New vs. Existing Building Renovation

Keith Amann

Vice President

WSP Built Ecology

LEEDuser Basic Member

42 thumbs up

March 6, 2012

What is the threshold or level of renovation performed on a given project to make the jump from existing building to new? ASHRAE defines an existing building as "a building or portion thereof that was previously occupied or approved for occupancy by the authority having jurisdiction." If a project scope includes gutting a building down to the structural steel (or perhaps beyond that to foundations), is it still considered an existing building? At what point should a project be interpreted as new?

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Marcus Sheffer

LEED Fellow

7group / Energy Opportunities

LEEDuser Expert

4454 thumbs up

Wed, 03/07/2012 - 00:22

For me new is from the ground up. Anything else is existing, even your extreme example down to the structure if it was previously occupied. Down to the foundations - now that gets grey for me.

Curt Pascoe

P.E., LEED AP BD+C

Ryan Companies US, Inc.

LEEDuser Basic Member

87 thumbs up

Thu, 03/15/2012 - 20:53

If you are doing a "major renovation," it should be a LEED NC project. The Reference Guide says "a major renovation involves major HVAC renovation, significant envelope modifications, and major interior rehabilitation." LEED EBOM is for projects focusing on operations and maintenance. If you gut a building to structure, it's definitely a LEED NC Project.