Couldn't agree more. There sure are a lot of LEED registered projects out there, huh? I guess the confusion could be cleared up if the USGBC and CaGBC policed the use of LEED a little.

How about this one "LEED compliant?" I've seen that one for a project that used LEED as a guideline, but didn't register or certify.

Before you dump on the glass curtain wall too much keep in mind that the thermal efficiency of the envelope is not the only consideration with regards to a buildings sustainability. Natural light and views are also very important aspects of a green building (and the most desired by home buyers.) The Bank of America tower in NYC is slated to get LEED-PLatinum certification and it is almost entirely glass without the benefit of the balcony shading of this building in Toronto. A solid wall, no matter how thermally efficient, would be a horrendous building, environmentally speaking. And Toronto is a tough climate. Yes- cold in winter, but also hot and humid in summer so you cannot design to only one of the extremes. Also- while it is true that you can "register" a building and not follow through to "certification" the process takes a long time and you have to pay good money to get registered. (The problem with terminology is probably nothing more sinister than the web designer writing the site not knowing the difference.) I would argue that the developer should be given the benefit of the doubt since they paid to get registered and would look awfully stupid to their buyers if they didn't deliver a LEED building. Don't know about Canada, but in the States I think if you advertised a LEED building and didn't deliver one you'd be legally liable- just like if you advertise Sub-Zero fridges and provide GE.

High efficiency glass curtain wall" is listed as a sustainable feature; Sure, it is better than a low efficiency curtain wall but a wall that is 100% glass is never going to be as good as an insulated solid wall.

This is not true. Passive design is based on the idea that well-insulated, south-facing glass can be net-energy-positive. There are buildings in cool climates (Germany, Austria etc...) that get 90% of their heating energy this way, and that includes detached, terraced, low-rise and high-rise.

It's not easy--you need an optimized deployment of factors: good thermal mass storage, carefully controlled ventilation, and external shading for the summer--but it's perfectly possible in Toronto's climate.

Whether or not this condo walks the walk is another story. One big issue is that passive solar usually requires a bit of common sense of the part of the occupants, and this virtue is something of a rarity among condo dwellers (this has actually been documented). Several "green" buildings, like the gherkin in London, have been ungreened because the tenants didn't bother to take advantage of the green features.

One last niggling point: Toronto does have a pretty significant cooling season... and in Toronto cooling comes from a much dirtier source than heating.

Could Treehugger focus on reporting the significant issues, news and information instead of wasting bandwith dignifying a minor and truly insignificant PR effort?

Really, who cares?

There is a lot more going on we should be concerned with, instead of being distracted with this palp.

hi,

my name is Mazyar and our company. TAS DesignBuild, is the developer behind the M5V project.

thank you for your comments.

The skepticism is not unfound. in an industry (development) where marketing is the driving force behind the product, developers have vicitimized themselves by offering the sky and then falling short, very short, on delivery.

LEED will undoubtedly, if not already, become the next marketing strategy for many developers. the concerns raised when it comes to registrations, certification, etc. are very real; as a developer that is genuinely committed, it is even more frustrating. the problem lies within the LEED structure; the existing LEED program was developed for commercial and institutional projects. its requirements are based on single single user buildings and hence the targets and structure and premised around that. Currently, the structure does not account for market driven projects and this a problem. We recognize that and as mentioned earlier, we feel that this is significant problem not only on creating false perception, but more importatntly the implementation and realization within multi-unit/multi-owner buildings. we understand that a system is being developed for residential buildings and look forward to it.

Why create a LEED presentation center? We did this to show our commitment to creating buildings that recognize the need to reduce their impact on our environment. as a developer, TAS is committed to creating only LEED buildings as we move forward. As part of this effort, we find the biggest challenge to be market transformation - this is driven my the consumer and we believe that the responsibility lies with the development community to help educate the consumer on living green. We designed and created our presentation center as a resource center so that it would help consumer understand in a tangible way what LEED means - the majority of visitors to M5V are not familiar with it. We are trying to lead by example and show our commitment rather than just market our project. the harsh reality is that building LEED is a significant cost premium that the consumer is not willing to pay for!

As for the comments about the curtain wall and balconies, I do not believe that it is appropriate to dismantle a building and question it in such a manner. We have done extensive energy modelling and each of these factors begins to contribute to the net effect. Do balconies alone make all the difference? they don't, in Toronto they actually have a minimal effect, but as part of the bigger picture they do contribute.

I hope this helps. thanks again for the comments. I would be happy to provide any future feedback.

best,
mazyar