James Weiner named LEED Fellow

James Weiner has been named a LEED Fellow by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI), for his important contributions to the green building movement.

The LEED Fellow is the most prestigious designation awarded by GBCI. This designation honors outstanding professionals who have demonstrated mastery-level technical knowledge and skill; exceptional leadership in the green building community; sharing of best practices through teaching, mentoring, or research; and an ongoing commitment to service and advocacy for green building and sustainability. As a LEED Fellow, Jim will serve ‘as an ambassador applying his knowledge and experience to advancing the vision of green building for all within a generation.’ There are only 34 LEED Fellows throughout the world.

Re-engineering the Project Delivery Process to Create Better Buildings
Using LEED™ to Measure Twice, Cut OnceToday we have become sensitized to the relationships between building processes and life on the planet, and understand more deeply Churchill’s adage — “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.”This relationship between the built environment and our lives occurs at the local building scale where clients realize building performance in measurable differences such as utility bills and absenteeism. The relationship also occurs on a much larger scale—look at the studies on global warming and the costs of health care associated with buildings. This takes the idea of building performance to a higher level, with greater implications for the world than just saving a bit on the water bill. It’s apparent that we must measure building performance with a better yardstick. The question is: How can we deliver higher performance buildings if we don’t understand what to measure and how to measure it?

Best Practices Case Study: Pierce College Facilities Maintenance and Operations Complex

This 42,000 SF project for the Los Angeles Community College District incorporates integrated design and technologies to achieve a near net-zero facility. Collaborative worked with a design/build team led by gkkworks using whole building energy analysis to integrate a cost-effective low-energy solution for this LACCD campus.

This project will showcase multiple approaches to net-zero energy use, including a photovoltaic (PV) array, a solar thermal array, hot water storage, and a solar thermal driven absorption chiller central plant. The design also integrates daylighting and controls with an efficient building envelope. A sophisticated stormwater collection, cistern and irrigation system provides all site water needs while eliminating runoff. The project's collaborative design process was awarded a Higher Education Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Best Practice Award at the 2010 California Higher Education Sustainability Conference. A case study describes the mechanical design.