How ASI Architectural Can Help Your Next Project Earn LEED Certification

Public opinion is generally trending towards greener, more sustainable solutions in our everyday lives. This includes the buildings that people live, work, and spend their free time in. As sustainability becomes a clearer goal for more and more projects, looking at how architects and designers can create more sustainable spaces is important. ASI Architectural has materials and resources that can help improve indoor environmental quality and help architects and designers build towards achieving LEED certification on their next project.  

What Is LEED? 

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. This has become the benchmark of green building certification and is a system that is standard-setting worldwide. The LEED system encourages architects, designers, and builders to utilize methods of building that reduce CO2 emissions, improve indoor environments, and conserve resources. The LEED certification can be achieved by gaining a certain number of points that are awarded in 7 categories based on the project’s performance. The more points awarded, the higher the LEED certification level. Here are the categories in which projects are evaluated: 

Sustainable Sites (SS) – Credits in this category are awarded for design strategies of a project to choose a site that has a minimal impact on surrounding environments and existing systems. This can include local waterways, thinking about rainwater runoff, and a number of other qualifiers. 

Water Efficiency (WE) – This category deals with systems and designs around a project that are implemented and created with reduced water consumption in mind. 

Energy And Atmosphere (EA) – Points awarded here for design, commissioning, and monitoring systems and best practices to reduce energy consumption and make an effort to mitigate the negative effects on the environment

Materials And Resources (MR) – Projects must choose materials that are sustainable and have a minimum environmental impact to earn points in this category. This includes considering waste reduction, reusing materials, recycling materials, and a life-cycle assessment of what the project is utilizing. 

Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) – Encouraging projects to manage ventilation, daylighting, and comfort controls in order to create a safe, sustainable, and healthy environment for occupants.

Innovation In Design (ID) – Consideration for innovative strategies and technologies that can increase the performance of the building and be used elsewhere in the industry. 

Regional Priority (RP) – This awards extra weight to credits earned when their environmental impact is felt locally, giving the community the project is being built an environmental boost.   

How ASI Architectural Can Help

At ASI Architectural, we believe in innovative, sustainable, and high-quality architectural and acoustical products. We leverage our 3 decades of experience as well as the knowledge of our expert staff in order to provide the highest quality solutions for your next project. We carry products that may help earn credits towards a LEED certification for your next project. These products include Beam, Linear, Cloud, Audition, Fusion, Coffer, Grille, and Cube architectural and acoustic wall, ceiling, and cloud solutions. Wood walls and ceilings qualify under the “Materials and Resources” category as well as the “Indoor Environmental Quality” category. Some of the credits available through these categories include: 

• MR Credit 4 – Materials and Resources – Recycled Content: up to 2 points available
• MR Credit 5 – Materials and Resources – Regional Materials: up to 2 points available
• MR Credit 6 – Materials and Resources – Rapidly Renewable Materials: 1 point available
• MR Credit 6/7 – Materials and Resources – Certified Wood: 1 point available
• IEQ Prerequisite 3 – Indoor Environmental Quality – Minimum Acoustical Performance: 1 point available
• IEQ Credit 4.4 – Indoor Environmental Quality – Low-Emitting Materials Composite Wood and Agrifiber Products: 1 point available

For more information on the categories and what applies to each, visit the LEED page on the US Green Building Council (USGBC) website here https://www.usgbc.org/. 

High-Quality Materials And Performance For Your Next Project

If you are working towards a LEED certification, looking to work with more sustainable materials, or interested in installing acoustical and architectural solutions for your next project, work with ASI Architectural. We produce high-quality products for designers, architects, and builders in order to make a space look and sound beautiful. See our entire range of acoustic, sustainable, and architectural products by further exploring our website.