I'm not sure how apparent it's been from what makes it onto this blog...but I've been flailing around quite a bit, really, since its inception. I'm a strong ox, I like to work hard on big projects...but it helps to know that the project will make a difference.
Sustainable building is a Big Project, for sure - the trick up till now has been, "how do you know you're making a difference?" Up until now I had absolutely no idea how to get to that knowledge, let alone prove it to someone asking about investment.
I'm currently studying for my LEED-GA exam. I like to write flashcards of material, not only because I really read something when I have to take condensed notes on it, but because then I can sort the data in different ways. In piles on the floor. Very satisfying.
The LEED Green Guide (primary source material for the exam) is helpfully cross-indexed for this. I was about halfway through Indoor Environmental Quality, writing down standards for Entryway Particulate Control Systems (doormats!) when I realized..."can Revit count these?"
Which set me back on my heels.
There's a lot of counting and other metrics in LEED 3.0. Many credits require the design team to prove that the building is really using fewer resources, and can be expected to continue using fewer resources. This is great for the earth, and for the building's managers. (also apparently great for lawyers. apparently everything's always great for lawyers.)
But it seems expensive for designers. Credit for construction is tough to get now, and I don't have a job. I want some larger firm to hire me (I want access to more data than I can collect alone). Might I be more marketable if I understood how to use the latest tools to satisfy the latest requirements as cheaply (i.e. easily) as possible?
Here be-eth a Seth Godin-style Dip.
It appears to have several parts:
1. What is required? (Learn LEED. Check.)
2. What sort of metrics will satisfy requirements? (March through LEED and assign metrics to credits.)
2a. Maybe I need to bone up on applied maths to satisfy requirements? (Do more reading on "Turning Numbers Into Knowledge", recheck Tim Ferris' magical statistical testing skills, ask around for opinions)
3. Which software tools can help? (Have broad knowledge of various software capabilities - check.)
4. Can this help be set up in such a way as to be useful on multiple projects with a minimum of retooling? (Need some beta projects to run testing.)
I can, and will do this work on my own, because it plainly Needs To Be Done...but man, I'd like to do it for a company. Anybody out there want to hire me for this work - do you see the competitive advantage?
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