Learn about LEED and historic buildings at the Nov. 25 meeting of the Savannah Chapter of the United States Green Building Council. The speakers will be Tommy Linstroth, Head of Sustainability for Melaver, Inc., and Sarah Ward, a Preservation Planner with the Metropolitan Planning Commission. The meeting is free and open to the public.
The meeting will be held Nov. 25 from 5:45-7 p.m. on the second floor of Wild Wing Cafe in City Market. RSVP by Nov. 19 to wards@thempc.org.
Linstroth will speak about "LEEDing the way in Historic Preservation."
"While historic preservation and LEED certification are often portrayed at odds with one another, in fact, they go hand in hand," Linstroth said. "Historic buildings typically get owners almost 30 percent of the way to certification based on their intrinsic nature and location, and the other LEED credits are not conflicting with historic preservation policies."
"We live in one of the largest historic districts in the nation, so there is huge potential to renovate buildings in ways that are not only historically accurate, but also in a sustainable manner," Linstroth said. LEED buildings offer energy and water savings, as well as better indoor air quality.
The case study of the Whitaker Building will be used to demonstrate how a historic building that received historic tax credits was able to leverage its historic nature and earn a LEED silver certification.
Ward will explain that "Historic Preservation IS Green Building." Many of the goals of the USGBC are shared by the Historic Preservation community, and LEED points can be achieved simply by reusing an existing building. Likewise, Federal and State Historic Preservation Tax Incentives can be used in concert with achieving LEED certification, so it is a win-win situation for the community and the property owner, Ward said.
While many may view Historic Preservation as a barrier to achieving a sustainable building, environmentally friendly property, or even LEED certification, the two can actually work in concert with one another, Ward explained.
"In many ways Historic Preservation was the first green building movement and continues to have a positive impact on our communities and environment today," Ward said. Historic building practices, sometimes viewed as a novelty today, always considered daylight views, air circulation, heating and cooling techniques even when electricity and gas were not available, and water reuse and retention. They incorporated sustainable local materials that would stand the test of time. These elements have made these properties significant to our historical past and now they have become tools to re-teach ourselves how to adapt to our local environments and are incorporated into the USGBC LEED Rating System. "These common goals not only help to reduce our impact on the environment but also preserve our irreplaceable historic resources that define who we are as a culture," Ward said.
The Savannah Chapter of the United States Green Building Council is dedicated to promoting sustainable design and green building throughout the Creative Coast. The group meets monthly on the fourth Tuesday of the month. The meetings are open to the public, and everyone is encouraged to attend. The USGBC-Savannah Chapter seeks to educate the public on the long-term benefits of green building and how sustainable design can be integrated or implemented into one’s life.
www.coastalgreen.org