Photo Credit: Bryan Astheimer, Re:Vision Architecture
The term “sustainable recreation facility” can mean different things to different people.
To an architect designing a new or renovated facility, it can include Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, low volatile organic compounds (VOC), passive cooling and heating strategies, water walls, wave fans, solar vents, etc.
To most recreation professionals, the lexicon of sustainability is probably still only vaguely recognizable. Nearly everyone knows what LEED means, at least in general terms. There are four levels of LEED certification, a program under the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), that go from a low end of “certified” up to Silver, then Gold, and at the top of the heap, Platinum.