Our client (who is also the building owner) is performing a major renovation of an existing office building. The project scope includes the core and shell structures as well as a complete interior fit-out, eventually except for furnitures such as tables, desks, chairs and shelves. However, the owner plan to lease 100% of the space.
According to the 50/50 rule in the reference guide this is a clear CS, since the owner occupies less than 50% of the space. However, since the owner controls 100 % of the fit-out (except for some furnitures), it might be better suited for NC. The latest Rating System Selection Guidance (September 2011) seems to take no notice of the 50/50 rule. Which is superior, the rating system selection guidance or the reference manual? Also, there seem to be some discrepancy between these and the guidance in LEED online. If we go for NC, how do we determine the occupant number when we don't know the tenants yet?
Susann Geithner
PrincipalEmerald Built Environments
1297 thumbs up
October 17, 2011 - 9:13 am
The USGBC dropped the 50% rule for LEED NC vs CS, probably because a lot of time this percentage changes until completion. So a lot of project found themselves in a situation, where they started certification with LEED NC, but actually ended up not occupying that much space. So now it's really about the control of the fit out. Question is do you as owner really control the selected lighting, the carpet, the layout of the floor to the extend that you will have all that done when certifying the building. It's tricky if you choose to go with LEED NC, because for a lot of credits you will need to know exactly, what gets done and how, and how the occupancy looks like.
I suggest to follow the guidelines per the new Selection Guide and ignore LEED Online ( it's probably not up to date yet).
Use the LEED Reference Guide appendix LEED CS for default number of occupants in tenant space, even if you use LEED NC as rating system. Also consider carefully how far you can and want to restrict the tenant in it's interior design and choices of finishes. One last thing to keep in mind, it's my understanding that you have to be done with the entire built-out including tenant space, if you certify per LEED NC. That might delay the submission for your the construction review. On the other hand side when using LEED CS you can start without all the tenant space being finished.
Magnus Stagnäs
Life Cycle EngineerFinnmap Consulting Oy
31 thumbs up
October 17, 2011 - 11:11 am
Thank you Susann for your reply!
What about a situation when we in the design stage know the future tenants for some spaces and the fit-out of these spaces is part of the project scope? In this case the fit-out is a matter of negotiation between the tenant and the owner. In other words, the tenant has strong influence on the design of partition walls, selection of lighting fixtures and other fit-out related issues. However, nothing is done without the owner’s knowledge.
Can the owner be considered to control the fit-out in a situation like this, when he is aware of all fit-out related construction work done but he can’t affect the decisions made by the tenant?
Susann Geithner
PrincipalEmerald Built Environments
1297 thumbs up
October 17, 2011 - 11:42 am
Even if the owner does the fit-out, which is usually the case, the questions is who decides,which carpet and which fixtures. The owner can determine it in the lease such as maximum of 0.8 W/sf lighting throughout the space, or only a certain selection of pendant fixtures in a raster of X feet. ... This can quickly result in tenants not wanting the space anymore.
May I ask where you building is located? In the US selecting a compliant carpet with the necessary certifications is easy. In Europe it will restrict your choices by a lot, if it has to be CRI Green label plus and hardwood floor with floorscore.
It sounds like your case is better suit for LEED CS and, when in doubt, I would always recommend that. You should discuss with the owner the implications and influence on tenants, if you use LEED NC. LEED CS will not completely eliminate that, but it's going to be much less.
I hope that helps
Magnus Stagnäs
Life Cycle EngineerFinnmap Consulting Oy
31 thumbs up
October 17, 2011 - 12:43 pm
Thank you again Susann!
It makes sense that even if the owner is responsible for the fit-out related construction works, he can't be considered to fully control the fit-out, since the tenant has its own strong requirements regarding the fit-out features. In that case CS seems to be the better choise.
The building is located in Finland, so I think we will have a hard time complying with the Green Label and FloorScore requirements anyway.