Living Building Challenge Beyond LEED Certification

Living Building Challenge

     The Living Building Challenge is a new green rating system for buildings that was developed by Jason F. McClennon. It creates a building that is not only a green building in initial design and construction but what actually happens down the road in everyday use of the building. How is that accomplished? Every Living Building Challenge Building is judged not during the design or construction, like a LEED building but twelve to sixteen months after the building has been in day to day use to see if the grand green ideas have panned out. 

LEED Was The First Step

So where LEED was a great first step in the designing green buildings and really bringing about this whole green building industry the LBC is about taking the next step to see which of these designers ideas really work in your day to day life. Because let's face it when you are designing something, how you think something will work out versus how it really does can change dramatically. Not to mention the fact that when a lot of these so called green buildings were built a lot of this technology was just someones idea on a drawing board. That hadn't really been tried out yet. So now with the Living Building Challenge and the new standards in place those buildings that are LEED certified can be tested to see if they meet the new standards and the ones with the best technology and best ideas can be replicated.