As the leading green building rating system, LEED has always been in the forefront of the movement to create healthy places in which to live, learn, work and play. Worldwide, about 170,000 gross square meters of space is LEED-certified every day. Among such lists as the Top 10 Countries, Top 10 States, LEED Homes Awards and Best of Green Schools, you can get a snapshot of the great things happening in LEED, but we simply can’t share every project.
From schools to hotels, from residential to commercial projects, here is just a handful of the creatively designed, high-performing buildings that were LEED-certified in 2016:
The K–12 Pathways World School, Aravali, is the third of the Pathways Schools in India to achieve LEED Platinum. Certified under LEED for Building Operations and Maintenance: Existing Buildings, the school focused on using natural materials for a healthy indoor environment. Check out a recent video on the project.
The Pathways School.
The National Park Service, which celebrated its centennial this year, has been hard at work certifying lodges, visitors’ centers and educational facilities. Take a look at their projects on GBIG. If you’re planning that family trip to Yellowstone, review all the newly minted LEED lodges. Repurposing a 1909 horse stable-turned-warehouse into a LEED Gold office and retail space, Union Stables used LEED for Building Design and Construction: Core and Shell to achieve an energy-efficient example of adaptive reuse.
The Olas Verdes hotel in Costa Rica is emblematic of the way green building is advancing in the Latin American hospitality sector. The hotel achieved LEED Platinum under LEED BD+C: New Construction, using recycled glass in countertops and mosaics and in turn recycling its wastewater into onsite vegetation. Using LEED for Interior Design and Construction: Commercial Interiors, Honeywell achieved LEED Gold for its corporate headquarters in New Jersey. Leveraging natural light, the company has created a more pleasant work environment for staff as well as lowered energy use. Honeywell also made it a priority to use local materials as much as possible.
The Traffic Management/Emergency Ops Center in Shoreline, Washington, is another New Construction building. Its LEED Silver facility includes special sound-rated walls to create a quiet space for emergency personnel. It also has redundant ventilation and rigorous mechanical systems to mitigate the impact of natural disasters.
The LEED Platinum Right-Sized Passive Home created a small, sustainable living space with an efficient and light-filled design. Nontoxic building materials, salvaged wood and an energy monitoring system are just the beginning…the occupants are planning to add photovoltaic panels next year.
Lake Mills Elementary School has the honor of being the first LEED Platinum K–12 school certified under LEED v4 in the United States. The school includes features such as a green roof, photovoltaic system and bioswales and already boasts a 65 percent reduction in energy consumption, as well as less absenteeism and fewer asthma incidents.
Source: USGBC
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