The Global Water Leaders Introduction to the Living Building Challenge happens today April 9th for attendees of the Smart Water Leadership Summit sponsored by Phigenics. Attendees experienced a dynamic Introduction to the Living Building Challenge from Humann Building Solutions, LLC Principal and Living Future Accredited professional Daniel Huard.  Huard brings a rare skill-set to this event he is an engineer, architectural designer, urban planner, LEED – ILFI and Project Management Accredited Professional who has designed and constructed infrastructure facilities in the past yet now specializes in super green high-performance buildings Globally as a Sustainability Strategist.

Dr. William McCoy Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Phigenics the summit sponsor provided the mission of the 2015 Summit is to bring together leaders in water management from diverse industries to collaborate and exchange knowledge on topics related to solving the most pressing needs of protecting human health while conserving water and energy.

The reality that exists is that we need to look to global leaders and influencers in the sustainability movement to help address water scarcity and solutions.  During the Introduction to the Living Building Challenge presentation Huard shared the successes of Net Zero and Net Positive Water Systems and the beneficial impact that Living Buildings can have.  Following the presentation there were many pragmatic questions posed that International Living Future Institute Ambassador Huard answered.  The participants seemed very eager to learn more about Scale Jumping and how and when you could apply it. Huard shared that there are instances where a project may need to seek solutions which are available or provided at a neighborhood, district, or small community scale. Provided the project owns or has secured control of these resources then “Scale Jumping” is allowed to enable solutions that provide better levels of efficiency, integrated systems, or heightened connections to nature.

“The Living Building Challenge™ 3.0 is a building certification program, advocacy tool and philosophy that defines the most advanced measure of sustainability in the built environment possible today and acts to rapidly diminish the gap between current limits and the end-game positive solutions we seek.

The Challenge is comprised of seven performance categories called Petals: Place, Water, Energy, Health & Happiness, Materials, Equity and Beauty. Petals are subdivided into a total of twenty Imperatives, each of which focuses on a specific sphere of influence. This compilation of Imperatives can be applied to almost every conceivable building project, of any scale and any location—be it a new building or an existing structure.”

Humann Building Solutions Principal Daniel Huard launched the Las Vegas Valley Living Building Collaborative, is an active Ambassador and Presenter as well as a Living Future Accredited Professional the first and only person to hold all of these distinctions in Nevada.  Huard and Humann Building Solutions are called upon globally to assist with projects that are seeking to attain the very highest levels of performance, materials transparency and Certification to LEED, Energy Star, Living Building Challenge and WELL Building Standards.

images credit: ILFI and Humann Building Solutions, LLC.   copyright ©2015 Humann Building Solutions, LLC