Rating System

LEED BD+C: New Construction, LEED BD+C: New Construction

Rating System Version

v2 - LEED 2.0, v2 - LEED 2.2

Inquiry

Background: The 307 Westlake S&C will house laboratories facilities for two biomedical research institutions in Seattle. It will contain some limited office and retail space as well. Our project is pursuing LEED Certification and planning to participate in the upcoming S&C Pilot Program. The design incorporates several energy-savings measures, and so our target credits include Energy Optimization Credit EA1. Our initial model runs used the LEED NC Rating System, using various assumptions for TI systems, and results indicated a minimum 20% savings. At that point, we decided to put the energy modeling effort on hold until we learned more about how modeling would be handled for Shell & Core projects. The project is now under construction, and we would like to complete our energy modeling effort. Since last summer, we have completed lease arrangements and have the interior layout and mechanical and electrical designs of the TI spaces. We have also had the opportunity to review the draft S&C Rating System. Based on our review of the latest S&C draft, we understand that the approach for EA1 will be to model S&C systems only. The question then becomes how to establish the boundary between S&C and the TI portion. For some S&C projects, it might be straightforward to establish the boundary between S&C and the TI portion. In our case, it is not, so we would like to propose an alternate approach for our project. In addition, we have several questions that relate to adapting the LEED guidelines to our laboratory facility and its innovative HVAC system design. Proposed Modeling Approach: We to perform and document an energy model of the entire building, not just shell and core. We believe this is a sound approach and a conservative one. We know what the interior is going to be