Adapting Green: A Step by Step Methodology for Integrating LEED and WELL Standards Into Adaptive Reuse Projects
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Abstract
LEED is the most widely used green building system in the world. LEED provides tools that clearly lay out the sustainable
criteria for a building project. LEED is being implemented more and more every day, as is shown by its 36,835 LEED
certified projects constructed between January 2017 and December of 2021. These numbers give a glimpse into the
amount of companies and people striving to minimize their carbon footprint on the world. Not only are green buildings
growing in popularity by clients, but architecture firms are seeking to design with sustainability in mind as well. LEED
primarily focuses on the impact the building has on the environment and less on the impact the building has on the
people within it. This is where WELL comes in. The WELL Building Standard was designed to work with LEED buildings
to better people’s health and wellness. It too provides a list of criteria as to how to best achieve WELL certification.
Both LEED’s and WELL’s list of criteria and considerations, to achieve certification within their programs, are vast and
apply to all building and construction typologies. That being said, both programs are geared to be more easily
implemented into new builds rather than existing buildings or adaptive reuse projects. This subsequently makes getting,
an adaptive reuse building, LEED and/or WELL certified less desirable. The research documented in this article seeks to
understand all criteria considerations within both LEED and WELL and create a methodology that shows how to best
implement those considerations within an adaptive reuse project.