LEED Conversation

Great comments!!! That was the point of my questioning LEED...getting thoughts shared...

Nice comment, Thanks Tim

A wholly unrelated image from Bangalore. Oh and...

Tim said... (In regards to the post: Does being Green have a very un-Green cost to it?)

I agree that LEED doesn't necessarily result in a building that uses "significantly less electricity or have significantly lower greenhouse-gas emissions," the point system allows designers and developers flexibility in how they approach incorporating "green" practices which often allows less than perfectly green results.

However, as a LEED AP, I've taken the approach that the LEED rating system is more of a discussion starter than a definitive guide to going green. Many of my clients have only been open to reducing the heat island effect, incorporating recycled materials, and having onsite solar panels, because of the LEED point system. No commercial developer wants to reduce parking capacity, but it is a relatively easy LEED point to achieve. Pervious paving systems require maintenance and building commissioning costs money, but the benefits of keeping water out of the municipal storm water system, keeping pollutants onsite, and having a properly tuned HVAC system shouldn't be undervalued.

No rating system will ever be perfect, but as a way of having dollar conscious developers begin to change their thinking, I think it's the best thing we have.

Friday, October 23, 2009 7:59:00 AM

Quite a talented goat!!! Ride on...

Does being Green have a very un-Green cost to it?

Green Mamba image from Ryan Photographic, found at Play it Green

From the Queens Crap post: The LEED Conspiracy -Queens' Green Crap??? How 'bout the Bronx too??? Oh well...

..."There is no justification for USGBC claims that LEED Certified commercial buildings are using significantly less electricity or have significantly lower greenhouse-gas emission associated with their operations than do conventional buildings," wrote Oberlin College researcher John Scofield in a paper... So why is LEED so popular? Well, it lets politicians cloak themselves in the garb of environmental activism without upsetting real-estate interests..."

Oh Crap!!!

I thought it was just an opinion of mine that LEED ratings were a corporate marketing tool before they were something to improve a buildings' environmental impact. From the time that I took a LEED class and learned that in fact one can get LEED points for choosing less than green approaches and sometimes must choose active, polluting systems over actually passive, green solutions just to earn their points. I guess good publicity has a cost to it? Or does being Green have a very un-Green cost to it? Could the Prius really be worse than a Hummer? Depends on what one believes...

To have real world data to support that opinion is oddly satisfying and pretty fucked up, especially if the information is indeed proven & true. Shit, now I want it to be false!!!

Green is green and standardized ratings don't necessarily have anything to do with it; We can be responsible without ratings; the real question may be will we...?

Sign Up for my Autodesk University 2009 Courses

Hope to see you there...

From Programming to Presentation: Planning With Autodesk® Revit®Architecture

• • Primary Speaker: Jay Zallan

  • Class ID: AB322-4
  • Class Information
  • Class Type: 90-Minute Class
  • Expertise: Intermediate
  • Industry: Building
  • Primary Track: Architecture and Building Design
  • Primary Software: Revit Architecture
  • Other Software: Revit MEP, Revit Structure

  
  

  Class Audience

  Architects, urban planners, and designers

  Class Description

  Learn how to create outstanding Planning Projects in Revit Architecture. From single client T.I. to large scale Planning and Urban Designs, you will learn proven concepts and techniques for creating high-quality Revit projects. We will cover several ways to efficiently integrate Planning requirements with downstream project designers and production teams. Learn how to setup projects and templates so you can prepare documents and presentations that are at once detailed, clearly informative, and convincing for your clients (not to mention downright beautiful). You may have new additional services after you leave this class! By applying the concepts of this course, you will be able to smoothly transition your existing techniques into a more powerful workflow and will be better suited to manage both large views, as well as large numbers of views.

  Key Learning

  • Create Master Plan presentations in Revit
  • Create design options to manage multiple concepts
  • Create advanced schedules, parameters, and calculated values for programming verification
  • Input, manage, and analyze programming data through schedules
  • Establish baseline standards for future planning projects
• 
  

  • Coordinating Autodesk® Revit® Models: How to Become a "10"

    • Primary Speaker: Jay Zallan
    • Class ID: AB208-2
    • Class Information
    • Class Type: Unconference
    • Expertise: All levels
    • Industry: Building
    • Primary Track: Architecture and Building Design
    • Other Tracks: CAD Management and IT, Customization and Programming, MEP Design and Engineering
    • Primary Software: Revit Architecture
    • Other Software: Revit Architecture, Revit MEP, Revit Streamline, Revit Structure, Revit Systems

    Class Audience

    Revit users of all disciplines and management

    Class Description

    Real-world projects require real-world solutions, and coordination between multiple models is imperative. What to setup and what to ask for—these will be the base concepts explored in this not-to-miss unconference session.

    Key Learning

  • Work better with in-house Revit models.
  • Work better with consultant teams
  • Setup protocols to ensure useful BIM data
  • Predict what works and what won't
  • Clearly stabilize model integration and sharing

Watch out All you other marts!!!

Doing research of sorts I came upon this marketicle (marketing/article?) and found some interesting enough coincidences (with life...oh, and BIM) to post...Some of this seems familiar...Hmmmm...

"Spreadmarts and Spreadsheet Hell – Part 2 of 2

• Last week we wrote about the reason for the existence of Spreadmarts, and the problems, costs and risks of doing business in this way.
• This week, we talk about a solution for reporting, planning and analysis without Spreadmarts and without the risks. A solution that delivers on the much discussed but seldom realized “one version of the truth” and one that still gets the day-to-day job done …

The People Remedy
One very common dynamic driving spreadmarts is a lack of communication and trust between business and IT. The business doesn’t adhere to the architectural standards and processes designed to support its long-term interests, while IT doesn’t move fast enough to meet business needs. Both business and IT need to recognize each other’s strengths and weaknesses and realize the mutual rewards of synergy.

A Technical Remedy
It’s important to remember that spreadsheets (not Spreadmarts) are an important part of any organization’s technology stack. Problems only arise when spreadsheets are used as data management systems that house corporate data for decision making – reporting, planning and analysis. The technical remedy is to manage and store data and logic centrally in a uniform, consistent fashion and let end-users access this data using spreadsheets and other client access tools. It’s the best of both worlds. IT collects, integrates, and validates data … The Business analyzes, identify trends, creates plans, and makes decisions. The presentation layer is separated from the logic and data.

Walking the Talk
This is easier said than done. Implementing a solution that resolves the Spreadmart nightmare is rather elusive. More often than not, it’s a lack of a technical remedy that rules out the people remedy.

Take budgeting for example. While most believe it is a crucial element of financial management, it is often described as burdensome and time consuming. Line managers typically see little benefit from their budgeting effort. In many cases, this is because the underlying budgeting technologies are simply spreadsheets and email.

What if these line managers had a budgeting solution that eliminates the well documented problems associated with spreadsheet hell? A system that significantly reduces the time spent rolling-up, checking and correcting the numbers. A system where each line manager will also have their financial results, a dashboard of relevant corporate goals and their own KPI’s to refer to at the time of entering budgets..."

BIM can get that way if we don't watch it... Or is that the point? To get our projects running efficiently?

The New Phone Books are here!!! The New Phone Books are here!!!

OK, so it's not the the new phone books but it is the Revit 2010 Web Update 2!!!
BTW; if you didn't get that reference then perhaps watch The Jerk.

Before I quote from the ADSK RAC list:

Get your fav flavor of RAC WU2 here

Get your flavor of RST WU2 here

Get your flavor flav of RME WU2 here

AUTODESK® REVIT® ARCHITECTURE 2010 Update Enhancement List
Improvements made in Update 2 build (20090917_1515):

Autodesk® Revit® Architecture 2010 Enhancements

• Annotation objects no longer disappear when panning a view that spans two monitors.
• Improves stability when switching between Autodesk Revit Architecture 2010 software and Google
• Earth™ software.
• Improves the modification behavior of hosted sweeps (i.e. gutters) attached to joined roofs.
• Improves stability and performance when modifying walls.
• Improvements to shared nested families.
• Improves stability when modifying masses.
• Improves design option rules adherence for walls in different design options and worksets .
• Family and type information can now be read in Autodesk® 3ds Max® software from an FBX® file
• exported from a non-English version of Autodesk Revit Architecture 2010.
• Improves stability when adding views to sheets.
• Improves stability when making a design option primary.
• Improves stability of printing views in wireframe mode.
• Shadows will no longer be cropped when a view is printed or exported to a DWF™ file.
• Subscription notifications are now available from InfoCenter.
• Improves stability when reading IFC files.
• Improves stability when opening a project with an inserted TIF image and when importing a TIF image.
• ViewCube® navigation tool and the navigation bar will now display correctly after unlocking the
• computer.
• Improves stability when removing panels from the ribbon.
• Improves stability when cancelling a move, delete or copy command.
• Improves performance of view renaming and the Workset dialog.
• Mass floor schedules will now update when a level is renamed.
• A form element that has a divided surface applied to it will now be correctly generated after a copy, paste, or move.
• Improves stability when exporting to DWG.
• Dimension and spot elevation values will now display correctly in a dependent view.

Autodesk® Revit® API 2010 Enhancements

• Improves stability when subscribed to a DocumentOpened event.