Green Building Rating Systems as Sustainability Assessment Tools: Case Study Analysis

Building performance and occupants' comfort lie at the core of building design targets. Principles of green architecture and building physics are not given enough thought and consideration. In the best cases, some thought is given to such factors but without a scientific methodology, which takes into consideration appropriate climatic data and appropriate assessment tools. Most importantly, the interference of the environmentalist in architecture projects comes usually very late in the design processes. Facing these facts has driven most countries to adopt official strategies and policies to deal with building's performance. The rating systems are among these initiatives. The author of this chapter adapts a detailed methodology to aid the integration of the principles of the green architecture in the early stages of design using rating systems. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) 1 that was developed in the USA by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for Core and Shell has been employed as the main design target. This chapter presents a brief about the world green initiatives and discusses the results of applying the methodology of integrating the green architectural principles at the early stages of design processes--through precedent analysis.