Distinctly Montana Magazine

Missoula Federal Credit Union, Russell Branch Saddlehorn Welcome House Montana Veterans Benefits Building ROBERT B. MORTON HELENA Robert Peccia & Associates Inc. www.rpa-hin.com Morton was the LEED AP for the LEED-certified Montana Veterans Benefits Building in Helena, designed by CWG Architects and built by Diamond Construction. Morton serves as USGBC Montana Chapter Director and Treasurer. Old Faithful Visitor Center, Yellowstone National Park MIKE TUSS AND ANYA FIECHTL BILLINGS CTA Architects Engineers www.ctagroup.com CTA currently has over 50 projects registered with the LEED program including 21 that have been certified, including the LEED Platinum MET Transfer Center. JOHN WELLS AND COLIN LANE MISSOULA MMW Architects www.mmwarchitects.com LEED projects include the Missoula Federal Credit Union Russell Branch, the first new construction Platinum rating in Montana, and a new hospital under construction in Dillon, Montana, and on-track to be the first LEED-certified Hospital in Montana. In single-family homes, LEED certification is not often seen as a cost-effective — or necessary — way to ensure these goals are achieved. Architect and visionary for the Saddlehorn community, where homes are required to reach a minimum level of LEED Silver construction design and build process and includes what is thought to be the oldest reclaimed log structure in the U.S. to reach Platinum level. 3WHICH OF THE LEED CRITERIA ARE THE EASI- EST TO MEET? THE HARDEST? TODD THESING AND ROB MCRAE: The MR (Materials & Resources) credits tend to be the easiest as many of the projects exten- sively use reclaimed and local materials. The WE (Water Efficiency) credits are also targetable as water conservation is a given for a lot of people. The EA (Energy & Atmosphere) can become difficult, as the mechanical systems can get very complicated. LEED AND THEY WILL FOLLOW... MIKE TUSS AND ANYA FIECHTL LEED scoring tends to favor urban environments. Working in places like Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, our projects must often compensate for their rural or small town location by focusing on other green building strategies like increasing energy efficiency and reducing water use. 4WHAT ENERGY-EFFICIENT FEATURES THAT WOULD SEEM TO BE THE CASE AS ROUNDTABLE EXPERTS SHARE THEIR SUCCESSES AND OBSER- VATIONS OF LEED (LEADERSHIP IN ENERGY AND ENVIRONMEN- TAL DESIGN), AN INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED GREEN BUILDING CER- TIFICATION SYSTEM DEVELOPED BY THE U.S. GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL. www.distinctlymontana.com IN LEED HOMES AND BUILDINGS? MIKE WISEMAN We continually pursue Energy Star as part of our LEED rating and include a HERS rating. These two practices almost guarantee a high level of performance in the building and go a long way to gain- ing points in the LEED Energy and Atmosphere Category; this is where much of the effort in LEED pays for itself. Many of the material choices we leave to the owner’s discretion, but we always manage our trash, recycling, and material efficiency. Also foremost in our minds is the durability and life-cycle cost of the materials we use. 71 AND GREEN MATERIALS DO YOU USE DOUG AVERILL BIGFORK Saddlehorn www.saddlehorn.com

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