Hello,
We are working on a LEED-CS project which required 14 showers per the FTE count. The architect is proposing to locate 8 showers within the women´s locker room, and 6 within the men´s. This is due to space availability. Is there a requirement that showers be divided equally between men and women, or can we provide 8 and 6 without it becoming a problem for satisfying the credit requirements?
Thanks for your help!
Charles Nepps
NH Green Consulting97 thumbs up
July 29, 2014 - 3:28 pm
It would be a tough sell; in my experience the reviewer's are pretty rigid when it comes to the 50/50 ratio, unless special circumstances exist; I don't believe space limitations fit the definition.
Per the USGBC:
"Gender Ratio Modifications The default gender ratio for FTE in the water calculations is 50:50, male to female. Special circumstances may exist where an alternative ratio is justified. For such situations, provide a narrative and supporting documentation to account for the change. Modifications to the 50:50 ratio must be shown to apply for the life of the building. Acceptable special circumstances include:
1. Projects specifically designed for an alternative gender ratio. Examples of this could be a single gender educational facility or any project that can show that flush and flow fixtures have been distributed to account for the modified ratio. Project teams must provide documentation of the code-required plumbing fixture counts per gender, so the review team can verify that the flush-fixture ratio installed in the project supports the alternative gender ratio claimed.
2. Projects expected to have alternative gender usage rates for the life of the building. An example of this could be a military project. For such projects current staffing level or human resource data, alone, is not sufficient to justify a departure from the 50:50 ratio. Supporting documentation must include trend data forecasting forward that shows the unequal gender ratio will likely exist for the life of the building."