"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
-Anonymous

A Higher Performing Building may not necessarily look much different from a less effective building. However High Performance Buildings relate to the world around them in new and more benign ways. Several high performance building design (HPBD) guidelines have been published.

Common threads of HPBD Guidelines:

• integrated design process
• whole building systems thinking
• life cycle cost accounting
• environmentally sensitive materials and processes
• energy efficiency, resource efficiency
• commissioning to optimize effective operation

When designing new campus buildings for Brown, the project design team should follow HPBD guidelines and routinely review the progress to make sure the building meets established environmental standards. There are certain questions decision makers can ask the designers to put higher performance on the agenda at every meeting. Several high performance green building guidelines are available. Of these guides, LEED is the most established, up to date, and expresses a consensus. Brown University should apply for LEED Silver or better rating for each new major construction project with at least four (of ten available) credit points in the Energy and Atmosphere category.

LEED
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a standard for measuring the performance level of a building. LEED promotes integrated, whole-building design practices and aims to transform the building market by raising consumer awareness of green building benefits in order to stimulate HPBD competition and leadership in the building industry.

USGBC
The US Green Building Council, a non-profit consortium of organizations involved in the design and construction of buildings developed LEED and continues to update it. The USGBC includes architects, engineers, contractors, developers, product manufacturers, environmental groups, and government agencies. The USGBC's LEED Campus Application Guide, scheduled for release in summer 2004, includes credits for specific campus innovations and concepts.

How LEED works
The LEED program has six basic categories:

• Sustainable Sites
• Water Efficiency
• Energy & Atmosphere
• Materials & Resources
• Indoor Environmental Quality
• Innovation & Design Process

There are basic prerequisites and a flexible trade-off system that assigns points in each category. The Rating System and Technical Reference Guide Publications clearly outline the necessary steps and document submissions. In the latest LEED version 2.1 there are 69 possible points. A project may be rated Platinum, Gold, Silver, Certified, or may not be rated based on the number of points earned. Thousands of building professionals have gone through training to become LEED accredited. Having an experienced LEED accredited professional on the design team facilitates the certification process, but is not mandatory to obtain a LEED rating.

Benefits and Results
LEED is a helpful tool for the design team to follow and produce a higher performing building. As outlined in the Benefits analysis, HPBD provides environmental and economic benefits for the University and protects the health and well-being of building occupants. Studies show that sustainable design actually improves productivity. By rewarding and encouraging energy efficiency, LEED indirectly addresses climate change. Currently, some strict state energy codes make a LEED Silver easily attainable. LEED Gold is fast becoming the recognized level for leaders in the field, but no universities have written LEED Gold into policy yet.

Who is using LEED?
LEED is quickly becoming the national HPBD standard. LEED is being used by private companies, universities, residential homeowners, and government agencies for new projects. Pilot projects for existing building renovations, commercial interiors and core and shell are in the works. Over 800 buildings representing over 150 million square feet have already or are currently seeking LEED certification.

Upfront extra costs associated with LEED Certification Process
Although LEED buildings have been found to repay the extra costs of construction over the life of the building, the additional upfront costs of LEED participation can increase the capital budget. There is an application fee for the LEED certification process. In addition, it takes human energy to complete and file documents at the appropriate stages. Architects and contractors may want to charge more if they are required to meet LEED standards. The average premium for LEED certified buildings is less than 2% of construction costs and this is paid back several times over the life of the building.

So why not just follow standards and not apply for LEED rating?
Leith Sharp from Harvard has a good answer for this question. She points out that at the start of a high performance building project there are many good intentions. Without a structured system to ensure attention to these goals during the design and construction process, these performance goals are often overlooked. If not required to follow the explicit guidelines and submit scheduled documentation, the performance goals may be sidelined by other concerns. The LEED System forces the design team to pay attention to high performance targets and the final product is an efficient, effective building.

LEED also serves as a third party verification of the environmental and performance levels of a building. Third party recognition would give Brown credibility with the community and local government. It is important for Brown University to improve and preserve these relationships, especially if the campus is to expand.

Project managers and facilities leaders at other leading universities recommend that the architect be ultimately responsible for LEED certification submissions.

Brown is currently in the process of developing design guidelines; environmental concerns will be part of these guidelines. Eventually, Brown's design guidelines will be handed to the architect along with the budget, schedule, and scope of the project. Guidelines will also be an important piece of communication with the construction manager. A HPBD requirement should be part of the general guidelines.

Brown should adopt HPBD guidelines to uphold its high performance goals throughout a project. Third party recognition and the LEED brand will bring publicity and authenticity to Brown's achievements.  

About 200 LEED registered projects are in campus settings. Here is a list of some colleges and universities that have at least one registered LEED project.

Other Universities have developed their own approach to HPBD Guidelines :

•  UNC: LEED Checklist for all projects, not necessarily apply for certification UNC HPBD Demonstration Pilot Project

•  Stanford University developed its own Sustainable Building Guidelines (Stanford Guidelines for Sustainable Buildings http://cpm.stanford.edu/process_new/Sustainable_Guidelines.pdf )

•  University of Minnesota developed Minnesota Sustainable Design Guide http://www.sustainabledesignguide.umn.edu/MSDG/guide2.html

Commissioning Considerations
Building commissioning, a systematic process of ensuring that the performance of the facility and its systems meet the design intent and the owner/occupant functional and operational needs, is a critical part of designing and building high performance, resource-efficient buildings. Brown needs to make sure that it fully commissions each building project. There is no point in designing effective building systems if no one makes sure they are operating at maximum efficiency. Brown could use in-house commissioning, like UNC's new program, or its commissioning could be done by an outside commissioning agent. The cost of commissioning depends on the size of the project and extent of commissioning involved. These expenses represent a very small percentage of the overall project cost, yet the paybacks can be dramatic. In a study of the cost effectiveness of totally commissioning 44 existing buildings, high-rise offices and retail establishments had an average simple payback of 1.6 years. Medical institutions averaged 0.4 years and computer facilities had a very attractive 0.3-year payback. Total commissioning is important and Brown University should require it.

To provide for HPBD features, Brown should include energy modeling, daylight simulation studies, and commissioning in the budget requests from the project outset. Brown University should set performance goals at the outset over every major construction project.

When decision makers consider the total capital and operating costs in building system choices, the financial advantages of high performance features are obvious. Please advance to the life cycle cost accounting recommendations.

USGBC (2003) The Costs and Financial Benefits of Green Buildings : A Report to California 's Sustainable Building Task Force http://www.usgbc.org/Docs/News/News477.pdf (last visited 4/1/04 )