The construction
business is so wonderfully dynamic; change is almost constant.
It really makes work very interesting. I am in the process of
studying for my LEED AP exam, so I am keenly aware of how our
world is changing. What really strikes me is how focused LEED
is on communication amongst all the team members.
One of the basic premises of LEED is to get everyone around the
table early in the design process and talk about needs and wants;
not only from the owners perspective but from the end users perspective
as well. The idea is to provide a healthy and safe indoor environment
so that people want to stay at their jobs and don’t get
sick.
One study shows “…that better indoor air quality can
improve health and productivity and reduce liability risks. The
EPA estimates that building-related US illnesses account for $60
billion of annual productivity loss nation-wide, and a wider study
valued the loss as high as over $400 billion.” “According
to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, Americans
spend an average of 80 to 90% of their time indoors. Therefore,
the quality of the indoor environment is very important for health,
productivity and quality of life.”
Another interesting notion about employee productivity is the
availability of daylight and view. Humans really need to feel
connected to the outdoors. We are much happier creatures that
way. It certainly makes sense; I just never realized how important
it is to people.
Another important concept of LEED is obviously the outdoor environment;
we need to think about the world we are leaving behind. There
are some staggering facts and statistics, the following are just
a few:
| 
