Sustainability certification for homes? LEED for Homes can be used today also in Italy.

Sustainability certification for homes? LEED for Homes can be used today also in Italy.
April 5, 2018 MDS

The certification LEED, international, efficient, today is promoted by Macro Design Studio, an important reality from the province of Trento, responsible of introducing in Italy also Living Building Challenge. Moschini: “Certified homes are more environmentally respectful and are sold at better prices”.

It is possible to certify LEED, the most widely used green building rating system, also  residential buildings? The answer is affirmative. But not many know this is possible in Europe too. To transform the market, there is one of the leading companies in building certification achieving it: Macro Design Studio, which first applied this protocol, known as LEED v4 for Homes. The studio born within Progetto Manifattura, the clean tech incubator in the province of Trento, is considered one of the most successful innovators for the great knowledge of all the protocols: LEED, Living Building Challenge , WELL, Fitwel, BREEAM, GBC and Itaca.

«LEED v4 for Homes is the sustainability protocol applicable to single-family or multi-family residential buildings», explains Paola Moschini, founder of Macro Design Studio. «Unlike the other LEED protocols, LEED for Homes requires the mandatory presence of an authorized figure to carry out the verification in the field: the LEED Green Rater. And at the moment only Macro Design Studio has the only Italian Green Rater professional “.

In Europe LEED has been widely used in commercial buildings and large architectural projects (such as the famous MUSE natural museum in Trento), while very few residential projects have adopted this certification system. «Macro Design Studio works to change this scenario thanks to the best commercial opportunities of LEED for Homes buildings and the important energy savings of those who build in a sustainable way», the architect continues.

To promote this certification at European level Macro Design Studio, together with other partners, has developed the GREN – Green Rater European Network, a voluntary European initiative to encourage the adoption of LEED for Homes. For those interested in learning more about the rating system, you can visit the certifiedhomes.eu website created by the GREN – Green Rater European Network – where you can find information, expert contacts and project examples.

In Italy, the first LEED v4 for Homes certified building will be Palazzo Novecento, a rationalist building built between 1928 and 1930 designed by the architects Gino Levi Montalcini and Giuseppe Pagano. The aim of the project, promoted by IPI Group and AGIRE real estate services company, is to safeguard the linear beauty and update the functional needs of one of the masterpieces of twentieth century architecture. The building consists of 47 apartments of different sizes and has been registered according to the LEED rating system for residential buildings, LEED for Homes Multifamily Midrise with the objective of achieving LEED Gold certification, certified through the verification of Paola Moschini – Macro Design Studio, as LEED for Homes Green Rater. The press will be informed about the project completion and certification.

On the 17th of April, Macro Design Studio will also be at Greenbuild Europe in Berlin, the biggest sustainability event in the building sector to talk about the role of LEED v4 for Homes. Moschini, together with Megan Gilman of North 39 Energy, Inc. and Emmanuel Pauwels of Green Living Projects, will discuss the market opportunities of LEED for Homes Rating System in Europe. Thanks to a comparison on the motivations of customers to choose this certification and the market’s reaction, we will understand how to take the economic opportunities for this new certification.

Who is Macro Design Studio

Macro Design Studio is a dynamic company with experienced professionals in the field of sustainability able to assist clients through the certification process with the main national and international recognized rating systems: LEED®, Living Building Challenge™, WELL®, Fitwel℠, BREEAM®, GBC and Itaca.

Macro Design Studio is partner USGBC, ILFI e GGBA.

Macro Design Studio is the first company in Europe to gain the JUST Label.

Vision. The environmental impact of buildings and products is relevant and the compromise between the environmental, social and economic spheres of sustainability (triple bottom line) is no longer sufficient. An innovative approach is needed for new constructions and a regenerative one for existing buildings, to repair the damage done on the environment for the benefit of future generations.

Mission. Macro Design Studio was born in 2012 with the intention to provide holistic sustainability consulting services. The goal is to go beyond the triple bottom line and to guide clients, designers and companies to a new idea of products, buildings, and communities with a positive impact on the environment.

Our professional accreditations

LEED AP BD+C, LEED AP ID+C, LEED AP O+M, LEED AP Homes;
LEED for Homes Green Rater, Qualified Energy Rater;
Living Future Accredited (LFA);
GBC HOME AP, GBC Historic Building AP;
Esperto Protocollo Itaca Avanzato;
Professionista accreditato ISO/IEC 17024;
LEED Faculty, Living Building Challenge Ambassador;
Fitwel Ambassador.

Thanks to the collaboration Emanuele Bompan.