Learn how renovating an existing building using recycled and salvaged materials demonstrates a life-cycle approach to green building design and development in the LEED certification system.
Table of Contents
Question
Which of the following demonstrates life-cycle approach to development or design?
A. Purchasing and demolishing a 100-year-old apartment building to build a new. energy-efficient building
B. Renovating an existing building using recycled and salvaged building materials
C. Locating a new building in a dense district with a diversity of uses and plentiful transit routes
D. Designing a building envelope with the most advanced technology to maximize insulation values, regardless of what materials are used
Answer
B. Renovating an existing building using recycled and salvaged building materials
Explanation
Renovating an existing building using recycled and salvaged building materials is an example of a life-cycle approach to development or design. A life-cycle approach is an approach that considers the environmental impacts of a product or a project from cradle to grave, or from extraction of raw materials to disposal or reuse.
Renovating an existing building using recycled and salvaged buildingmaterials reduces the environmental impacts associated with new construction, such as land use change, resourcedepletion, energy consumption, waste generation, and greenhouse gas emissions. The LEED Green Associate Candidate Handbook states that one of the intents of the Materials and Resources category is to “promote life-cycle assessment as a means of evaluating environmental impacts”.
A life-cycle approach in green building considers the environmental impacts of a building over its entire lifespan, from material sourcing through construction, operation, and eventual demolition.
Renovating an existing building takes advantage of the embodied energy and materials already invested in its original construction. This avoids the waste and environmental costs of demolition and new construction.
Using recycled and salvaged materials in the renovation further reduces the need to extract and manufacture virgin materials, lowering the environmental footprint. Reusing materials extends their life-cycle in a closed-loop fashion.
In contrast:
A) Demolishing an existing building, even to construct an energy-efficient one, creates waste and squanders embodied energy.
C) Locating in a dense, mixed-use, transit-oriented district is desirable from a site selection perspective but doesn’t necessarily employ life-cycle thinking in design and development.
D) Using advanced envelope technology can improve operational energy efficiency but doesn’t address the embodied impacts of materials from a life-cycle perspective.
Therefore, renovating an existing building with recycled and salvaged materials best exemplifies a life-cycle approach as promoted by the LEED green building rating system. This conserves resources and reduces waste across the building’s life-cycle.
USGBC LEED Green Associate certification exam practice question and answer (Q&A) dump with detail explanation and reference available free, helpful to pass the USGBC LEED Green Associate exam and earn USGBC LEED Green Associate certification.