I have been credentialed as LEED AP since 2009, and LEED AP BD+C with the change in the test. However, I let the specific credential lapse in graduate school, while retaining the general AP title. As an AP professional, I have explored LEED certification for several projects in the design phases.

 

While I understand the importance of LEED certification to many clients, in my view, sustainability does not begin and end with a certificate. True sustainability, to go about life in a way which does not impair the ability for the future to do the same, may well prove to be a pipe dream. But it is a worthy target since everyone’s lives are improved as we bring the built environment in closer harmony with natural processes.

 

Germany, where I have been working, has a strong commitment to sustainability. Not known for it’s sunny weather, they produce more solar power than the next three largest solar power users combined. On every project, the Bauphysiker, a engineer who specializes in energy efficiency, plays a major role in determining the building materials, assembly, and mechanical systems. Every building I have drawn in Germany has a green roof. By law, every office workstation is by a window. There is a cultural understanding of better living through a good connection to the environment.

 

So while I am happy to support and forward the latest LEED requirements, this understanding underpins all of my architectural decisions.