Integrating LEED and CHPS benchmarks with the Saudi mostadam standard to evaluate recent Saudi school design and guide future green school development

This study addresses a regulatory and design gap between Saudi school-design requirements and global green-school practices, with particular emphasis on open spaces and green areas as determinants of students’ health, learning quality, and operational sustainability. While Saudi minimum school design standards (2023) increased the greening requirement, the final requirements for establishing private and international schools (2024) do not consistently define green-area ratios or explicitly link outdoor provisions to student numbers (m 2 /student), alongside a shift toward density calculations based on built-up area. To bridge this gap, the study develops a quantitative–qualitative evaluation framework grounded in LEED for Schools, CHPS, and the national Mostadam rating system, and applies it to nine case studies: three private school complexes in Riyadh (Al-Nafel, Al-Nahdah, Al-Rabee) and six internationally certified green schools (three LEED Gold and three CHPS). Indicators cover land area per student, green-area ratio and green-area per student, courts/courtyards per student, shading, indoor learning-space flexibility, and integration of outdoor learning. Results show that the Saudi cases comply with minimum land-per-student requirements yet provide very low green areas (≈ 2% of site area; 0.09–0.12 m 2 /student), compared with typical ranges in LEED/CHPS models (≈ 20–40%). The paper concludes with an actionable Saudi green-school evaluation and design framework that aligns Ministry requirements with Mostadam and LEED/CHPS criteria to support measurable and implementable green-school design.