Green Buildings in Jordan: Applying LEED to Aqel Residence

Abstract

In Jordan, eight buildings have attained LEED certification to date, but so far no attempts have been made to seek LEED for Homes certification. The book's idea emerged from the need to test the applicability of LEED for Homes in the Jordanian context. Motivated by a unique partnership with a client who wanted his house to be designed in a sustainable way, the authors embarked on a scholarly long-term journey that started in 2013, to document all phases of the house from design to construction while critically assessing the Jordanian market's preparedness for LEED's certification requirements. The book follows LEED for Home v4 manual's credits' checklist and displays the documents, calculations and points per each category's criteria. Throughout the book, commentary on the challenges faced along with ease of implementation is included and finally elaborated in the conclusion section. The book ends with a 'homeowner education manual' that includes information about the systems installed in the house along with tips and schedules for maintenance and upkeep. With the house hypothetically obtaining 62.5 points (Gold certification), the scholarly exercise proved LEED's attainability in the Jordanian housing context, with many hurdles to be overcome nonetheless. Some LEED credits criteria were difficult to achieve due to the reality of construction, social and economic constraints of Jordan. On the other hand, LEED is recommended to include a larger understanding of the various construction practices that are not necessarily particular to North American homes. Within the Jordanian context, the regulatory sphere is urged to introduce attractive incentives to the owners and educate the owner to make a better investment on their house, to have it more sustainable, need less future maintenance, and less energy and water bills, which will reflect on their profit and wellbeing.