CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea – Through design and development the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Far East District (FED), is continuing to make strides in building sustainable projects.
Recently the district earned a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council and enhanced commissioning for family housing at Camp Walker, South Korea.
LEED certification is a report that contains the results of the technical review of an application for LEED certification submitted for a specified project. LEED certification is an official recognition that a project complies with the requirements prescribed within the LEED rating systems as created and maintained by the U.S. Green Building Council. The LEED certification program is administered by Green Business Certification Inc.
“LEED goes along with the commander’s intent [Lt. Gen. Semonite] to develop sustainable projects,” said Ho, Sung, a district project engineer and LEED Accredited Professional. “Gold or silver certification means that our building’s construction design will be eco-friendly, water saving, and more energy efficient.”
Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, USACE commanding general, recently sent out a message asking everyone involved in the design of Army military construction and sustainment, restoration and modernization to document life cycle cost analysis (LCCA).
“To remain a world-class organization, we must demonstrate that we are building cost-effective and efficient facilities,” said Semonite.
The LEED certification is based around five areas such as, sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality.
The Camp Walker housing project began in 2015. Ho said most of the engineers who started the design of this project have left, however, they successfully transferred the information for continuity, which he believes made it easy to take over and complete.
Ho stated that he’s proud of the work they accomplished, however initially they were working towards a different goal.
“This design was based on LEED silver certification,” said Ho. “When we attended the project we got with the contractor and found out that we needed six more points to achieve LEED gold. To get this kind of certification, the most important thing to note is it takes teamwork.”
The LEED rating system is the industry’s gold standard for environmentally sustainable buildings, and FED continues to look at more ways to continue to develop projects within the LEED standard.