How does LEED fit into our dialog?

• Some participants thought that we can’t do anything until we “fix” LEED; then, we need to figure out how to reach the large number of people who have not yet begun to think about green or sustainable design. But … it was pointed out that “fixing” LEED sounds too static – LEED should always continue to evolve.
• Most agreed that LEED has had a significant impact – transforming the market but not necessarily energizing it. Therefore, perhaps LEED is not enough.
• LEED brings people into the process, but might not keep them there.
• LEED helps to create relationships that did not exist before among the design team – and encourages teams to broaden their scope.
• LEED gave people a tool and guidance and gathered them together when there was nothing else available. This is still a powerful advantage to build on.
• LEED needs to become regional and climate-specific in the future – bring in the concept of “place”.
• The group saw improving LEED as one set of tasks and envisioning a fundamental shift in approach as a separate, but related, set of tasks.

Finally, don’t understate the value of LEED – it has brought large numbers of people and energy into the process and created relationships that didn’t exist before.

Brainstorming of vision for 2050

The group discussed the time frame for the brainstorming – near-term vs. longer term vision (2020 vs. 2050). Near term offers immediacy of changes, but may make vision for significant change feel unrealistic. Long term suggests anything is possible, but maybe not grounded enough in current realities.

Note—most vision ideas were aspirational/positive, but some were predictive and cautionary. * More people will want to live and work in green buildings – this will become the norm. * All transportation will be minimized. * Communities will be more community-centric and have a local focus. * Buildings will no longer be “commodities”. * Buildings will not be distinct from their site or community and participate in the healing of the site. * The demand for new buildings will be reduced. * All buildings will produce and/ or manage their own energy, water, food, waste, etc. * The needs of all species will be considered and enhanced. * Houses will be responsible for 2/3 of greenhouse gas emissions; codes will be prescriptive; OR no codes or regulations will be needed. * All primary occupied spaces will have a connection to the outdoors. * Buildings will be unplugged – whole life and climatically – and will be culturally “of a place” and “drop dead beautiful”. * People will be happy and find pleasure in places they occupy. * De-watering will deal with rising sea levels. * All building projects will be carbon-neutral or net positive. * We will ask “should we build?” before we ask “what should we build?”. * There will be an increase in open space and a decrease in buildings – natural areas will be restored. * All components will be built for dis-assembly and for re-assembly. * Highways will be turned into energy producers not consumers – personal transportation will be transformed. * No fossil fuels will be used in buildings. * There will be no air travel – everything will be locally-based; houses will be mobile and will follow the weather. * There will be no need for market transformation – it will be transformed; CSI will be a subunit of the USGBC. * Buildings will be self-repairing via nanotechnology. * There will be more people per square foot – densification. * Construction delivery will be changed to include more vertical integration and broader teams (botanists, for example). * 15% of gross revenues of the industry will be devoted to research. * Wal-Marts will be churches of the earth. * The built environment will enhance our ability to create schools and communities that learn and encourage learning. * Horizontal and vertical surfaces will be alive – planted, food producing. * The delivery system will change to increase the percentage of factory built and artisan on-site finished (artisan ready). * Bacterial restoration of stone surfaces will be common. * We will have gone beyond email to more satisfying and enriching communication. * Time given to design and construction will be enough to do the job right. * Depreciation schedules will be extended to 50-100 years. * “Sustainability” as a term will be gone – we will just be doing it. * Natural areas will still exist, without oil rigs, etc. * Buildings will teach and learn – mechanisms will be in place for learning from buildings and projects. * All building materials will be human scale. * People will spend four times as much time outside as inside. * Buildings will be repositories of information; they will have knowledge embedded – of design, construction, operation – and the occupant can interact with this information; this will provide memory for new users. * All fossil fuel refineries will be turned into recycling centers or repaired to their natural state. * Recognition of the impact of the built environment on humans and the natural environment will lead to paradigm shifts similar to the one that occurred at NASA in the 1960s. * Those involved with the built environment will be so integrated that there will be no separation into “disciplines”. * All buildings will be an act of worship. * The vast majority of building materials will be biobased, compostable. * Cities will revert to self-supporting communities linking food and buildings. * Every city will have an eco-map with inventory and flows; permits will tell you how much food and energy you will need to provide back to the community. * There will be a celebration of diversity and quality of life, and equitable building for all age groups will be a commitment of all communities. * Project teams will be integrated, holistic, creative learning environments with no “disconnects”. * Public buildings will be desired community gathering places. * There will be no more Euclidean planning – place based zones. * We will have figured out living spaces for our elders; the built environment will help to integrate elders into the community. * We will no longer be human-centered. * Buildings will be net positive for energy, food, and water. * Safe, healthy, and inspiring housing will be seen as a basic human right. * When we build, we won’t just think about ourselves.

Finally, members of the design team presented an overview of the U.S. Border Station project at Alexandria Bay, New York. One of GSA’s goals for the charrette was to provide ideas for this project that is estimated at $60 million. The project is approximately 127,000 gross square feet of office, warehouse, and canopied space.