2010 ADA and Safe Harbor

New construction and alterations that are currently occurring may be constructed in accordance with the 1991 or the 2010 Standards, but this transitional phase will be ending shortly.  If the building permit application is received on or after March 15, 2012 or if a permit is not required construction starts on or after this date, the 2010 ADA Standards will be mandated.  Start of construction does require more than razing of existing structures or a ceremonial groundbreaking.

It is important to note that when the new standards take effect, buildings that were constructed prior to the March 15, 2012 deadline and in accordance with the 1991 Standards do not need to be brought up to the 2010 Standards.  For example, the 1991 Standards allows for a side approach to a water fountain but in the 2010 Standards for adults only front approaches are permissible.  If the water fountain was installed or permitted, prior to the March 15 deadline, with a side approach, this will be considered as compliant under the Safe Harbors provisions of the 2010 ADA Standards.

"If a private entity has constructed or altered required elements of a path of travel at a place of public accommodation or commercial facility in accordance with the specifications in the 1991 Standards, the private entity is not required to retrofit such elements to reflect the incremental changes in the 2010 Standards solely because of an alteration to a primary function area served by that path of travel."     36.403 (a) 2

"If existing elements, spaces, or common areas are altered, then each such altered element, space, or area shall comply with the applicable provisions of appendix A to this part."     36.402 (b) 2

The 2010 Standards require access for facilities that did not have access requirements under the 1991 Standards, such as recreation facilities.  Since there were no standards for the additional facility types under the previous ADAAG regulations, these are not considered as having been constructed in accordance with them.  Therefore, they are not protected under the 2010 Standards Safe Harbor provisions, and the architectural barriers must be removed when readily achievable.

As the 2010 Standards are generally more restrictive than the 1991 Standards, it could be valuable for many businesses to have an ADA Compliance Audit performed soon.  There are two benefits for this.  First, the business will have paperwork documenting that they were evaluated by a third party professional company to be in compliance with 1991 ADA Standards.  With the ADA being a Civil Rights law rather than a building code, this documentation may provide greater protection.  The second benefit would be, providing the business an opportunity to decide to perform the necessary modifications under the 1991 ADA standards.

LEED AP Legacy

I am currently a LEED Accredited Professional with Legacy or without specialty status. I had planned on maintaining that status and not migrating into a Specialty track. However, yesterday I changed my mind and will shortly be making the switch.

First, I would like to explain why I was not planning on making the switch. When United States Green Building Council (USGBC) first announced the option of the Specialty tracks, it stated that all LEED AP's had the option to migrate into the new system or remain under the old system with Legacy status. Legacy AP's would remain valid and would continue to be eligible for the AP point under all rating systems. These benefits would not be revoked. The benefits of the new system seemed to be primarily marketing. I can advertise myself as an expert in a particular focus of green building such as Building Design and Construction and would get a fancy color logo that I can use by my name. As part of the specialty track, I would need to pay regular maintenance fees and meet continuing education requirements. The continuing education requirements are nearly identical to the ones that I take to maintain my architecture license, but are approved by a different organization and would have a different renewal period. I decided the color logo was not worth the additional fees and paperwork.

About a month ago, I attended an USGBC event. As I had recently receiving an email saying that the time to upgrade from LEED AP Legacy to a specialty track was about to expire, I asked several other attendees about their thoughts on upgrading to the specialty track. For the most part, the answers that I received were basically marketing purposes and reassuring the public about standards through continuing education. Those are both points that I believe are easily addressed in a brief conversation. One individual said that the USGBC was planning on devaluing the Legacy status and make it not longer eligible for points under the LEED rating system. We discussed how this was against what they said and agreed upon, but they were planning on doing it anyway. I filed this away, but felt that the agreement that LEED Legacy AP would be eligible for a LEED rating systems point for life would not be broken.

A couple of days ago, I realized that is not the case. On the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) FAQ site, I saw this.

"Are LEED APs without specialty still eligible for ID credit 2 on a LEED project?

LEED APs with and without specialty are all currently eligible to earn ID credit 2 on a LEED project. Since USGBC makes the LEED Rating Systems, it is USGBC’s decision if or when to change the Innovation & Design credit."

As the GBCI is a spinoff from the USGBC, this statement implies backtracking on the commitment that Legacy AP's would remain eligible for that credit. Reading the draft 2012 LEED rating standards, shows that the USGBC is planning on no longer permitting Legacy AP's from utilizing this point. This is the proposed language for utilizing this credit. It is from page 12 of the clean version of the Building Design and Construction standards.

"At least one (1) principal participant of the project team shall be a LEED Accredited Professional (AP) with a specialty most appropriate for the project."

My deadline for upgrading from Legacy to specialty track is in September. If I maintain my Legacy status, I will need to prepared to not only provide comments on every LEED rating system for the next 25 years of my career, but to raise enough outcry from other Legacy AP's to force the USGBC to honor their agreement with the Legacy AP's. I have decided to make the switch and upgrade to a specialty track. I also encourage other Legacy AP's to take this under consideration before their two year "enrollment window" closes.

Value of Architects

I was on a plane a couple of days ago on my way to a green building symposium and was talking with the woman next to me. We were discussing residential design and my history of working on this type of project. At one point she asked me, "So who is your biggest competition?" She was interested in knowing what other firms that I compete with for work. As I considered it, I answered that other architectural firms were not primary competition. My biggest competitors are in fact developers, builders, and showrooms who come with stock plans. These groups have basic plans that have been developed with the "average" consumer in mind. They have been market tested to appeal to the vast majority of consumers without the need for customization of any kind. The companies do not need to charge for the design as they make their money during construction. As an architect, I design around the individuals needs. The fee for these services cannot be rolled into the cost of construction. This does not necessarily mean the overall costs will be higher. By designing for an individual less space may be needed or a simpler solution can be found than for the stock plan.

VGBN Awarded Green School Grant

Earlier today, the Vermont Green Building Network was awarded a 2011 USGBC Green Schools Committees Innovation Grant, by the Center for Green Schools. The title of the grant is "Greening Vermont’s Schools- For Cost Savings and Student Performance." The goal of this grant as described in our proposal is:

"Vermont is a leader in both public education and environmental issues and has a very high per-capita rate for LEED certified buildings, yet none of them is a school. Nor is there a ChiPS certified school among the 307 public school buildings in the state. The Vermont Green Building Network (VGBN), as the USGBC’s Vermont chapter, has been advocating for green schools legislation for years, but legislators and school officials state that declining enrollments and revenues make it tough just to keep schools open let alone build new schools, and that green renovations are too costly. Our response has been that with the oldest school buildings (on average) in the US, it is too expensive NOT to implement green renovations."

VGBN will be producing a guidebook for school districts that will outline recommendations for undertaking cost effective green renovations. It is expected that this guidebook will be available for distribution in May 2012.

Update: 7/16/2011

Here is a complete list of Grant Recipients

California Central Coast Chapter: Gateway to Green Schools Initiative

Central Ohio Chapter: Ohio Green Schools Compendium

Charlotte Region Chapter: Outdoor Classroom: Green Building Systems

Delaware Valley Green Building Council: Green Your Schools Workshop

Florida Gulf Coast Chapter: Teaming Up for Green Existing Schools: A Public-Private Partnership

Illinois Chapter: Bringing Green to Chicago's Classrooms

Massachusetts Chapter: Plug Load Usage Green Guide Project

Minnesota Chapter: Minnesota Green Schools Coalition: Website Development

Orange County Chapter: Healthy Green Schools in a Generation: 2011-12 Green Classroom Project

Tennessee Chapters (East, Memphis, and Middle): Green Tennessee Schools: Website & Smartphone Application

Vermont Green Building Network: Greening Vermont's Schools: For Cost Savings and Student Performance