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Paul - having done a fair amount of research on the topic recently  
(we are developing several kiosks for LEED's certified buildings) I  
hope your article will contain some info on what LEED means - that it  
is a *systematic* approach to building architecture and that its  
applicability to exhibit design and construction is pretty limited.   
I bring this up because I think a lot of us assume, incorrectly, that  
there are industry standards out there that we can cut and paste onto  
our process.

For instance, I was looking for a solid surfacing material that could  
be considered 'green'......to use a colloquialism, 'There ain't that  
much out there that is LEED certified.'  What is available is  
approximately 20 - 30% higher in cost than solid surfacing material -  
ie. Corian.

However, there are parts of LEED that can help us make 'greener'  
decisions - for instance is the wood product from a quickly renewable  
source?  End of life reuse:  Can I use aluminum structure instead of  
steel - less energy to recycle at the end of life.....

There are other materials that would appear to be no brainers, like  
powder coat vs. low v.o.c. paint.  The powder coat paint process  
doesn't require solvents for the paint (precleaning is another  
matter) but again its a complex subject:  powder coated materials  
have to be cured in an oven, which takes not a small amount of energy  
- which is less aggregious?

Having said all this, I try to work from informed decisions and I'll  
look forward to your article adding valuable information to an area  
that is sorely lacking.

Here is a link to the Green Design Wiki - some very good  
information.  Know you know about it, but others may not:

http://tinyurl.com/5hgtaw

btw:  wikipedia has one of the most succinct explanation of LEED -

http://tinyurl.com/2xqdgy




	



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