2. ASHRAE 90.1-1999 base building model. The rules for the energy cost budget method remove any incentive to optimize the shape and orientation of the proposed design because the base building is to have the same shape and orientation for comparison using the energy cost budget method. This is one change from ASHRAE 90.1-1989 which, I believe, is regressive. In the 1989 Standard, the base building was a "prototypical" building with a fixed shape and orientation with the same number of stories and overall area. The prototype building was selected as an example of the least efficient design with the idea that design teams would optimize their proposed design shape and orientation to make it more efficient than the base case. While the LEED program encourages an optimized shape and orientation (see "Harvesting free energy" in the Reference Guide), LEED gives no credit for this effort because the base building ends up having the same shape and orientation. Can you comment as to why LEED mandates that the base building must have the same shape and orientation as the proposed design when using the Energy Cost Budget method.