After much research and discussion it was decided to renovate an extremely decrepit farmhouse, portions of which date back to the 18th century. The renovation will serve as a visitor center with staff offices for a land based conservation non-profit. Does anyone have experience in filing for an ID credit for a similar undertaking?
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Tristan Roberts
RepresentativeVermont House of Representatives
LEEDuser Expert
11475 thumbs up
April 4, 2011 - 11:41 am
Hi Sara, what would you propose for an ID credit?If it's focused on building reuse, this could be uphill sledding since there are existing MR credits (MRc1, MRc2) that reward building reuse.
sara frye
57 thumbs up
April 4, 2011 - 3:31 pm
Admittedly razing and rebuilding would have probably been easier and maybe even more cost efficient. But would it have been more energy efficient? And from the viewpoint of an organization which values preservation and sustainability it was far more effective to respect the historical perspective as well as the embodied energy. Renovating to highly energy efficient levels but still retaining many of the original windows! To quote Carl Elefante "the greenest building is the one already built".
Tristan Roberts
RepresentativeVermont House of Representatives
LEEDuser Expert
11475 thumbs up
April 4, 2011 - 3:36 pm
Sara, I totally agree—I wrote an extensive article on sustainable preservation, with that same quote in the first sentence.Preservationists have been complaining for years about LEED, and wanting more recogntion for saving buildings. And LEED 2012 has some stuff they should like.I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but for LEED 2009, you will have to work hard to earn an ID credit for preservationist work that LEED doesn't already considered covered in the MR section. I don't know of a successful strategy in this area that has been done, but I would love to hear your ideas, or hear from any other LEED users who have done it.