Schematic Design

Place regularly occupied spaces such as offices, classrooms and conference rooms near exterior glazing and perimeter windows to increase opportunity for access to views and daylight.

Hold an integrated design meeting with the architect, interior designers, mechanical engineer, lighting designer, contractor, cost estimator and the end user to explore and resolve possible benefits and tradeoffs that increased glazing and access to views strategies could have on daylight, glare, heat gain and loss, furniture design and layout, and other design decisions.

Enter the names of the regularly occupied spaces in the LEED credit form along with the total floor area for each regularly occupied space.

Ensure that the spaces identified as “regularly occupied” are consistent across credits, especially for IEQc8.1: Daylighting and Views—Daylighting.

The calculation of regularly occupied space can be fine-tuned as decisions for “fixed” (attached to a wall) counters with overhead cabinets and equipment are integrated into the design. The square footage where the cabinets and equipment are located is not considered

Some spaces can be exempt from being considered “regularly occupied” due to the nature of their use. Previously published CIR’s offer some guidance. Provide a narrative explanation of why a given space should be exempt based on use of the space as views and daylight may negatively affect the use of the space, not the frequency or time that the space is actually used. For example, museum gallery spaces, high security and privacy areas, dark rooms for photo development, and others can all be exempt from the calculation.

Determine which spaces in a project are “regularly occupied” (per LEED definition) and need to be included in the views calculations.

Hotel and multifamily projects may have difficulty achieving this prerequisite if they are naturally ventilated and have interior spaces that are further than 25 feet from an operable wall or roof opening. These projects might consider increased window areas, shallower floor plates, or using mixed-mode ventilation so that mechanically supplied outdoor air can support areas outside the 25-foot natural ventilation boundary.

At the first integrated design meeting during schematic design, develop a detailed natural ventilation strategy involving goals for windows, building orientation, space planning, use of atriums, and other access to natural ventilation. Natural ventilation systems may require a more robust and intense integrated design process, of several focused workshops analyzing several alternatives. Computer modeling may be necessary to test various design alternatives to determine which is most effective and efficient.

Expect upfront modeling fees for Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), but also consider the benefits of CFD modeling: a better-designed natural ventilation system that can bring short-term payback from reduced mechanical systems, and long-term operational savings.