Architecture Firm:
High Plains Architects, P.C.
Completion Date:
May 2006
Project Format (not yet built / built):
built
Project Size (sf / site acreage):
8,300 s.f.
Project Location:
Billings, Montana
Budget ($/sq Ft, optional):
$100/s.f.
Interior Designer:
Beau Mossman
General Contractor:
Hardy Construction
Landscape Designer:
Linda Iverson Landscape Design
Lighting Consultant:
none
Structural Engineer:
Krivonen & Associates
Mechanical Engineer:
Energy AD
Electrical Engineer:
HDR
Commissioning Agent:
Energy and Sustainable Design Consultants
Air Quality Consultant:
none
Civil Engineer:
Engineering, Inc.
Other:
none
Owner:
Northern Plains Resource Council
Sustainable Sites:
The parking lot and most of the walkways are composed of the GravelPave2 permeable pavement mats from Invisible Structures and are filled with tumbled glass cullet from recycled bottles. This combination of materials provides a multitude of environmental benefits, including 1) being an integral component for handling all stormwater on-site, 2) reducing the urban heat island effect due to the glass' reflectance, 3) using materials that are almost 100% recycled-content, and 4) lowering the wattage on parking lot lighting due to the glass' reflectance. Stormwater from the roof goes into a landscaped swale, where it is available for irrigation. Excess water is drained into a boulder pit composed to demolished concrete blocks from the building renovation. The landscaping is composed entirely of native plant or other drought-resistant plantings, with supplemental irrigation provided by a drip irrigation system.
Toward Zero Energy:
Although the building was previously a nearly windowless, uninsulated concrete block building, it was reinvented into a green building that achieved LEED Platinum (57 points). Compared to a base case office building meeting ASHRAE 90.1-1999, the project uses 79% less energy using a 3 part strategy: 1) Energy demand was minimized by superinsulating the shell and by strategically locating windows with light shelves and rooftop monitors to maximize daylighting. 2) Remaining energy needs are supplied with efficient equipment and distribution systems. A radiant floor heating system is approx. 20% more energy-efficient than an air-based system. Cooling is provided by evaporative cooling, which is 400% more efficient than refrigerant air conditioning in the local semi-arid climate. Finally, lighting is shut off by photosensors when there is sufficient daylight. And 3) maximize renewable energy sources for the remaining energy demand in the building. Strategies #1 and #2 resulted in a building that is 56% more efficient than the base case. A 9.9 kW PV system mounted on the south-facing slopes of the rooftop monitors reduces the building's total energy needs by another 23%.
Local and Sustainable Materials:
Through a combination of reuse in the building, salvaging materials for other buildings, recycling, and composting, more than 90% of the construction and demolition waste was diverted from the landfill. Salvaged materials in the project, consisting 16% of the total project materials by value, included 100 year old solid oak doors, wood trim, lavatories, and ceramic tile. Recycled-content materials (10% of total material value) included fly ash concrete, permeable pavement mats, restroom partitions, agri-fiber casework, and ceramic tile. Using the LEED calculation methodology, 23% of the materials are from within a 500 mile radius.
Sustainable Water:
Compared to the code-compliant base case, Home on the Range uses 60% less water for internal uses, with micro-flush composting toilets and a waterless urinal composing the bulk of the efficiency. Drip irrigation of drought-resistant plantings reduce exterior water use by more than 50%
IEQ and Comfort:
The indoor environmental quality is very high in Home on the Range, particularly due to the abundance of daylight in all regularly occupied spaces. Paint and coatings are low-VOC, no urea formaldehyde was used in the agrifiber products, and the polished concrete floor has a mineral-based finish. Operable windows provide views for all regularly occupied spaces. Finally, the evaporative cooling systems runs high volumes of 100% outside air through the building.
Collective Wisdom and Feedback:
Home on the Range benefitted from a daylighting study conducted by the Daylighting Lab in Seattle as well as with the basic light shelf concept. While High Plains Architects was confident that the design would work, we were surprised at the degree to which the building is almost entirely daylit. High Plains Architects has put together a powerpoint slide show with financial and energy data demonstrating how existing buildings can achieve LEED Platinum status at less cost than building a conventional new building, which we've shown at a number of local building professional events. Also, we found that renovating an existing building to a LEED Platinum standard in this case was only 75% of the cost to building a new building to a conventional, code-compliant standard.
Regional/Community Design:
The owner, Northern Plains Resource Council, regularly provides tours of the building and shares data on how much energy and money it is saving with its green building. Since the project has received LEED Platinum certification, it has had significant media exposure, and the message of the significant efficiencies that can be gained in an existing building is being heard.
