The U.S. Green Building Council has been responsive to criticism of the record-keeping process and has simplified it, said HOK Director of Sustainable Design Mary Ann Lazarus.

"They have released a new process. There is now an online documenting process. It is true it took too long to get LEED certification. Now I believe it is a fairly quick two or three months after you submit an application that you get LEED certification."

As interest in green building concepts has begun to catch on, so has the number of unique projects employing LEED standards. It has taken nearly a decade to get the construction industry to the point it is, and from the view of its adherents larger strides can be made.

HOK was one of the leaders in green building, but Lazarus said that now it has hit mainstream architecture. "It is rare to go to an interview with a client and have it not be a topic," she said.

Interest in green building began with contractors who specialized in it; today, major contractors want to be known for it, she said.
   
Source: "San Diego Marina is First to Go LEED," California Real Estate Journal, August 14, 2006, by Keeley Webster. Read the story.