Integrative Design Introduced into LEED v4

Recognizing the key role the Integrative Design Process plays in developing cost effective, high performance buildings, a core committee of national building industry practitioners came together to clarify the meaning, importance, structure and practice of this process.  After more than six years of work, the Integrative Process (IP) ANSI Consensus National Standard Guide^© 2.0 for Design and Construction of Sustainable Buildings and Communities was created to inform the marketplace about the advantages of the IP and to take the mystery out of how to do it.  Now, in the latest version of the LEED^® Green Building Rating System, LEED v4, the USGBC has incorporated a new IP credit that rewards project teams for gathering and analyzing information to make improved building design decisions that improve performance and often lower both short- and long-term costs.  For more information about the IP and a detailed discussion of the new LEED v4 IP credit, please see the latest issue of 7group’s Synthegrative Thinking.