LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. After my visit to the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, which is an environmentally sustainable building, I had a keen desire to become a LEED AP (Accredited Professional). Designing a "Green" building is no longer a choice; it has become an essential practice for a building design professional. On my recent visit to the Asian Art Museum (built in 2003), I was surprised to find that when I stood in the bathroom, the design already looked old because it showed no concern for saving natural resources. For example, the designer did not install water and energy saving devices, such as hand dryers or motion sensor faucets; instead, I found paper towel dispensers and high goose neck shaped faucets that let water splash all over the sink, on to the counter, and even on to my clothes. There is abundant natural light coming into a long narrow pathway, but natural light does not come in to the restaurant of the Asian Art Museum. These examples show how important it is to design a building by looking to the future. The California Academy of Sciences, built only 5 years later, will probably look new and innovative a quarter century from today. <Read more>