Green Building Systems
Green Building Systems
Green Building Systems
LEED focuses on nine areas: location and mobility, sustainable sites, water
efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor
environmental quality, innovation, regional priorities, and integrated
processes. The LEED certification program seeks to ensure that buildings use
their resources more efficiently and provide a safe environment for all
inhabitants throughout their life cycle. As of 2019, there were 80,000
registered projects, with 32,500 having completed the certification procedure.
Intel Corp., Colgate-Palmotive, Mars Inc., and Method Southside Soapbox
Factory are among the most prominent LEED certification holders. In April
1993, Rick Fedrizzi, David Gottfried and Mike Italiano convened representatives
from 60 firms and several non-profits in the American Institute of Architects’
boardroom for the founding meeting. Then, ideas were shared for an open
and balanced coalition spanning the entire building industry and for a green
building rating system, which would later become LEED.
WELL
The WELL Building Standard began in 2013 by Paul Scialla of Delos company,
becoming the first well-being standard focused, administered by the
International WELL Building Institute (IWBI). Green Business Certification
Inc. from LEED certification is a third-party certified WELL. By the 2016, over
200 projects in 21 countries adopted the certification.
Fitwel focuses on the health and wellbeing of the building occupants as well
as the surrounding community. However, FitWel does not have any
prerequisites for completing this green building certification program. Like
the previously mentioned programs, FitWel can also be used in a variety of
building types and spaces. FitWel focuses on location, building access,
outdoor spaces, entrances, stairs, indoor environment, workspaces, shared
spaces, water supply, cafeterias and prepared food areas, vending machines
and snack bars, and emergency procedures. As of 2019, 840 were registered,
and 240 had completed their FitWel certification. Top users of FitWel include
Skanska Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc., and the Tower Companies.
Green Globes is a building rating system used in the US and Canada. Green
Globes is structured so that it can be done as a self-assessment in-house
with the project manager and design team. It uses a questionnaire that is
aimed at helping the user make changes to complete the certification. Like
FitWel, there are no prerequisites to complete this certification. Like LEED,
Green Globes has four levels of certification. Green Globes can be used in
new construction, existing buildings, and commercial interiors. This
certification program focuses on energy usage, water, waste management,
emissions, indoor environment, and environmental management.
BREEAM
BREEM, or the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment
Method, is the oldest green building rating system. Created in 1990, it has
since certified projects in over 50 countries, has over 560,000 certified
projects, and over 2 million registered. This green building rating system is
measured across 9 categories: management, health and well-being,
transport, water, materials, land use and ecology, and pollution. BREEAM is
aimed at making buildings more sustainable, as well as improving building
performance and efficiency. Many other green building certification
programs, including Green Globes, were inspired by the ideas and
innovations of BREEAM. Top users of BREEAM include Futurebuild and
Overbury.
There are fees associated with DGNB certification, which cover the costs of
assessment, documentation, and administration. The fees vary depending on
the size, complexity, and type of building undergoing certification. However,
these fees are often considered an investment due to the long-term benefits
of sustainable building practices.
Green Star
Green Star is an international sustainability reporting and rating
system, that is popular particularly in Australia and South Africa. All
Green Star categories include an innovation category that rewards
projects for creating and utilizing new approaches to sustainability.
Like the other certification programs on this list, Green Star can be
used in a variety of building types and is assessed in categories such as
indoor environmental air quality, energy, transportation, water,
materials, land use and ecology, and emissions. The main goal of Green
Star is to guide project teams to make conscious decisions regarding
energy usage and material selection. As of 2019, over 1450 projects had
completed the Green Star certification.
There may be chances where the rating may not be achieved after
Round 2 Assessment, so the following options are available:
Accept Final Score
New Certification Process
Credit-by-Credit Assessment
Appeal
BCA Green
The BCA Green Mark scheme is developed and promoted by the
Building and Construction Authority (BCA) of Singapore in 2005. It
provides a comprehensive framework for assessing the overall
environmental performance of new and existing buildings to promote
sustainable design, and best practices in construction and operations
Mark
Scheme
in buildings.
It has a mission which states that “We transform the Built
Environment Sector and shape a livable and smart Built Environment
for Singapore.” The BCA leads the transformation of the built
environment sector through developing a highly competent
professional workforce, adopting productive and game-changing
technologies, and promoting the sector’s niche expertise overseas.
Those who can apply for this are the developers, building owners and
government agencies for new and existing buildings, districts, parks,
infrastructure and building interiors.
Key criteria:
Climatic responsive design
Building energy performance
Resources stewardship
Smart and healthy building
Advance green efforts
BEAM PLUS
The Hong Kong Green Building Council (HKGBC) is a non-profit,
member-led organization established in 2009 and has become a
public body under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance since 2016. The LEADERSHIP IN ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
HKGBC strives to promote the standard and development of
sustainable buildings in Hong Kong. The HKGBC also aims to raise
green building awareness by engaging the government, the industry
and the public, and to develop practical solutions for Hong Kong’s
unique, subtropical built environment of high-rise, high density urban
area, leading Hong Kong to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and to
become a world’s exemplar of green building development.
It has 4 available ratings after completing a Provisional Assessment
(PA) or a Final Assessment (FA).
PROVISIONAL BRONZE / FINAL BRONZE
PROVISIONAL SILVER / FINAL SILVER
PROVISIONAL GOLD / FINAL GOLD
PROVISIONAL PLATINUM / FINAL PLATINUM
BEAM Plus New Buildings covers all types of new buildings, from
single buildings to large-scale development, regardless of whether
they are residential, commercial, industrial or other types. But for new
buildings, here are the assessment aspects:
Integrated Design and Construction Management (IDCM)
Health and Wellbeing (HWB)
Sustainable Sites (SS)
Materials and Waste (MWA)
Energy Use (EU)
Water Use (WU)
Innovations and Additions (IA)
CASBEE was launched in 2015 and can be used for both new construction
and existing buildings throughout Japan. Starting in 2005, earning a CASBEE
certification became mandatory in 24 Japanese municipalities. CASBEE
CASBEE
COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT SYSTEM FOR BUILD
moved internationally in 2014 when a building in Tianjin, China earned their ENERGY ENVIRONMENT EFFICIENCY
CASBEE certification. This program focuses on energy and resource
efficiency, and local and indoor environments. CASBEE was designed to
reduce the life cycle of resource use, as well as improve quality of life for
building occupants and the surrounding community. CASBEE labels
buildings with an overall environmental performance assessment rating
ranging from C through B-, B+, A and S, corresponding to areas divided
according to the line gradient. The ranks correspond to the assessment
expressions shown in the figure, using a number of stars for clarity.
Certification fees vary for different schemes that may range from QR 1,000 -
QR 30,000.
How to certify:
MILJÖBYGGNAD
Miljöbyggnad, or Environmental Building in English, is a green
building certification program created by the Sweden Green Building
Council in 2010. Including both new construction and existing building
(ENVIRONMENTAL BUILDING)
pathways, buildings can earn gold, silver, or bronze certification levels.
Interesting, since water usage is not a threatened resource in Sweden,
there is no section regarding water efficiency. However, this program
focuses on indoor environmental quality, energy use, and material use.
Miljöbyggnad uses principles from LEED and BREEAM to develop its YAN MEANING SA ENGLISH POTA
certification attributes. Thus far, over 1000 buildings have received
Miljöbyggnad certification. Miljöbyggnad (MB) consists of two major
schemes: one for new construction, and one for existing buildings.
Projects that meet the requirements can be awarded certificates at
three levels: Gold, Silver, or Bronze. Since the standards of the MB
system are based on the Swedish Building Regulations, which govern
the entire country, it is applicable to all building projects in Sweden
since 2011.
To become a member, one must fill in the application form and send it
to their email. where their fee levels differ, based on the company’s
turn over, ranging from SEK 5,200 - SEK 72,800.
PART 2
6 GREEN BUILDING SYSTEMS
LEED
Formerly the Sears Tower, which held the title of the tallest building in the world for a quarter-
century, Chicago’s iconic 108-story skyscraper received LEED Gold certification in 2018.
Undergoing a $500 million renovation at the time, Willis Tower made a number of significant
updates to reduce its carbon footprint, including installing high-efficiency lighting systems,
improving the building’s HVAC system, new air media, fan gearboxes, and fan blades on the
building’s 4 cooling towers, and installing low-flow units on over 450 sinks, 650 toilets and urinals,
which Willis Tower owner and manager EQ Office says will save 11 million gallons of water
consumption annually.
Ras Bu Fontas Station
Global Sustainability Assessment System
CERTIFICATIONS:
GSAS DESIGN & BUILD
Rating: 4 STAR
Scheme: Railways
Certified on: Aug 14, 2023
Developer: Qatar Rail (QR)
Owner: Qatar Rail (QR)
UNStudio was enlisted to work on the concept design and the 'Architectural Branding Manual',
in collaboration with the Qatar Rail's Architecture Department. The network’s design bridges
the past and future of Qatar. While drawing inspiration from regional architecture, it
simultaneously presents an effective vision of the future.
One of the key goals of the design is to encourage locals to use public transport. to
achieve this, the new stations strive to enhance the urban experience at the
pedestrian scale and build new habits for the Doha community.
Ben van berkel of UNStudio says: ‘we are going to move differently in the
future. mobility is changing fast, from the introduction of autonomous
vehicles to urban cable cars and the hyperloop. the mobility hubs of the
future have to respond to and cater to these changes. in order to encourage
the use of more sustainable forms of transport, these stations not only have
to ensure smooth passenger flows, but they need to truly appeal to the
public; to be places they want to visit and return to.’
AL BIDDA TOWER
Global Sustainability Assessment System
CERTIFICATIONS:
GSAS OPERATIONS
Rating: PLATINUM
Scheme: Operations Premium
Certified on: Dec 30, 2019
Developer: Supreme Committee for
Delivery & Legacy (SC)
Owner: Supreme Committee for Delivery
& Legacy (SC)
and construction.
Zuellig building is a reflection of Philippine
architecture and upholds Filipino cultural identity.
Drake University. (n.d.). Green Globes Building Certification. iisc. Retrieved March 25, 2024, from
https://www.iisc.org/filesimages/PDC/2018/Handouts/6E-%20Certifying%20the%20Green-ness%20of%20your%20Facility%20-
%20Chris%20Nickel.pdf
Dunne, L. (2020, June 1). Top 12 Green Building Rating Systems. Sustainable Investment Group. Retrieved March 25, 2024, from
https://sigearth.com/top-12-green-building-rating-systems/
Environmental Protection Agency. (2023, June 5). Green Globes™ | US EPA. Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved March 25,
2024, from https://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/green-globestm
fitwel. (n.d.). Best in Building Health. Fitwel | World's Leading Healthy Building Certification System. Retrieved March 25, 2024, from
https://www.fitwel.org/
GFP Architects. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved March 26, 2024, from https://www.gfparchitects.com/office/sun-life
Green Building Council of Australia. (n.d.). Assessment and certification. Green Building Council of Australia. Retrieved March 25,
2024, from https://new.gbca.org.au/green-star/certification-process/
GSAS TRUST. (2024). GSAS Certifications. GSAS Trust – Building Sustainably. Retrieved March 25, 2024, from https://gsas.gord.qa/
HKGBC. (n.d.). BEAM Plus New Buildings. HKGBC. Retrieved March 25, 2024, from https://www.hkgbc.org.hk/eng/beam-plus/beam-
plus-new-buildings/
myers, l. (2020, September 8). UNStudio completes the first 37 stations of doha's new driverless metro. Designboom. Retrieved
March 25, 2024, from https://www.designboom.com/architecture/unstudio-first-37-stations-of-dohas-new-driverless-metro-09-08-
2020/
Sweden Green Building Council. (n.d.). Medlemskap. Sweden Green Building Council. Retrieved March 25, 2024, from
https://www.sgbc.se/medlemskap/
UNSTUDIO. (n.d.). Doha Metro Network. UNStudio. Retrieved March 25, 2024, from https://www.unstudio.com/en/page/12108/doha-
metro-network