The General Services Administration has increased its sustainability requirements and now mandates LEED Gold for its projects.
Previously, the GSA required LEED Silver, but suggested projects aim for Gold certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program.
The change was announced by Lace Davis, director of the sustainability office for the GSA, at the Green Legal Matters conference in New Orleans on Oct. 15, and reported in the Washington Business Journal.
However, as noted in the article, the GSA hasn’t updated its material or Website to reflect the change, so questions about the new requirement remained.
BD+C contacted Don Horn, AIA, LEED AP, at the Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings, U.S. General Services Administration, and he confirmed the new LEED Gold requirement.
According to Horn: “GSA's Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan released the first week of September includes our new requirement to achieve LEED Gold. An internal memo from Les Shepherd and Bill Guerin, dated 9/24/10, also states the requirement is for new construction and substantial renovation projects.”
*Update* (Nov. 4, 2010)
The GSA has updated its materials and Website. The official announcement.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Burwell Architects, Ziegler Cooper Architects announce merger
Ziegler Cooper Architects is pleased to announce that Burwell Architects has merged into the Corporate Interior Studio of Ziegler Cooper Architects. We believe the new relationship will enhance and expand the services we can provide to our clients.
| Aug 11, 2010
BE&K Building Group, Turner, BRPH awarded Boeing 787 Dreamliner assembly plant project
A joint venture of the BE&K Building Group and Turner Construction (BE&K | Turner), with design partner BRPH, has been awarded the design-build contract for design and construction of The Boeing Company’s new 787 Dreamliner final assembly plant in North Charleston, South Carolina.
| Aug 11, 2010
Sustainable Buildings as Teaching Tools: 4 Strategies for Integrating Buildings into Experiential Learning
4 Strategies for Integrating Buildings into Experiential Learning
| Aug 11, 2010
Using physical mockups to identify curtain wall design flaws
Part two of a five-part series on diagnosing and avoiding cladding, glazing, and roofing failures from building forensics expert IBA Consultants.
| Aug 11, 2010
Morphosis builds 'floating' house for Brad Pitt's Make It Right New Orleans foundation
Morphosis Architects, under the direction of renowned architect and UCLA professor Thom Mayne, has completed the first floating house permitted in the U.S. for Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation in New Orleans.The FLOAT House is a new model for flood-safe, affordable, and sustainable housing that is designed to float securely with rising water levels.
| Aug 11, 2010
Turner edges out Perkins+Will for the top spot on BD+C's Top 200 Building Team LEED APs ranking
With 1,006 LEED Accredited Professionals on staff, Turner Construction took the top spot on Building Design+Construction’s 2009 ranking of AEC firms with the most LEED APs, published as part of the Giants 300 report. Turner added more than 580 LEED APs during the past year to surpass Perkins+Will, which held the top spot four years running.
| Aug 11, 2010
BIG's 'folded façade' design takes first-prize in competition for China energy company headquarters
Copenhagen-based architect BIG, in collaboration with ARUP and Transsolar, was awarded first-prize in an international competition to design Shenzhen International Energy Mansion, the regional headquarters for the Shenzhen Energy Company.
| Aug 11, 2010
Guggenheim and Google team up on shelter design competition
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Google yesterday announced the launch of Design It: Shelter Competition, a global, online initiative that invites the public to use Google Earth and Google SketchUp to create and submit designs for virtual 3-D shelters for a location of their choice anywhere on Earth. The competition opened on June 8, 2009, in honor of Frank Lloyd Wright’s birthday, and closes to submissions on August 23.
