Masonry and Sustainable Design/LEED

The U.S. Green Building Council defines "sustainable design" as the practices of design and construction that significantly reduce or eliminate the negative impact of buildings on the environment and occupants in six broad categories:

1. SUSTAINABLE SITE PLANNING
   By using permeable concrete or brick masonry pavements or open cell concrete masonry pavers, masonry can contribute up to three points in this category.
   
   
2. SAFEGUARDING WATER & WATER EFFICIENCY
   
   
3. ENERGY EFFICIENCY & RENEWABLE ENERGY
   Masonry & brick are energy-efficient materials with insulating value and high thermal mass. They can also be used in passive solar construction by utilizing their thermal lag to reduce peak energy loads. Thus, decreasing the size of the building HVAC system.     
   
4. CONSERVATION OF MATERIALS & RESOURCES
   Brick's small unit size helps divert waste from landfills, and salvaged brick can be used in road construction or other buildings. Brick and other masonry are among the most commonly salvaged building materials.  Numerous manufacturers make brick that incorporates recycled or industrial waste aggregates that are rendered harmless when the brick is fired. Raw materials of brick, clay, and shale are abundant and always nearby, making brick available regionally, efficient to transport and distribute. Concrete masonry units often incorporate recycled materials. According to the NCMA, supplementary cementitious materials such as fly ash, silica fume and slag cement are considered post-industrial materials. Concrete masonry that incorporates recycled concrete masonry, glass, slag or other recycled materials as aggregate qualify as post-consumer.  
   
   
5. INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
   
   
6. INNOVATION & DESIGN PROCESS
   This category is to recognize exceptional performance beyond the requirements in LEED or reward innovations in categories not specifically addressed by LEED. Possible areas where masonry can contribute include: acoustic performance, life-cycle cost and durability, efficient use of materials with prestressed or reinforced masonry, and improved air quality by reducing the need for paint or interior coatings (thereby reducing volatile organic compounds, or VOC's) and by reducing the possibility of mold growth.
   
   Masonry and Brick are materials you've long known, specified and used successfully. Its design flexibility, durability, and low maintenance, and its endless array of colors, shapes, textures, and sizes set the standard for beauty and durability. It's a natural for today's new emphasis on sustainable design.
   
   Masonry and brick's  unsurpassed life cycle, exceptional energy efficiency, natural ingredients, minimal waste, and countless recycling options are just a few of the properties that make masonry and brick superb sustainable materials they have been for thousands of years.  

For more information on Masonry and Leed see the following:

http://masonrymagazine.com/11-04/green.html

http://masonrybc.org/ManualPDF/3.4-060915.PDF

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Leed+and+Masonry

http://www.cement.org/masonry/ds_green_tms.asp