BREEAM VS. LEEDTamar Solomon
What are Green Buildings?
“Green or sustainable building is the practice of designing, constructing, operating, maintaining , and removing buildings in ways that conserve natural resources and reduce pollution.”
-Federal Environmental Protection Agency
Why are Green Buildings Important?
• Buildings accounts for:• 39% of greenhouse gas emissions
• 25% of the earth’s water
• 20% of solid waste
• 70% of electricity load in the U.S.
[1]
BREEAM
• Stands for Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method
• The first certification system to assess the sustainability standards of buildings in the world
• Established in the UK in 1990
• Originally used nationally, now used worldwide
• Has the most sustainable certified buildings in the world
UWC Dilijan College
• International school
• Armenia's first BREEAM certified building
• Earthquake resistant
• Green roofs
• Living walls
• Surrounded by National Park of Dilijan
[2]
BREEAM Standards - Residential
• BREEAM EcoHomes
• BREEAM Eco Homes XB (a tool for housing associations and etc.)
• The Code for Sustainable Homes (new single-family homes and apartments in England)
• BREEAM Multi-Residential (student halls for residence, sheltered housing, youth hotels and etc.)
• BREEAM Domestic Refurbishment (refurbishment of existing buildings)
BREEAM Standards - Commercial
• BREEAM Offices
• BREEAM Retail
• BREEAM Industrial (factories and ware-houses)
• BREEAM Educational (schools)
• BREEAM Healthcare (medical facilities)
• BREEAM Courts
• BREEAM Prisons
• BREEAM Other Buildings (any building that is outside the standard categories for example laboratories, hotels, leisure complexes etc.)
Rhinjspoor Building
• Highest BREEAM award for educational building in the Netherlands
• 4 Star Excellent
• Solar aluminum façade
• Intelligent lighting
• Climate control
• Green roof
• Housing for local swallow
[3]
BREEAM Standards - International
• BREEAM Gulf (all building types within the Persian Gulf region)
• BREEAM Europe (selected European countries; office and retail buildings)
• BREEAM Communities (urban planning / development)
• BREEAM International Bespoke (any building type)
• BREEAM In-Use (different existing buildings)
LEED
• Stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
• The first certification system to assess the sustainability standards of buildings in the US
• Establish in the US in 1998
• Originally used nationally, now used worldwide
• Extends to accrediting professionals
Biodesign Building B- Tempe Campus
[4]• Arizona State University’s research center
• Gold Certification
• LEED’s largest certified research building – 46 points
• Optimal building orientation
• Efficient building systems
• Photovoltaics on site
• Local building materials
• Envelope brings daylight deep into interior
[g]
LEED Standards
•Building Design and Construction
•Interior Design and Construction
•Building Operations and Maintenance
•Neighborhood Development
•Homes
Life Sciences Building -LMU
• Loyola Marymount University
• New building Merit
• Award by SCUP and
• AIA-CAE
• Gold Certification
• Solar renewable Energy
• Green roofs
• Mixed Use (office and
• laboratories)
[5]
Side by Side DifferencesBREEAM LEED
Categories - Management- Health and well-being- Energy- Transport- Water- Materials- Waste- Land use and ecology- Pollution
- Sustainable sites- Water efficiency- Energy and atmosphere- Materials and resources- Indoor environmental quality- Innovation in design
Side by Side DifferencesBREEAM LEED
Ratings - Pass- Good- Very Good- Excellent - Outstanding
- Certified- Silver- Gold- Platinum
Side by Side DifferencesBREEAM LEED
Weaknesses - Cost of compliance- Exact requirements- Complex weighting system
- Relies on US systems- Tedious documentation
required- No independent audits allowed- Combined building form and
function is difficult to analyze
[f]
Side by Side DifferencesBREEAM LEED
Strengths - Accounts for UK legislation and UK culture
- Bespoke version can assess any building
- Independently audited- Allows comparisons of
different buildings
- No training or assessor needed- Plethora of readily available
information - Popular marketing tools
[f]
Sources:
• [a] https://archive.epa.gov/greenbuilding/web/pdf/fedcomm_greenbuild.pdf
• [b] http://www.marble-institute.com/default/assets/File/consumers/historystoneingreenbuilding.pdf
• [c] http://www.wncgbc.org/about/importance-of-green-building
• [d] http://www.eesi.org/files/climate.pdf
• [e] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261079555_LEED_and_BREEAM_Comparison_between_policies_assessment_criteria_and_calculation_methods
• [f] https://www.bsria.co.uk/news/article/breeam-or-leed-strengths-and-weaknesses-of-the-two-main-environmental-assessment-methods/
• [g] https://asunow.asu.edu/content/asus-newest-research-building-achieves-leed-gold-certification
Picture Sources
• [1] - https://www.sigearth.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Fossil-Fuels-Pie-Chart.png
• [2] http://inhabitat.com/armenias-first-breeam-certified-building-is-an-earthquake-resistant-international-school/
• [3] http://inhabitat.com/rhijnspoor-building-given-highest-breeam-award-for-an-educational-building-in-the-netherlands/
• [4] https://asunow.asu.edu/sites/default/files/bio-b_leed_copy.jpg
• [5] http://inhabitat.com/immense-drought-tolerant-green-roof-provides-valuable-teaching-tool-in-thirsty-california/