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Existing building?
If an existing building plays a starring role in your project, it’s a good candidate for this credit, which rewards the reuse of buildings and their structural components. In this way you can reduce the energy- and resource-intensive manufacturing of new materials, while prolonging the enjoyment of a building’s character and history. If the existing building plays only a small role, on the other hand, it is less likely to qualify for this credit, although it may contribute to materials reuse credits.
If a project includes new construction in addition to building restoration, the project is only eligible for the credit if the floor area of the new construction is no more than two times the floor area of the retained existing structure. A LEED for Schools project can earn up to...
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14 Comments
Building Move and Reuse
Would this be the appropriate credit to pursue the move and reuse of a structure? When I do the calculations I can't get above 75% because the slab-on-grade is obviously not moved, which immediately drops the total and doesn't quality. Maybe pursue an Innovation Credit? Should there be an exception to slab-on-grad moves and reuse?
Eric, the place to get credit for this is in MRc2. For buildings that don't qualify for MRc1 for one reason or another, it is considered as construction waste management.
Gross vs Net Square feet
Which would you use?
Thanks,
Nicole
Hi Nicole,
For the most part I would use gross square feet for the calculations, though make sure that the external walls exclude the windows and that no elements are double counted.
MRc1.1 Building Reuse
I'm working on a project which is a renovation of an old power plant into a fitness center. The building had one existing floor, however, I am adding a second floor without changing the roof.
In regards to this credit (MRc1.1) I assume, the new floor addition square footage does not affect the building reuse calcs? Should I even mention that I am adding a new floor to the building?
I think this credit is tricky because Leed states "If the project includes an addition that is more than 6 times (for C+S) and 2 times (for NC and Schools) the square footage of the existing building, this credit is not applicable."
LEED does not define "an addition." It seems to me that an addition would apply to new construction OUTSIDE the building footprintBuilding footprint is the area on a project site used by the building structure, defined by the perimeter of the building plan. Parking lots, parking garages, landscapes, and other nonbuilding facilities are not included in the building footprint.. What about completely new spaces within the building footprint?
Thanks,
Nicole
I think in the context of this credit the new square footage would not be considered an addition since you are not adding it outside the building footprintBuilding footprint is the area on a project site used by the building structure, defined by the perimeter of the building plan. Parking lots, parking garages, landscapes, and other nonbuilding facilities are not included in the building footprint. or envelope.
Hi Nicole,
If I'm understanding this right- you're increasing the Floor Area RatioFloor Area Ratio (FAR) is the measure of the density of non-residential land use. It is the total non-residential building floor area divided by the total buildable land area available for non-residential uses. For example, on a site with 10,000 square feet of buildable land area, an FAR of 1.0 would be 10,000 square feet of built building floor area. On the same site, an FAR of 1.5 would be 15,000 square feet of built floor area; an FAR of 2.0 would be 20,000 built square feet and an FAR of 0.5 would be 5,000 built square feet. (FAR) of the building, and questioning whether or not you need to declare the increase in determining basic eligibility for the credit. I'd say, yes, the new floor does count. It helped me when I started to think about a building that added ten floors on top of an existing floor- that made it look much more like a new addition despite the fact that you are maintaining the footprint.
Since you are only adding one floor though- it should not impact your project's eligibility for the credit, as it's highly unlikely that the second floor is twice the size of the first floor. Plus- the credit is based on reuse of existing materials, so no penalty there.
Hope that helps.
-Anne
Anne & Nicole -
The outcome might be the same in this case, but I think the question touches on whether you're adding the new floor inside the existing volume of the building or whether it's being added on top of the existing building and adding to it's height.
It might be a nit picky distinction, but we had a similar scenario converting a historic armory - a single volume shell - into a multi-level performing arts center. The exterior shell and roof remained intact, but several levels of program are were added within that volume. So even though the FAR did increase, both the footprint and the existing shell (and volume above grade) stayed the same. Make sense?
Perfect sense- this is the same scenario I was interested in. Thanks everyone for your help.
Thanks David- I agree that if you're not changing the envelope then the additional square footage should not keep you from applying for the credit.
thanks-a
Transfer data to LEED online?
How do we go about transferring the data from the provided LEED template to the online form? (Assuming there is an easier way than re-entering all the info? )
Thanks for your help!
Nicole, which template are you referring to?
The Building Reuse Calculator for MR c1.1 in the Documentation Toolkit. Specifically, I'm looking for an easier way once I have completed all the information in excel to be able to transfer the info to the online form? It appears that I need to re-create the same info again once I'm on the official LEED form.
Thanks!
Yes, that's correct—unfortunately.
We provide the calculator for your convenience in evaluating compliance, but USGBC doesn't give us a way to export that data directly to LEED Online.
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