June
9, 2011
Contact
Information:
Kyle Stuart/Coates Kokes
503.241.1124,
Kyle@coateskokes.com
Winners
of the Second
Annual BetterBricks Awards Announced
Awards
honor champions for green
building in Montana
Bozeman,
Mont. — The 2011
BetterBricks Awards event honored Montana’s leading green
building professionals who design, build, operate and advocate for high
performance commercial buildings at the Best Western GranTree Inn last
night. Judith Heerwagen, Project Specialist at the Office of Federal
High Performance Green Buildings for the U.S. General Services
Administration (GSA), was the keynote speaker. She spoke
about how the interaction between building design and operations
influences human behavior and performance and, in turn, affects
building performance.
The BetterBricks Awards celebrate the champions of energy efficiency
whose forward-thinking business practices raise the bar and industry
standards . The Awards recognize architects, engineers, building
operators, facility managers and other building professionals for their
leadership in reducing the use of energy and other resources in
commercial buildings.
“Northwest green building professionals lead the country in
their commitment to energy efficiency,” said Claire
Fulenwider, Executive Director of the Northwest Energy Efficiency
Alliance (NEEA). “Our high caliber winners this year are
making impressive strides in both private and the public sector
buildings and demonstrate that through innovation and collaboration, we
can accomplish significant energy savings.”
Winners were selected in the following categories:
• Advocate:
Thomas E. McNab
Director, Community Design Center, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Montana
State University School of Architecture, Bozeman
• Architect: Eric
Simonsen
Principal, A&E Architects, Billings
• Design Engineer: Ken
Phillips, P.E.
Senior Energy Engineer, Montana State Building Energy Program, Helena
• Facility Manager /
Operator: Co-Winners
Richard Whitney, Executive Director of Facilities Services, Billings
Public School District #2, Billings;
Don Clark , Water/Wastewater Treatment Superintendent, City of Helena
Winners were selected by a panel of judges comprised of industry
professionals, utility representatives and green building experts.
To achieve high performance buildings, award winners championed a
variety of best practices such as utilizing local climate in site
designs, employing early design energy modeling, supporting building
commissioning, educating tenants and staff about sustainability and
implementing better building operations. Their projects have achieved
substantial energy savings, reduced building operation and maintenance
costs and enhanced productivity of building occupants among other
benefits.
BetterBricks
is the commercial building initiative of the Northwest Energy
Efficiency Alliance (NEEA), which is supported by Northwest electric
utilities including NorthWestern Energy. Through
BetterBricks, NEEA advances ideas to accelerate energy savings in new
and existing commercial buildings. BetterBricks education and
training, online resources and recognition of industry leaders guide
and inspire building professionals to embrace best practices, improve
energy performance and achieve their sustainability goals.
Visit www.BetterBricks.com to connect to these powerful energy ideas
and more.
About
NorthWestern Energy
NorthWestern Energy is one of the largest providers of electricity and
natural gas in the Upper Midwest and Northwest, serving 665,000
customers in Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. Our utility
operations consist of regulated electric and natural gas distribution,
transmission, energy supply and non-regulated electric
operations. In addition, we are pursuing electric
transmission and generation opportunities.
Visitwww.northwesternenergy.com
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