The Case for Moving Beyond LEED

The Case for Moving Beyond LEED
While the LEED rating system served as a useful benchmarking tool to evaluate sustainable and green design, Steve Mouzan argues a simpler system is needed that takes into account where the building is located and who is going to use the building.

Has the LEED rating system outlived its usefulness? In a recent article published in Arch Daily, Steve Mouzan, a Miami architect and urbanist who founded Guild, argues the current LEED rating system is no longer a practical means of assessing the degree to which a building’s design uses green and sustainable principles. What are the flaws of the LEED system according to Mouzan?

The Problems with the LEED Rating System
Some of the fundamental issues with the LEED rating system cited by Mouzan include:

• The LEED system does not take into account where the building is going to be built. According to Mouzan, the current LEED rating system does not take into account the differences in what is considered sustainable in different geographic areas or in urban versus suburban versus rural areas.
• The focus on “Green Gadgets” makes sustainable design out of reach for the majority of the population. Since the LEED system requires what Mouzan refers to as “Green Gizomos,” the price of LEED certified homes is not affordable to the middle class homeowners.
• The current process to obtain LEED certification is overly complex and expensive.Mouzan argues that by requiring lengthy narratives about different aspects of a building’s design that could be simply answered by a yes or no response, the current application for LEED rating is much more labor intensive to complete than what is needed

To find out what Mouzan suggests as an alternative to the LEED system, read Mouzan’s article at Is It Time for the Anti-LEED?