Site Boundary Through Existing Building

Phoebe,

Below are the Minimum Program Requirements from the USGBC. This should help to answer your question. Let us know if you have more specific questions after reading this.

LEED projects must include the new, ground-up design and construction, or major renovation, of at least one building in its entirety.

Specific Allowed Exceptions:
Horizontally attached buildings (including additions).
Horizontally attached buildings may be certified independently provided that the following two conditions are met:
a) they are physically distinct (see definition in Glossary)
b) they have unique addresses or names.

If these conditions are not met, the structure is considered a single building and must be ertified as such.

Physically Distinct: The condition in which a building has both of the following:
a) exterior walls that are party walls or are separate from adjoining buildings by air space
b) lighting, HVAC, plumbing, and other mechanical systems that are separate from the systems of adjoining buildings. LEED project boundary lines that “slice” through party walls must not pass through any mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) service infrastructure. Exceptions include buildings served by a common or shared chiller plant or heating water, or steam supply pipes (i.e., not air ducts), and only if the thermal energy serving the structure to be separated is sub‐metered.

Thanks,
Shannon

Hi, I have the same problem.
This is an existing warehouse attached to the office building to retrofit. There are not party walls, there is just one wall dividing the office and warehouse with window in it so the engineers could verify the process from the office. In fact it is the same roof structure for both of them, since the office space is kind of embedded in the north facade of the warehouse. The warehouse roof just continues as part of the office space. The buildings have separate systems and services.

Phoebe,
In some regions, there may be higher utility or government incentives for achieving NC instead of CI, but beyond those I can't think of any significant advantages in earning one rating vs. the other. You may find the soft costs a bit lower for CI than NC, especially for the EA credits, but you will need to account for furniture.

Xavi,
It sounds like the office may be "serving" the warehouse space since the windows are used to supervise the operations there, so it may not meet the intent of separate buildings that are horizontally attached. It is possible that reviewers would consider it a single building. You would need to submit a CIR for clarification of the MPR to know for sure.