By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Columnist

Architect Charles Kaneshiro hopes that the campus expansion at Hawai'i Baptist Academy in Nu'uanu will achieve a "gold" ranking under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.

Kaneshiro, of the Honolulu-based architectural firm Group 70 International, is one of a handful of LEED-accredited professionals in the Islands. He said there is increasing interest in constructed environments that weigh lightly on the planet and minimize health threats to occupants.

While there are no projects certified under the program in Hawai'i now, the new Weinberg building at 'Iolani School was designed with LEED principles in mind, and the Case Middle School under construction at Punahou School hopes to achieve a gold ranking.

The certification program was developed by the nonprofit Green Building Council to provide a third-party, independent way of showing that a project has sustainable design and materials built into it. Without that, Kaneshiro said, "people just put some recycled materials into a building and declare it's a green building, even if other parts may be quite harmful to the environment."

The LEED program requires that projects seeking certification be ranked on 69 points in six subject areas. There are four levels of certification: 26 to 32 points for certified; 33 to 38 points for silver; 39 to 51 points for gold; and 52 to 69 points for platinum.

Here are some of the categories and examples of what the system looks for in project designs.

Site selection: A previously developed site will rank higher, since the development is less likely to disturb native environments.

Water efficiency: Kaneshiro said the Hawai'i Baptist Academy site will capture rainfall from roofs and re-use it for irrigation on the property.

Energy efficiency: The use of sunlight to illuminate rooms is more desirable so less electrical lighting is needed.

Materials and resources: Using building materials with recycled content and ones that are locally produced is preferred. Kaneshiro said not many building materials are entirely produced in the Islands, but many are assembled here.

Indoor environmental quality: Paints should be used that don't produce potentially dangerous vapors as they dry.

Kaneshiro said there are critics who argue that LEED doesn't go far enough, that it could demand more recycled material, more local materials and so forth. "But it's trying to establish a bar that is reachable," he said.

In the long run, the LEED principles result in buildings that are safer to be in and last longer, Kaneshiro said.

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 245-3074.