Hello Heather,
Your comments are just the kind of feedback this pilot process is intended to elicit. We need to figure out this ratio of non-structural and structural / envelope surfaces and total materials mass and then impacts / value to create a good holistic approach. One aspect of the surface area quantification is simply the ease of documentation and the issue of mixing different metrics. Surface area might be critical for the preservation of quality and character - which could be either interior or exterior - and not so easily reduced to a mass of materials. On the other hand environmental impacts would be a function of mass of material / type retained and therefore not extracted new. Thanks very much for your analysis and suggestions and pleaseprovide your comments on the LEED 2012 2nd public comment version during the public comment period ending September 14.
Brad
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Heather Walters
23 thumbs up
August 15, 2011 - 1:16 pm
Brad,
True about preservation of quality and character, but since so many of the historic buildings we touch have already had major retrofits in the 50s, 70s or 90s is the character of a 1970 office wall weighted the same as that amazing plaster ceiling that somehow remained above an ACT mess. Removing the ACT to expose the ceiling above would count against. Maybe a good thing would be interior elements which are contemporary to the shell construction or listed as "contributing" by NPS?
I will put together a comment for the 2012 version. Having worked on a handful of LEED NC historic rehabs I have a lot of comments... :)
Heather