Activity

I’ve been aware of SSI but hadn’t seen their latest report. Go to: http://www.sustainablesites.org
You’ll find a link to the report on the first page. I must say, the “documentation” requirements suggested in this report read like an undergraduate studio assignment for a year-long class. My recent work on a small LEED project looks like a total of two man-days of paperwork just for 1 point on water conservation. This SSI report looks like about 20 man-days – and almost all is very subjective (means easy to manipulate). Who is going to “crit” the work? All the while keep in mind that your client will have a budget and LEED documentation will be part of that budget, so an extra $15,000 to $20,000 for just the landscape documentation might not encourage a lot of clients to go for LEED or SSI certification. More concerning is the trend of municipalities (think politicians) to require LEED certification for all public (then private?) projects.

To make a positive suggestion though, I would like LEED and SSI to use simple measurement wherever possible. Water conservation is a great place to start since a water meter can do the measuring. Just set a target of some percentage of local ET for the landscape architect to design to. Then set the project’s water rate (separate landscape meters are commonly required now in California) with penalties for exceeding that target. No plan-checkers needed, just a client with a motivation for hiring a landscape architect who can deliver an attractive landscape that meets the target.