Living Building Challenge

Green Certification

The Living Community Challenge (LCC) is a green certification program that, unlike most certification programs, is geared toward whole neighborhoods as opposed to singular buildings. Unfortunately, no existing communities have achieved Living Community Challenge certification. Still, there are many neighborhoods utilizing the ideals – known as petals – of the LCC in attempts to become more sustainable. The Living Building Challenge (LBC), the parent certification for the LCC, has seen more success than the LCC and will provide further research on the implications of its criterion. This paper will look at the hypothetical variables of the LCC, the communities trying to achieve these variables, and how elements of it could be used in relation to impoverished communities. Through case studies on groups and individuals attempting LCC and LBC certification, specifically Bend, Oregon and the BLOCK Project, the potential of the research becomes evident. This paper seeks to demonstrate how the LCC could be applied specifically in low-income areas in Gainesville, FL without achieving all the requirements of each petal.

How Rating Systems Support Regenerative Change in the Built Environment

Future City - Rethinking Sustainability Towards a Regenerative Economy ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-71819-0_7 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 131-144

Author(s):

Melinda Orova ◽

András Reith

Keyword(s):

Built Environment ◽

New Technologies ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Well Being ◽

Assessment Tools ◽

Extensive Literature ◽

Main Question ◽

Rating Systems ◽

Living Building Challenge

AbstractUrban development principles have evolved from sustainability, where the focus was on limiting the negative impact of urban environment, to restorative and regenerative sustainability, where positive impact is needed on global social and ecological systems. This recent paradigm shift requires the development of new tools for practitioners, like design methodologies, new technologies, and assessment methods.To measure the impact of sustainability on the built environment, several building-scale assessment tools exist. The question is how these widespread rating systems support restorative change in the built environment.The main question of the research is answered in three methodological steps. First, the goals of restorative sustainability are summarized from the available extensive literature, including the topics of Place, Energy, Water, Well-being, Carbon, Resources, Equity, Education, and Economics. Then different rating tools (Living Building Challenge, WELL, LEED, BREEAM, DGNB) are analysed how the considered issues and indicators in these rating tools are connected to restorative goals. Then these indicators are assessed how they serve that goal.The result of this study shows the main strengths and gaps in current wide-spread international rating tools regarding their support of restorative sustainability.

Resilient Experiments in Rural Housing: Architectural Experiments in Planned Housing

IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science ◽

10.1088/1755-1315/903/1/012001 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 903 (1) ◽

pp. 012001

Author(s):

G Galford ◽

L M Tucker

Keyword(s):

Single Family ◽

Sustainable Living ◽

Sustainable Housing ◽

Net Zero Energy ◽

Net Zero ◽

The Us ◽

History Of ◽

Rural Appalachia ◽

Historical Model

Abstract Single family houses contribute substantially to climate change in the US and other parts of the world. In the US specifically, most housing has been designed by builders and developers. The motivation has not been sustainability and a knowledge of how to design net zero energy and net zero water dwelling is not commonly understood. This paper seeks to use a historical model as viewed through the lens of the Living Building Challenge to demonstrate how an architect designed historic example might provide a way of implementing a cutting-edge approach to sustainable housing today. Arthurdale was an early 20th century housing experiment that was conceptualized to provide for sustainable living in rural Appalachia. This paper presents the history of the region, an overview of the houses and the Living Building Challenge and then analyses how this historic prototype might model a sustainable housing development today using the Living Building Challenge system.

Measuring Green: The Generation of the Information

Green Grades ◽

10.7551/mitpress/9780262036429.003.0004 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Graham Bullock

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Reliability And Validity ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Methodological Issues ◽

Energy Star ◽

General Lack ◽

Different Dimensions ◽

Information Generation

Chapter 4 uses the differences between LEED, Green Globes, the Living Building Challenge, and ENERGY STAR to highlight the methodological issues associated with information-based governance. The chapter introduces the concepts of replicability, reliability, and validity, and applies them in an analysis of the transparency and quality of the data and methods used in existing information-based initiatives. The importance of life cycle approaches to developing valid environmental information about products and companies is also discussed. With a few important exceptions, data from 245 cases of these initiatives demonstrates their general lack of methodological transparency and validity, and highlight the challenges associated with developing robust metrics of sustainability. The chapter discusses several important tradeoffs between different dimensions of validity, and suggests several strategies for managing these tradeoffs. It also identifies the most promising and problematic information generation practices found in the database and the lessons learned from these examples.

SIMULATING THE IMPACTS OF INDOOR VERTICAL FLOW CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS ON HVAC PERFORMANCE USING eQUEST AT HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE'S R. W. KERN CENTER

10.3992/1943-4618.13.2.121 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 121-144 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Matthew Raymond ◽

Sarah Hews ◽

Christina Cianfrani

Keyword(s):

Constructed Wetlands ◽

Green Building ◽

Water Infiltration ◽

Treatment System ◽

Vertical Flow ◽

Rain Gardens ◽

Air Filtration ◽

Vertical Flow Constructed Wetlands ◽

Building Standards

INTRODUCTION Hampshire College, in Amherst, Massachusetts, is taking part in the green building movement with the construction of the R. W. Kern Center, which opened in the spring of 2016. The building was certified to meet the Living Building Challenge in spring 2018 and has satisfied building standards such as Net Zero energy and water. To meet these standards, the design of the building employs solar photovoltaic panels, a rain water catchment and purification system, a greywater treatment system, storm water infiltration rain gardens, composting toilets, and control monitoring systems to make the building more efficient and decrease its harmful impacts on the environment. The greywater treatment system utilizes both indoor vertical flow constructed wetlands (VFCW) and an outdoor horizontal flow constructed wetland (HFCW) to filter greywater effluent from sinks and a coffee bar, meeting the requirement to treat and handle all wastewater generated on site. Although the VFCW system performance has been shown to be effective in exterior environments (Sklarz et al., 2009), its use inside a building requires scrutiny to verify that the adoption of this system does not affect the operation of essential building systems. The green systems that the Kern Center and others like it are employing may have impacts on the building's environment, construction and operation. These modifications must be monitored, and their effects quantified. The alteration of the thermal and air quality characteristics of the interior building has a significant effect on occupant health and the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) energy on consumption. Several studies have investigated the benefits of indoor plants for air filtration or for exterior greywater filtration.

Application of Microbial Fuel Cells to Wastewater Treatment Systems Used in the Living Building Challenge

Korean Journal of Environmental Health Sciences ◽

10.5668/jehs.2013.39.5.474 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 39 (5) ◽

pp. 474-481

Author(s):

Chae-Young Lee ◽

Hong Liu ◽

Sun-Kee Han

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Fuel Cells ◽

Microbial Fuel Cells ◽

Wastewater Treatment Systems

Biology and Building—The Living Learning Center at Washington University's Tyson Research Center: A Journey on the Path to the Living Building Challenge

10.3992/jgb.4.4.55 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

pp. 55-83 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Daniel F Hellmuth ◽

Jonathan Chase ◽

Kevin Smith ◽

Matt Malten ◽

Susan K Flowers ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Natural World ◽

Higher Learning ◽

Research Center ◽

Net Energy ◽

Learning Center ◽

The World ◽

Zero Net Energy ◽

Dedicated Team ◽

Deep Green

The result of equal parts serendipity, exploration, creativity, and the enduring persistence of a dedicated team of designers and its university client, Washington University's Living Learning Center, has quickly become a locus of sustainability. It is a deep green place filled with fresh air and daylight, an ongoing achievement in zero net waste, zero net water, and zero net energy design, a space that inspires higher learning about the natural world. The Center is also well on its way to certification as the first living building in the world.

THE R.W. KERN CENTER AS A LIVING LABORATORY: CONNECTING CAMPUS SUSTAINABILITY GOALS WITH THE EDUCATIONAL MISSION AT HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE, AMHERST, MA

10.3992/1943-4618.13.4.123 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 123-145 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Christina M. Cianfrani ◽

Sarah Hews ◽

Jason Tor ◽

Jason J. Jewhurst ◽

Claire Shillington ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Liberal Arts ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Sustainable Design ◽

Green Building ◽

Academic Program ◽

High Threshold ◽

Ethical Products ◽

Natural Beauty ◽

Living Building Challenge

1. INTRODUCTION The R. W. Kern Center In 2016 the R.W. Kern Center became Hampshire College's first new building in 40 years (Figure 1). Located at the heart of the Hampshire College campus, the R.W. Kern Center is a multi-purpose facility intended to embody a high threshold of forward- thinking sustainable design: generating its own energy; capturing and treating its own water; and processing and recycling its waste. Its design also embodies a broader definition of “green” building, prioritizing non-toxic materials, local and ethical products, and principals of biophilia and natural beauty. The new building, which includes classrooms, offices, and a community café and gallery, serves as a primary entry point to the campus and was designed to engage prospective students as well as provide community space. In the spring of 2018, the Kern Center became the 17th building to be certified and meet the Living Building Challenge (LBC) (International Living Future Institute, 2018a) after a year of post-occupancy performance verification. At 17,000 square feet, it is the largest Living Building on a higher education campus and considering the relatively small size of the college (~1300 students) it showcases Hampshire College's substantial commitment to sustainable design and development. The Living Building Challenge A program of the International Living Future Institute, the Living Building Challenge is a building certification system and sustainable design framework for creating built environments that have a positive impact on people and the environment (International Living Future Institute, 2018a). The Challenge is organized into seven performance areas covering different aspects of holistic sustainable design: place, water, energy, health + happiness, materials, equity, and beauty. In order to achieve “Living” status, projects must fulfill all imperatives in each of these categories. Hampshire College Hampshire College is an innovative private college in Amherst, Massachusetts. The academic program is highly dynamic and interdisciplinary, emphasizing an inquiry-based and learner-centered liberal arts education. Students are empowered to think, discover, advocate, and build essential skills through an individualized divisional system utilizing portfolios, narrative evaluations, and self-reflection. The College's motto, Non Satis Scire (To Know is Not Enough), is a call to action for students, as well as the institution. It is not enough for colleges and universities to merely educate students on issues of sustainability or environmental and social justice; Hampshire College has the added responsibility of applying this knowledge in all of its operations. The R.W. Kern Center embodies the commitment to environmental sustainability at Hampshire and is a powerful example of the dynamic role sustainable design can play in educating the next generation of sustainability leaders.

The role of aesthetics in building sustainability assessment

Spatium ◽

10.2298/spat2145079g ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 79-89

Author(s):

Indre Grazuleviciute-Vileniske ◽

Gediminas Viliunas ◽

Aurelija Daugelaite

Keyword(s):

Sustainability Assessment ◽

Aesthetic Quality ◽

Sustainable Architecture ◽

Sustainable Building ◽

Cultural Sustainability ◽

Environmental Criteria ◽

Building Assessment ◽

Regenerative Approach

This theoretical study examines the role of aesthetics in the assessment frameworks of sustainable architecture. The article is organized into two main sections: a general literature review and the results. The results section encompasses an analysis of the place of aesthetic quality in the understanding of sustainable architecture, and an overview and discussion of the general sustainable building assessment frameworks and the main sustainable buildings certification systems (LEED, BREEAM, WELL, Living Building Challenge), identifying the existing and potential place of cultural sustainability and aesthetics in them. Finally, four architectural theories holding the potential for balancing human and environmental criteria in the assessment of sustainable architecture are presented. These theories are: sustainability aesthetics, genius loci, biophilia, and a regenerative approach. The conclusion was made that these approaches hold the potential for the breakthrough of aesthetic quality and uniqueness of sustainable architecture.

DELIVERING SUSTAINABLE BUILDING PROJECTS – CHALLENGES, REALITY AND SUCCESS

10.3992/jgb.11.3.143.1 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 143-161 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Haleh Rasekh ◽

Timothy J. McCarthy

Keyword(s):

Research Centre ◽

Research Facility ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Rating Systems ◽

Sustainable Buildings ◽

Building Projects ◽

Sustainable Building ◽

Reporting Requirements ◽

Key Participants

This research concerns the delivery of sustainable building projects. These projects are defined as those which either attempt to achieve green ratings or are claimed to address certain sustainability issues. A key focus is to examine how the client's vision for sustainability is achieved or compromised by the practicality of construction. Two sustainability rating systems, the Australian Green Star and the Living Building Challenge from the U.S. are discussed. This research examines two projects; one university multipurpose building (SMART Infrastructure Facility); and an advanced research facility, the Sustainable Buildings Research Centre (SBRC). The methodology used is semi-structured interviews of key participants and stakeholders for the two university building. The outcome of this research indicates that environmental rating systems are useful tools to construct reasonably sustainable buildings. Many interviewees, however, believe that for their next projects the concern would be to continue to construct sustainable buildings but not necessarily by following the strict criteria and reporting requirements of the environmental rating system.