Living Building Challenge
The Living Building Challenge is an international sustainable building certification program created in 2006 by the non-profit International Living Future Institute.[1] It is described by the Institute as a philosophy, advocacy tool and certification program that promotes the most advanced measurement of sustainability in the built environment.[2] It can be applied to development at all scales, from buildings – both new construction and renovation - to infrastructure, landscapes, neighborhoods and communities and is more rigorous than green certification schemes such as LEED or BREEAM.[2][3]
History
The Living Building Challenge was launched by the Cascadia Green Building Council (a chapter of both the U.S. Green Building Council and Canada Green Building Council). It was created by Jason F. McLennan and Bob Berkebile, of BNIM. McLennan brought the program to Cascadia when he became its CEO in 2006. The International Living Building Institute was created of and by Cascadia in May 2009 to oversee the Living Building Challenge and its auxiliary programs. In April 2011, the International Living Building Institute was renamed the International Living Future Institute (the Institute).
International Living Future Institute
The International Living Future Institute is a non-governmental organization (NGO) committed to catalyzing a global transformation toward true sustainability. The Institute seeks partnerships with leaders in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors in pursuit of a future that is socially just, culturally rich and ecologically restorative.
The Institute is the umbrella organization for the Living Building Challenge and the Cascadia Green Building Council, along with The Natural Step USA and Ecotone Publishing.
Living Building Challenge performance areas
Living Building Challenge comprises seven performance areas: site, water, energy, health, materials, equity and beauty. These are subdivided into a total of twenty Imperatives, each of which focuses on a specific sphere of influence:
Petals | Imperatives | Communities | Building | Landscape+Infrastructure | Renovation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Site | Limits to Growth | ||||
Urban Agriculture | not required | ||||
Habitat Exchange | |||||
Human-Powered Living | not required | not required | |||
Water | Net Positive Water | ||||
Energy | Net Positive Energy | ||||
Health | Civilized environment | not required | |||
Healthy Interior Environment | not required | ||||
Biophilic Environment | not required | ||||
Materials | Red List | ||||
Embodied Carbon Footprint | |||||
Responsible Industry | |||||
Living Economy Sourcing | |||||
Net Positive Waste | |||||
Equity | Human Scale + Humane Places | not required | |||
Universal Access to Nature + Place | not required | ||||
Equitable Investment | not required | ||||
JUST Organizations | |||||
Beauty | Beauty + Spirit | ||||
Inspiration + Education |
(NOTE: This chart does not include the Scale Jumping overlay allowed for some Imperatives. Scale Jumping allows multiple buildings or projects to operate in a cooperative state – sharing green infrastructure as appropriate and allowing for Living Building, Site or Community status to be achieved as elegantly and efficiently as possible.)
Certification is based on actual, rather than modeled or anticipated, performance. Therefore, projects must be operational for at least 12 consecutive months prior to evaluation. To earn 'Living' status (full program certification), projects must meet all assigned Imperatives and have proven performance through at least 12 consecutive months of operation. To celebrate successes and to educate other efforts, project teams may earn Petal Recognition (partial program certification) by satisfying the requirements of a minimum of three categories, of which at least one must be water, energy or materials. The first Living BuildingsSM were certified in October 2010, and by March 2013, only six had achieved certification.[4]
The targets are rigorous and set at the highest conceivable; every project must meet each of its 20 strict requirements to achieve the certification. This 'ceiling' is where far fewer than 1% of buildings assessed under BREEAM would fall and in excess of 'Outstanding' rating.[2]
Projects pursuing Living Building Challenge certification
Over 100 project teams (mainly in the US and Canada, but also one in Ireland)[4] are pursuing the Challenge, most of which have officially registered with the Institute, including:
Project | City/Province | ST | Country | Status | Owner/Developer | Project Team Members | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Class of 1966 Environmental Center | Williamstown | MA | USA | occupied | Williams College | Black River Design, Architects; Integrated Eco Strategy | |
Hitchcock Center for the Environment | Amherst | MA | USA | occupied | Hitchcock Center for the Environment | designLAB Architects; Wright Builders, Inc.; Integrated Eco Strategy; Buro Happold Engineering; Berkshire Design Group; Dobbert Heating and Air Conditioning; PV Squared; Crocker Communications; Ichthys IT Services | |
Omega Center for Sustainable Living | Rhinebeck | NY | USA | certified: Living | Omega Institute | Chazen, Conservation Design Forum, Tipping-Mar + Associates, BNIM Architects, BGR Consulting Engineers, Planet Reuse, Natural Systems International (now Biohabitats), John Todd Ecological Design, David Sember Construction | |
Tyson Living Learning Center | Eureka | MO | USA | certified: Living | Washington University | Grimes Consulting, Williams Creek Consulting, Lewisites, ASDG, LLC, Hellmuth + Bicknese Architects, Solutions AEC, Clivis Multrum, Straight Up Solar, Bingman Construction Company | |
Eco-Sense | Victoria | BC | Canada | certified: Petal | Ann + Gord Baird | C.N. Ryzuk, Kris Dick, Building Alternatives, Byron Merriam (A-Tech Plumbing), Mike Isbrucker (Alternative Electric) | |
Painters Hall | Salem | OR | USA | Certified: Energy Petal | Pringle Creek Community | Opsis Architecture, Sustainable Development Inc., Spectra Construction, Tanner Creek Energy | |
The Mosaic Centre | Edmonton | AB | Canada | construction | Dennis and Christy Cuku | Mosaic Family of Companies, Manasc Isaac Architects | |
Hawaii Preparatory Academy Energy Lab | Kamuela | HI | USA | certified: Living | Hawaii Preparatory Academy | Belt Collins Hawaii Ltd., Walter Vorfeld & Associates, Flansburgh Architects, Hakalau Engineering, LLC, Buro Happold | |
EcoCenter at Heron's Head Park | San Francisco | CA | USA | occupied | Literacy for Environmental Justice | Land Development Solutions, Fulcrum Engineering, Toby Long Design, Rick Miller, Occidental Power, Eckman Environmental, John Todd Ecological, Helix Wind Power, Warm Floors | |
UniverCity Childcare | Burnaby | BC | Canada | occupied | Simon Fraser University | Space2Place Design, Fast + Epp, RADA, Hughes Condon Marler, Cobalt Engineering, Ledcor Construction Limited (part of Ledcor Group of Companies) | |
Deep Green Residence Hall | Berea | KY | USA | occupied | Berea College | Hastings + Chivetta Architects, Hellmuth + Bicknese Architects, Messer Construction, Davis & Plomin Mechanical, CMTA Consulting Engineers | |
Alice Ferguson Foundation | Accokeek | MD | USA | design | Alice Ferguson Foundation | Andropogon Associates, Ann Rothmann, Re:Vision Architecture, M2 Architecture, AKF Engineers, Biohabitats | |
Center for Sustainable Landscapes | Pittsburgh | PA | USA | occupied | Phipps Conseratory and Botanical Gardens | Andropogon Associates, Atlantic Engineering, The Design Alliance, CJL Engineering | |
VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitors Center | Vancouver | BC | Canada | occupied | VanDusen Botanical Garden Association | Cornelia Oberlander, landscape architect; Perkins and Will Canada, architects; Morrison Hershfield energy consultants, Fast + Epp structural engineers, StructureCraft timber design-builders, Ledcor Construction Limited | |
Bertschi School Living Science Classroom | Seattle | WA | USA | certified: Living | Bertschi School | KMD Architects, Skanska, GeoEngineers, GGLO, Quantum Engineers, Rushing, 2020 Engineers, Smalling Civil Engineering, Morrison Hershfield | |
June Key Delta House | Portland | OR | USA | construction | Piedmont Rose/Delta Sigma Theta sorority | Nye Architecture LLC, TM Rippey Associates, Colas Construction | |
Oregon Sustainability Center | Portland | OR | USA | pre-construction | Green Building Services, Portland State University | Gerding Edlen, SERA Architects, GBD Architects, Skanska Construction, Biohabitats | |
Jim Pattison Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Technologies and Renewable Energy Conservation | Penticton | BC | Canada | occupied | Okanagan College | CEI Architecture, True Consulting Group, Site 360, Fast + Epp, AME Consulting Group, Applied Engineering Solutions, PCL Construction Westcoast | |
Phinney Neighborhood Center | Seattle | WA | USA | design | Phinney Neighborhood Association | ||
Robert Bateman Centre for Art + Environmental Education | Victoria | BC | Canada | design | Royal Roads University | Iredale Group Architecture | |
Bullitt Center | Seattle | WA | USA | occupied | The Bullitt Foundation | Point32, developer; Schuchart, general contractor; The Miller Hull Partnership, architect; PAE Consulting Engineers, mechanical and electrical engineering; DCI Engineers, structural engineering; RDH Group, envelope engineering; Haley and Aldrich, geotechnical engineering; Springline, civil engineering; 2020 Engineering, water supply and reuse systems; Solar Design Associates, solar technology; BRC Acoustics & Technology Consulting, acoustical engineering; Bush Roes & Hitchings, surveying | |
Jasper Junior Senior High Living Classroom | Jasper | Alberta | Canada | design | JSCY (Jasper Sustainability Club for Youth | KMD Architects | |
IDeAs Z2 Design Facility | San Jose | CA | USA | certified: Energy Petal | Z2 Design Facility | IDeAs | |
Mission Zero House / Kelly & Matt Grocoff Residence | Ann Arbor | MI | USA | Certified Net Zero Energy Building | Matthew Grocoff / THRIVE | THRIVE, BLUElab University of Michigan | |
Brock Environmental Center | Virginia Beach | VA | USA | Occupied | The Chesapeake Bay Foundation | SmithGroupJJR, WPL, Hourigan Construction, Skanska, Janet Harrison | |
Cope Environmental Center | Centerville | IN | USA | Construction | Cope Environmental Center | Heapy Engineering, LWC, Thor Construction, Cope Environmental Center, [html http://living-future.org/projectmap] | |
External links
- Living Building Challenge website
- International Living Future Institute website
- PNNL Sustainable Building Rating Systems Summary
- ASHRAE Standard for the Design of High Performance, Green Buildings
- Comprehensive Assessment System for Building Environmental Efficiency
- Energy Star
- U.S. Green Building Council
- Green Globes assessment and rating system
- Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method
- GBTool Overview
- The 2030 Challenge
References
- ↑ http://www.emagazine.com/earth-talk/the-living-building-challenge
- 1 2 3 Starrs, Mel (13 July 2012). "Deepest green credentials". Building magazine. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
- ↑ Leedham, Amy. "Beyond LEED and BREAM: The Living Building Challenge – Part 1". Archinect: Sustainable Design Weekly. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
- 1 2 Hartman, Hattie (15 March 2013). "Twitter brings the Living Building Challenge to the UK". Architects' Journal. Retrieved 22 April 2013.