Site Planning + Building Envelope

Hi all, I have been thinking a lot about site design and natural elements in working out the programming of my library. Because my site is waterfront and intrudes upon some of the Emerald Necklace and precious little greenspace in that area, I have been thinking of ways to mitigate its presence (and haven't gotten too far yet!). I am particularly concerned about excessive glazing, as I plan on using a lot of glass to make my building transparent and to capitalize on the views. But this becomes problematic after analyzing various sun studies and realizing that its getting very direct light for most of the day and year. I found an interesting article about how LEED points don't pay enough attention to building siting, focusing more on materials and products: http://archrecord.construction.com/yb/ar/article.aspx?story_id=157273774 This is something I have believed for some time, after working in a building that is Silver Certified but completely isolated, off the grid, and poorly climate-controlled. I personally think LEED is a hollow gesture, better for encouragement than actually making things more sustainable, and I'm trying to reconcile that with my current site design. Also, check out Architectural Record's ongoing library precedent articles!