Calculating Views for Healthcare Interiors Projects?

Kathy Wislocky

Project Manager

Wilson Architects

LEEDuser Basic Member

2 thumbs up

December 31, 2012

Has anyone contemplated an alternate compliance path for calculating views for a healthcare interiors project? Our project is actually using LEED CI since overall that rating system works best for our project. But for a credit like IEQ c 8.2 for Views, this is tough to achieve for a healthcare setting with exam rooms an so many occupiable spaces that require a certain amount of privacy. I'd like to try and use the LEED for Healthcare IEQ credit 8.2 as a loose guide to achieve alternate compliance for views, but I can't understand the logic to translate it to an interiors project. What I really need is a % of views achieved based on the various healthcare programs. (Exam rooms at least __%, Nurse stations at least ___%, etc.) Does anyone have any creative ideas or experience with this? Thanks

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Susan Walter

HDR

LEEDuser Expert

894 thumbs up

Wed, 01/02/2013 - 15:37

How certain are you that the project mets the intent? I ask this because this credit is not often achieved in any program area and even lesss in healthcare. Do you want to spend your project dollars documenting this? Consider that the credit for non inpatient areas is to provide views for 90% of the building perimeter. Inpatient rules are to place staff areas and public areas by the windows (within 20'). I think you can incorporate the LEED HC standards into the CI program for healthcare. You must do this with the GBCI and you must maintain the rigor of the credit in the program you are applying for certification. The credit logic recognizes that spaces like exam rooms and treatment areas have privacy demands that are more important than views. It also recognizes that outpatients may not spend the majority of their visits in a treatment space. Similarly, hospital staff can spend the entire day buried inside a building without glimpsing the outside. Imagine working a 12 hour shift deep in the bowels of a hospital and not seeing the sun once.