LEED Design Services:

Our commitment to sustainability encompasses having the ability and experience to design buildings following LEED criteria and to successfully manage the LEED Administration certification process.
The ability to design sustainable buildings with an eye towards LEED (LEED NC, LEED CS, etc.) is a strenght that we fully leverage on behalf of our clients. Consider our firm a full service architecture firm with the ability to guide you through the LEED certification process.

As part of the process we hold a LEED "Charette" at the beginning of the project which includes key members of the design team, the client group and construction team. This workshop serves to identify LEED credits that relate to the project and identifies credits that have synergies between several different credits and the project program. Much can be done with buildings that are designed to respond to their site and climate. This workshop enables "buy in" from all key players, developing a collaborative relationship as everyone strives to achieve targeted credits and the LEED certification level desired (LEED certified, silver, gold or platinum).

We are LEED accredited and have the ability to bring your next "green" project to fruition and should you require, help educate the team about the process. The prevalence of new sustainable projects getting built in recent years has brought costs down and are now comparable with traditional construction if intergrated early in a project.
Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) indicate that green buildings have lower maintenance and operational costs than traditional buildings. Feel free to contact us or read through the articles we have posted within our site.

LEED Administration Services/ Consulting:

An added benefit of our experience as Architects with LEED experience is the ability to provide LEED Adminstration consulting services. As architects, we have the experience of project delivery from design through construction. This enables us to bring our full knowledge and experience to bear when serving as LEED administrators. As an example, we can review submittals for both compliance with the project specifications and LEED requirements. We don't just check off LEED credits but review it from various perspectives as to the viability of the credit in regards the project.
Having served as both Archiects of record and as consultants to clients and other architects, we have a reputation of being able to seamlessly work in a cooperative manner with a client's design team. Note that we believe an optimum LEED project should have the Architect of Record as the LEED AP but fully understand why a client may decide otherwise or when there is none available for that role. We know how to work well with others and can blend into the back ground as needed.
Below is a partial list of services for LEED Administration. The scope of services varies depending on the project/ building and LEED certification level sought.:

Review the design for LEED certification feasability
Identify the appropriate LEED rating system. I.e LEED NC (single application/ multiple) vs LEED CS vs LEED CI vs LEED ND etc.
Identify prerequisites and credits the project has achieved and clarify what needs to be done where non compliance is an issue.
Identify and outline what needs to be done for additional credits.
Identify Innovation in Design Credits
Create a task matrix that identifies key players and their responsibilities as relates to LEED design and certification.
Provide support and assisstance in understanding LEED credit requirements
Provide support to key team members in preparing letter templates.
Guide and manage the project team throughout the entire process.
Managed the LEED Online process.
Review letter templates and submittals as requested.
Assist the team in responding to comments during the review process.

Fees for LEED Administration services varies depending on the complexity of the project, LEED certification level targeted, size of the project, and the scope required during the certification process. Industry wide, typical fees can range between 0.8%-1.5% of construction costs. However fees can vary widely depending on the size, complexity or type of certification sought. A multiple building or campus project would be treated very differently than a single building. A core and shell office building in turn would treated different than an aquatic center. Therefore fees can very greatly depending on the scope of the project.
We recommend that LEED administration projects be carried out in two phases. This provides for a better fee analysis.
i.) A review and scoping phase - Defines the applicability of LEED credits to a project and determines the amount of work necessary for completion.
ii.)The LEED administration phase.
Note: The higher the certification level sought the more labor is required in researching and managing the additional credits.

Projects that are considering LEED certification after design has been completed and in construction documents phase, add a level of complexity since there are some credits that cannot be fulfilled if not incoporated at the start of the project. While complex, we have been able to guide the team through scenarios like these. Projects that are not designed to LEED criteria from the begining are more difficult to administer and the scope of work has a tendency to change dramatically.

It is our belief that a building professional who is LEED accredited will better serve most projects as the LEED administrator.
To learn more about selecting your LEED administrator, click on the link.

Sustainability/ Green Building Analysis:

In tandem with our expertise in Green building design and LEED, we provide Green Building evaluations of your building or design in respect to its sustainability or LEED credit "fitness". To read more click here.
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