In this blog post, we provide a rundown of the v4.1 credits to help you navigate the opportunities and drawbacks to pursuing v4.1 compared to v4. Remember: for Operations and Maintenance (O+M) projects, teams must choose between the entire v4 and v4.1 rating systems.
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Existing building projects must choose between v4 and v4.1. Unlike with the design and construction rating systems, one-off credit substitutions are not allowed.
With Pilot Credit 158, the carbon sequestration value of trees helps teams earn a point.
Does LEED encourage planting trees? It’s a strange question to be asking 23 years into the rating system. Sure, we know trees are good; they provide shade and wildlife habitats, stabilize soils, and create oxygen, but there is no LEED credit that simply encourages design teams to plant more trees—until now.
Google’s first brick-and-mortar store achieved LEED v4 Platinum under ID+C.
Project: Google Store–Chelsea tenant fit-out
Size: 8,900 ft2
Owner: Google
Architect: REDDYMADE Architecture + Design
MEP Engineer: Rosini Engineering
Contractor: Michilli Construction + Consulting
New York’s energy grading system is up and running, and it’s fueling LEED bashing. Are the critics right?
At 7 Bryant Park in New York City, a plaque from 2016 proudly displays a rating of LEED 2009 Gold. To its left is the building’s current “energy grade,” whose display is required by a recently enacted NYC law. For actual energy use, the building gets a C—an Energy Star score of 60, which means it’s only slightly above average. What gives?
Mahesh Ramanujam will step down, and former USGBC Exec Peter Templeton (now head of the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute) will take his place November 1 amid strategic repositioning for USGBC, GBCI, and Arc. Time to weigh in! What do you want for LEED?
In a surprising announcement, Mahesh Ramanujam let the community know yesterday that he will be stepping down as president and CEO of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and its sister organizations GBCI and Arc as of November 1.
This LEED Gold citizenM hotel in Seattle features a modular design in a seismic zone.
Project: citizenM South Lake Union Hotel
Client: citizenM Hotels
Executive Architect: Gensler Seattle
Architect/Interior Designer: concrete Amsterdam
Construction: Mortenson
These LEED Platinum homes in Fort Collins, Colorado used a variety of design strategies to maximize efficiency and go all electric—and hopefully net positive.
Project: L’Avenir Living condominiums
Type: Multifamily residential
Architect: Davis Davis Architects
MEP engineer: Group 14
Contractor: Philgreen Construction
The LEED Platinum Comcast Technology Center in Philadelphia includes six “amenity floors” for occupant health and wellness.
Project: Comcast Technology Center
Size: 1,350,000 ft2
Type: Corporate office
Owner: Comcast and Liberty Property Trust
Architects: Kendall Heaton Associates, Foster + Partners, Gensler, Daroff Design
MEP Engineer: BALA Engineers
Sustainability consultant: WSP
LEED consultant: Atelier Ten
Contractor: L.F. Driscoll
Harvard’s new science complex responds to the sun, admitting solar heat in winter, shading in summer, and allowing daylighting all year long.
Project: Harvard University Science and Engineering Complex
Size: 544,000 ft2
Type: Academic building that includes teaching and research labs, classrooms, and a library
Owner: Harvard University (Allston, Massachusetts campus)
Architect: Behnisch Architekten
MEP engineer: Van Zelm Heywood and Shadford Inc.
Contractor: Turner Construction
The Rockwell Integrated Sciences Center at Lafayette College earned LEED v4 Platinum, including achievement of the Bird Collision Deterrence pilot credit.
Size: 103,000 ft2
Type: Academic building with classrooms, offices, greenhouse, and labs
Owner: Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania
Architect: Payette
MEP engineer: Bard Rao + Athanas Consulting Engineers
Contractor: Turner Construction Co.
This LEED v4 Gold core & shell project encourages wellness and benefits local flora by hosting beehives.
Size: 8 stories, 245,000 ft2
Type: Commercial office with ground-level retail
Architect: Gensler
MEP engineer: MKK Engineers
Contractor: Mortensen
Developer: Beacon Capital Partners
From Dave Hubka of Rivion, this cheat sheet lets you know which credits on your v4 project are easier under v4.1.
As you probably know by now, it is possible on a v4 Building Design and Construction (BD+C) project to substitute any v4.1 credit or prerequisite, with no limit on the number of substitutions.
The King Open and Cambridge Street Upper School and Community Complex offers elementary and middle school education along with social and family service programs.
The King Open and Cambridge Street Upper School and Community Complex is a big enough deal to warrant its big name.
With net-zero-carbon operations and LEED v4 Platinum certification, the 273,000 ft2 project includes multiple schools, a public pool, a public library, lots of open space for the entire community to use, and a variety of social services for families.
USGBC has lowered thresholds for compliance with Materials & Resources credits, making these even more accessible for project teams.
USGBC did some spring cleaning last week, and the LEED Materials & Resources category was first on its list. The 2021 Quarter 2 Addenda include some significant updates to requirements for Environmental Product Declarations, Sourcing of Raw Materials, and Materials Ingredients across both BD+C and ID+C v4.1 rating systems—so if you have a project pursuing any of these credits, stop and read this first!
Version 4.1 is still in beta, and the latest addenda updates are a reminder of that.
If you’re not in the habit of tracking addenda updates, now would be a good time to start.
