Paintbrush Employee Residence at Old Faithful

Additional Info

Award Winner : Guerdon, LLC

Architectural Excellence : Paintbrush employee residence in Old Faithful Village in Yellowstone National Park is a 78-unit, two story Platinum LEED certified building. The project is the first platinum-rated certification achieved by a concession operator inside a national park.

Designed to create state-of-the-art housing for seasonal park employees using techniques and materials that support the park’s environmental mission and will last for many years to come.

Amenities include; in suite Kitchens (not all units), common rooms and meeting areas, water saving plumbing and fixtures, common area Laundry room, game room, divider walls in shared units for added privacy, and occasional Buffalo sightings.

Built in a national park, the project is an expression of the holistic thinking you would expect in nature.

Cost Energy Effectiveness : This project initially broke ground as a site built project but a long winter and difficult soil conditions threw the schedule completely off track. Mid-course, they elected to bring on a modular manufacturer capable of shortening the schedule and completing the building within their original time-frame. This switch got the project back on track and completed on schedule, avoiding cost overruns and freeing up profitable guest accommodations where employees were being housed in the interim.
Even though the process of building to Platinum LEED standards can require a lot more upfront cost and consideration, the team did manage to find ways to utilize materials and methods that were both sustainable and affordable. The entirety of the building’s high-performance windows were donated by in partnership with the National Park Service and Yellowstone Park Foundation. The entry staircase treads were built from cedar reclaimed from a deconstructed Montana cabin.

Design Firm Name : Mosaic Architects

Engineering Firm Name : Associated Construction Engineering Incorporated

Green Building Description : Met stringent sustainability requirements in areas such as site selection, water use reduction, energy performance, materials usage, indoor environmental quality and innovation in design.
Notable achievements include:
•LEED Platinum Certified
•More than 94% of construction waste was recycled or reused so that it was not transported to the landfill.
•Water usage in the building will be reduced by 45% & energy savings will be more than 40% versus that of a building using standard construction methods.
•Solar panels will generate 11 percent of its electricity.
•Beetle kill pine from Montana was used extensively in trim and paneling.
•The residence’s entry staircase treads were built from cedar reclaimed from a deconstructed Montana cabin in partnership with the Department of Environmental Quality.
•Because the work site was located in an extremely sensitive and active thermal area, extra care was taken to protect existing topsoil & control erosion and sedimentation.

Occupied Date : 5/4/2015

Owner Firm Name : Xanterra Parks & Resorts, Inc

Production Start Date : 8/8/2014

Project Location City : Yellowstone National Park

Project Location State Name : WY

Technical Innovation : A key approach to constructing the residence was to use a modular construction process which allowed for a swift schedule while minimizing waste and maximizing efficiency during the construction process. Constructed in Idaho, the modular units were transported into the park for final assembly and finishing. Transporting units in the park was done in the middle of the night as to not disturb visitors to the park. The modular approach also meant that in the fall when the temperatures dropped crews were able to continue to work inside the building instead of putting the project on hold until spring.

Total Square Feet : 42600

Category : Green Building