Rating System

LEED BD+C: New Construction, LEED BD+C: Schools, LEED ID+C: Commercial Interiors, LEED BD+C: Core and Shell, LEED O+M: Existing Buildings

Rating System Version

v2 - LEED 2.2, v2 - Schools 2007, v2 - LEED 2.0, v2 - LEED 2.0, v3 - LEED 2008

Inquiry

At over 2 million GSF, Beijing Parkview Green (PVG) is one of China\'s largest sustainable architecture projects. PVG is made up of four buildings, including two 11-story and two 20-story towers (Blocks A-D) that house retail area, offices and a six-star hotel - all of which are enclosed in a "Microclimatic Envelope" (ME) comprised of glass and plastic (ETFE - ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene). As a separate, non-structurally tied edifice, the ME operates in concert with the buildings at the site, providing benefits in energy conservation, solar reflectance, and stormwater management, while providing insulation value to the structures within. If you think of a glass covering on a cake stand, you have a pretty good idea of the nature of the ME. We are seeking an interpretation that characterizes the volume within the Microclimatic Envelope as the equivalent of "outdoors". This area, which will contain plantings and sculpture and visual access to daylight, will provide aesthetic and visual pleasure to the inhabitants of the project consistent with the intent of the credit. We plan to count all of sightlines out of the building envelope windows, some of which look out onto the "outdoor" plaza within the ME, others which look out through the ME, as outdoor sightlines for the purposes of complying with this credit.