Acoustics and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification—Why education and healthcare came first.

Abstract

Three decades of Washington neglecting the noise problem in America resulted in general ignorance of and data about human health impacts. This is true with politicians, agency heads, foundations, doctors, educators, architects and builders—whether they “advocate green policies” or not. So when LEED redefined the term “environmental quality” to include acoustics, they focused on “populations at risk”—children (schools), and sick people (healthcare facilities where scientific research on human subjects is routine). Meanwhile, healthcare professionals became attuned to noise and privacy from HIPAA and the patient‐centered‐care movement. In 2005, the Facility Guidelines Institute, which each re‐issues the 60‐year‐old Guidelines for Design and Construction of Healthcare Facilities every 4 years resolved to address this problem. We commissioned TC‐AA.NS.SC to develop comprehensive acoustical guidelines which were completed in 2006 and launched this January. Once drafted, the acoustical guidelines were quickly piloted for LEED by Green Guide for Healthcare, and then the LEED Environmental Quality Technical Advisory Group adopted them as the Reference Standard for LEED HC. From HC it will find broader acceptance in other LEED programs. This process ensures that acoustics re‐enters public policy supported by independent, transdisciplinary research on human health impacts and by multiple rounds of peer review in healthcare.