What LEED rating system to use?
I am preparing to assist clients with existing buildings and we are trying to determine which LEED rating system to select.
CASE 1 This is an existing 20,000 sf building that will be significantly rehabed. Mechanical systems and windows will be replaced. new finishes will be installed though a wholesale gut and reconstruction of the interior is not happening. Is this sufficient to qualify as a LEED NC project?
CASE 2 This is an existing building of 25,000 sf that will be totally gutted. It will be owner occupied. A totally new floor plan will be designed and systems installed. New windows including some new openings. The project is to be constructed in phases, however so that the design and construction submittal will only include 30% of the building area as finished and occupyable. No additions will be constructed. Can I document this as LEED NC? How would I account for the unfinished space? Would LEED C&S be better? How would I account for the finished space in that case?
3 Comments
New construction, catering facilities
Hello,
I want to know which rating system I should use; the Project is a new catering facility. Should I use core and Shell or new construction? Thanks
Carlos, if if the building is being fit out, and not just built as a shell, then it should be LEED-NC.
Re: What LEED rating system to use?
Case 1 sounds like NC, Major renovation. Case 2 would likely be NC if the remaining 70% is to be occupied by the owner in the future, since they will control the build-out. If that remaining space is to leased to other tenants who will control their own tenant improvement build-out, then the project would be Core and Shell. Look at CS Appendix 3 in the BD&C Reference Guide for guidance on how to define the finished/ unfinished spaces.
Since these answers depends a lot on percentages of project area that are effected by different scopes of work such as finishes, HVAC, and envelope, the most useful method we've seen is to walk through LEED Online v3 as if you are registering the project. There's a "wizard" that walks you through a number of questions if you indicate you want help selecting a rating system.
There are a couple of tables that help chose the proper rating system, but it can be hard to find them unless you work back a forth a few times answering the questions differently to test different scenarios. We've often found it helpful to cross reference the Glossary in the MPR Supplemental Guidance document and the Reference Guides as you do this to verify you're using the proper definitions of key terms such as "major renovation," "alterations, " etc. You may also need to consult the EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems. Reference Guide for definitions of additions and alterations of existing buildings.
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