I just completed the reading and passed the quiz for this particular NCARB Mini-Monograph. I have to say I had not thought about LEED in this way. Of course, I don't know much about LEED other than the few instances we "applied" its score system in our academic assignments.
Obviously nothing in this world is perfect, so it is foolish to assume that following LEED guidelines will result in a flawless building. However, I think the way the monograph states it, "combining LEED certification with the best practices," is a great summarization. LEED is an attempt to standardize one aspect of building design. There are numerous aspects of building design that also require consideration, with varying degrees of precedence. Moisture penetration and mold prevention are obviously some of the big ones in this category.
I originally thought the flaws with LEED were with its own system - the fact that you can get points for specifying certain energy efficient lightbulbs, which the owner can then replace months after the building has received its LEED award. However, I had not realized that other non-green areas could suffer if a designer or architect were to design solely with LEED guidelines.
If you haven't already downloaded a copy, I'll save you 30 seconds:
http://www.ncarb.org/Publications/Mini-Monographs/Hidden-Risk-of-Green-Buildings.aspx
This quiz was easier to me than the Ethics and Professional Rules of Conduct one. I found that particular reading challenging in and of itself! I don't know if it is because architects are poorly trained in the art of diction, or if it is because it is simply a difficult subject to eloquently discuss. Whatever the case, I am finding that I have to reread certain nuggets of text to get the gist of the sentence or paragraph.
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