Going for Gold

By Anne Youngdahl

Milestone #1: literature review complete! Armed with new knowledge of energy audit procedures, the details of LEED standards, and sustainable building standards at the university, we were ready to dive into beginning the process of working toward recertifying Pauley Pavilion as LEED Gold.

This week we met once again with our stakeholder, Todd Lynch. We discussed first steps, including reviewing the documentation from Pauley’s previous LEED certification, and comparing this information to the new standards to see what information can apply directly to recertification efforts, and what new information we will need to gather.

There are a few key differences between this process and the previous LEED certification of Pauley. Not only was the certification during Pauley’s recent renovation under version 2.2 of the LEED standards, as opposed to the updated version 4, but also the previous certification fell under the category of New Construction (NC). As our certification process is not linked to a major construction or remodel project, it falls under the Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance (EBOM) category.

The accompanying photo was taken outside of La Kretz Hall at UCLA, which houses the Institute of Environment and Sustainability, and was certified LEED Silver in 2006. Note the “NC” (New Construction) designation, unlike the goal of “EBOM” for Pauley. Also unlike La Kretz Hall, the goal for Pauley Pavilion is the Gold level.

Another characteristic of the LEED process that we learned about was the cost of registering and submitting a project for review by the USGBC (United States Green Building Council). This background helped us reevaluate our end goals, and focus more on collecting information in preparation for submission. In the coming weeks, we plan to start sorting through existing documentation of the sustainability features of Pauley that count toward earning credits under the LEED program.