I am looking for guidance on the following credit requirement:
“If a façade extends along a sidewalk, no more than 40% of its length or 50 feet (15 meters), whichever is less, is blank (without doors or windows).”
A portion of the building is set back about 18’ from the centerline of the sidewalk. The 80’ long façade does not have any windows, but is a ‘green wall’ covered in vegetation. The rest of the building is set back about 75’ from the centerline of the sidewalk and contains the required amount of windows.
Is this facade considered to extend along the sidewalk? Or, is it not of concern since it is not directly adjacent to the sidewalk?
Chris Marshall
Manager, LEED Technical DevelopmentU.S. Green Building Council
182 thumbs up
August 2, 2012 - 4:35 pm
Hi Candace. While a specific distance hasn't been specified to define "along a sidewalk," the portion of the building 18' from the centerline of the sidewalk is most likely to be counted as the facade extending along the sidewalk. However, landscaping/vegetation has traditionally not counted towards achieving the requirement, at least not in LEED-ND 2009 (NPDc1: Walkable Streets). Since the BD&C pilot credit is largely based on NPDc1, the green wall will likely not meet the requirements here. Therefore, I encourage you to incorporate doors and windows to the fullest extent possible.
Candace Small
29 thumbs up
September 6, 2012 - 11:59 am
Chris, would any of the internal discussions impact my July 17 question listed above? Due to the program in the building, windows and doors are not feasible.
Chris Marshall
Manager, LEED Technical DevelopmentU.S. Green Building Council
182 thumbs up
September 17, 2012 - 5:43 pm
Hi Candace, I'm sorry for the delayed reply. When attempting to earn this credit, you might be able to describe the special circumstances for why windows and doors aren't feasible. However, those of us who developed the pilot credit believe that doors and windows are a part of the complete package that a building needs to provide in order to have a walkable project site. Therefore, programming that prevents doors and windows would make the building ineligible for the credit.