Rating System

LEED BD+C: New Construction, LEED ID+C: Commercial Interiors, LEED BD+C: Core and Shell

Rating System Version

v2 - LEED 2.2, v2 - LEED 2.0, v2 - LEED 2.0

Inquiry

This CIR is in reference to the ETS Control requirements of a 300,000 sf mixed occupancy project undergoing a major renovation. The building will contain commercial offices, retail space, restaurants, and a gambling hall. The nature of the project is in such a way that the entire building is undergoing a major renovation with the exception of the existing gambling hall. The gambling hall will not be renovated, upgraded or improved in any way. The tenant of the gambling hall holds a long term lease and does not participate in the renovation. During the major renovation of the overall building the gambling hall stays open for its customers. The gambling hall and its back-rooms have a total floor area of 16,500 sf. Smoking is permitted in the whole premises of the gambling hall. The gambling hall has four (4) main entrances directly to the outdoors, one (1) emergency exit directly to the outside and one (1) interior emergency exit leading to a hallway connected to the outside. The emergency exits are normally closed. The entire gambling hall premises are therefore confined to itself and have no connections to adjacent areas in the building. As far as ventilation and air conditioning systems are concerned the gambling hall and all back-rooms have their own existing systems. The requirements as set forth in Option 2 of the Prerequisite regarding smoking rooms are complete fulfilled (no recirculation of any air to non-smoking areas, enclosed deck to deck partitions, negative pressure of at least an average of 5 Pa but with a minimum of 1 Pa when the doors are closed). To achieve recognition of the EQ Prerequisite 2 - Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) Control the project team is considering two possible approaches: (1) The gambling hall and its back-rooms will be treated as one (1) smoking room since all the requirements as set forth in Option 2 of the Prerequisite are fulfilled. This is the preferable option of the owner and project team. (2) The gambling hall and its back-rooms will be excluded from the LEED-NC 2.2 project. In this case the project team would pursue a LEED certification for the whole building excluding the gambling hall (since the gambling hall premises is a confined space to the rest of the building). This is the less favorable option of the owner and project team. Please advice if approach (1) and/or (2) would be permissible to get acceptance of the USGBC for achieving EQ Prerequisite 2 - Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) Control.