Among its many outstanding sustainability features, the new Congregation Beth David (CBD) synagogue in San Luis Obispo, CA is exceptional for its glazing, daylighting, and views. The building has 222 windows, 21 solar light tubes, and ten skylights, bringing natural daylight to all areas. An inner courtyard guarantees that almost every room is a perimeter space with direct access to, and views of, the exterior. We are requesting an ID Credit under LEED NC-2.1 for exceptional performance regarding views. We have been informed that there is no established threshold for this credit. The regular credit for views, EQc8.2, requires views (of perimeter glazing) from 90% of all regularly occupied spaces in the building. We believe that our project provides views from 100% of the regularly occupied spaces. Additionally, the CBD building provides views from a number of non-regularly occupied spaces. For example, the kitchen, the cleanup room, the hub and the foyer all have views from 100% of their space. In fact, the only rooms in the building that do not have views are the restrooms, the storage rooms, and the electrical rooms. Of the approximately 4,300 square feet of non-regularly occupied space in the building, more than 80% of this space has views of perimeter glazing. We would first like to clarify whether we are permitted to use the same guideline for this ID credit that is allowed for the regular EQc8.2 credit: that any room with views from at least 90% of its space is to be counted as 100%. If so, our building easily qualifies as having views from 100% of all regularly occupied spaces. Even without using that guideline, we believe that our building provides views of perimeter glazing from 100% of the regularly occupied spaces in the following sense: in every regularly occupied space in the building where a person can actually stand, that person can see perimeter glazing. On the other hand, if one were to adopt a strict geometric definition of "views for 100% of all regularly occupied spaces," one could argue that the building does not qualify. Here are two examples to clarify this distinction: CBD\'s middle classroom is an ordinary rectangular room, approximately 22\' by 15\' in size. One of the short walls is an exterior wall with a large window toward one end. A person standing anywhere in this room can see out the window, even a person standing with the back of his or her head pushed into either of the corners that is adjacent to the window. (This has been verified empirically.) On the other hand, a theoretical "eye" or tiny camera placed flush in one of these corners would not be able to see out the window. We request a ruling that this room has views from 100% of its occupied space. Second example: CBD\'s multi-purpose room has views in several directions. The only place in the room that does not have a view of perimeter glazing is a small area measuring about 1\' by 6\' along the north wall. However, this area is completely occupied by permanent, built-in floor-to-ceiling cabinets that are shown on the building floor plan. Thus, a person standing anywhere in this room can see perimeter glazing. We request a ruling that this room has views from 100% of its occupied space. Please provide a clarification whether the building as described meets the intent of exceptional performance in views.
The project team has posed two interrelated inquiries in the above CIR. The first inquiry is asking if a particular room with documented views from a minimum of 90% of its floor area can be considered as having 100% access to views for the purposes of this credit. Per a posted CIR ruling, dated 10/24/2001, "Individual room areas that have views for 90% or greater or their area can count their entire area toward the total." The second inquiry is asking if a project that provides access to views from 100% of the occupied spaces and essentially 100% of the transient occupancy spaces is eligible for an ID point. Although there is no established threshold for an ID point for exemplary performance under EQc8.2, a project may be eligible for award of one point if a suitable case is presented in the submittal documentation. The project team would need to demonstrate that the design of the specific project has substantially exceeded "standard" design practice for the particular project type by including access to views for 90% of the spaces and demonstrate the exceptional quality of the provided views. This exceptional quality could be shown with photographs of the content of the views and proof that views provided are contiguous for each space (not broken by walls, partitions and other building features). Such contiguous views will have to subtend an angle of 50 degrees or more in both the vertical and horizontal direction at each location where the view is measured. Reference: Windows and Offices: A Study of Office Worker Performance and the Indoor Environment, October 2003, by the California Energy Commission. Applicable Internationally.