The editor of Green Building Insider, www.greenbuildinginsider.com, invites me to write about LEED topics primarily because I have been a LEED Accredited Professional since 2004. I took a class from the USGBC in 2002 taught by some of the founders of the LEED program because back then the program was quite new and experimental and instructors were few and far between. I greatly value the fact that I became a LEED AP so early so that I have first hand knowledge of how the organization has evolved.
I took LEED’s first version of the exam in 2004 and barely passed. One fourth of the exam was about general construction knowledge and probably one third of the exam was about general green and environmental knowledge. Nonetheless, I passed by 4 points by getting a nearly perfect score on the information regarding LEED itself because I had a study guide for that portion of the exam. Once I became a registered architect in 2007, I would have been much better prepared for the general construction knowledge.
The fact that one third of the exam was about general environmental information is an important point. Becoming a LEED AP is not the “end all” neither should it be. If we are truly interested in green building and if we are to take important roles in green building, we need to be well-rounded students of environmentalism topics from a variety of perspectives and sources.
LEED now is onto their third set of changes for the LEED exams… The first tiered exam covers the general construction and green environmental questions. Then any of the secondary exams offer specialty credentials, such as New Construction and Major Renovations, Schools, Retail, Interiors, Neighborhoods, Homes, etc.
My humble advice: Don’t just study LEED’s given study guide… chances are you may not pass even if you have the guide memorized. Secondly, take a class through the USGBC because the information you learn in one of those classes cannot be replicated anywhere. I would not have passed the exam without taking the class. Furthermore, I would not know nearly as much about LEED and the USGBC as I do now if I had not taken the class! The classes are expensive, but certainly worth every bit.
Now for the photo… I didn’t take a picture of the glorious moment when I found out I passed the exam, so I thought I would include one of my favorite green photos. The photograph was given to me by Dr. Bob Falk, who provides research and performs tests and studies on reclaimed lumber. For example, he provides structural data so that engineers can have something more substantial than guesswork to use for their designs. Dr. Falk also provides information about how to use reclaimed lumber in the field. I wrote about Falk and reclaimed lumber in an article for Northwest Construction, published in Feb. 09.
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