have developed quite a fan-following. SCRAPILE’s Bart Bettencourt and Carlos Salgado’s goal was to create lasting pieces that are stylish to look at, functional in the home, and good for the environment. They have achieved their goal by building stunning tables, chairs, and accessories out of scrap pieces of lumber.

5. Along the same lines as New York’s SCRAPILE, the talented coppersmiths of Cobre take scraps of discarded copper and make hand-hammered copper sinks, wall hangings, and vases. Reclaiming unused copper keeps materials out of landfills, and provides homeowners with a unique surface that has naturally germ-killing properties. In addition, Cobre is a Fair Trade company, so you can feel good knowing that the artisans who make the products receive a competitive wage for their work.

6. Philips’ Eco TV is a 42-inch, flat-panel LCD television set that runs on only 75 watts of power. The unit contains no lead-based materials, has an energy saving stand-by mode, and comes in a recycled box. You get all these benefits plus high definition picture quality, and the unit retails for just under $1400.

7. For green laundry enthusiasts, there are now new options for washing your clothes without wasting water or energy. Wonderwash is a new hand crank washer that handles a 5lb load in minutes, without the use of electricity. You also only require about 10% of the water used in traditional washing machines, and it’s a real space saver too. An added bonus is the great arm workout you get when you have multiple loads to do, and the product is affordably priced at only $42.95.

8. The Spin-X Spin Dryer would make a lovely companion appliance to the Wonderwash. Clothes dry in half the time, which means that the machine uses half the energy of standard units. Clothes last longer because they’re exposed to less heat and tumbling action, and less heat is pumped into the room, which makes doing laundry on a hot summer day less of a chore.

By: Lesa Parham

Home Depot Gets Some Green Competition

The 3500 square foot store offers guests one-stop-s 8205 hopping for their environmentally friendly home supplies. There are several items in the Green Depot that you would expect to see like bamboo flooring and recycled glass counter tops. 

Sustainable Children’s Furniture

Decorate your little darlings’ new nursery in sustainable style from Muu, a brand new environmentally friendly furniture designer crafted in the United States. Muu’s philosophy is simple: their core belief is in the environment.  

Jewelry that speaks gratitude, miracles and transformation …

I have been using an environmentally friendly metal and refining company for several years now; but only recently secured a guarantee of the high percentage of recycled metal content in my jewelry. 

Environmentally-Friendly Furniture Refinishing.

Safe, non-toxic and environmentally clean furniture refinishing and remanufacturing, re-upholstery services completed on-site at less than a quarter of the cost of replacing furniture.  

Technorati Tags: green century products, green certifited products, green products applied to housing

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