Balance Design LLC

Website Links

Description

Homeword Inc. is a Missoula-based grassroots housing developer founded in 1994 to provide safe, healthy, sustainable and affordable housing. Solstice is Homeword's thirteenth affordable housing development, ninth Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) project and third mixed-use development. The Solstice project includes a mix of 34 studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom rental apartments on the second and third floors, commercial office space named Confluence on the first floor and underground parking for residential and commercial tenants. To qualify for one of the rental apartments requires household income of less than 60% of the area median income. In Missoula, that means a two-person household earning $28,380 per year or less qualifies to apply for a rental unit at Solstice. Homeword has received many awards for its innovative use of tax credit financing, excellence in affordable housing and application of sustainable design principles to their projects. Solstice-Confluence and Homeword are the recipients of the 2011 Innovation Award for creative funding initiatives that promote affordable green building and green job creation.

Design Balance was founded in 1996 to advocate sustainable design and help move the built environment to a more sustainable future that includes environmental restoration, beauty, human comfort and financial performance. We work with many green building rating programs such as Leadership for Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Collaborative for High Performance Schools, and the Living Building Challenge. For clients who prefer to develop their own sustainable design goals, we facilitate the goal-setting process and help them track the results. Intiatives for 2013 include strategic planning for firms developing their own in-house sustainable design programs, architectural daylighting services, increasing client adoption of green cleaning plans and energy performance monitoring.

Garlington, Lohn & Robinson is a full-service law firm in Missoula, Montana. With more than 30 attorneys, they are Western Montana’s largest law firm. Additionally, GLR has been recognized as a Law Firm Climate Challenge Partner by the American Bar Association. After careful consideration of their options for a new building, they determined to remain in the downtown Missoula area and secured a site across from the Missoula County Courthouse. Their new six-story, 51,411 sf building addresses the needs of contemporary legal practice and the architectural context of the neighborhood, as well as meeting the firm's goal for demonstrating environmental stewardship. The building is designed for GLR functions on the third, fourth and fifth floors. The sixth floor contains meeting rooms, break areas and other employee amenities such as roof decks. Lease spaces are available on the second floor, as well as a portion of the first floor not used for GLR reception and waiting. The basement houses record storage, mechanical and other support spaces. The GLR project was awarded LEED Gold certification in the LEED-NC 2.2 program in June 2011.

Design Balance LLC is a nationally recognized leader in sustainable design consulting. We provide engaging, informed and relevant insights to teams seeking sustainably-designed, high performance, well-integrated projects.

Design Balance has been providing sustainable design services since 1996, so we have developed a deep client base with projects all over the U.S. We currently have projects in Colorado, New Mexico, New Jersey, Montana, Idaho and Washington. We have also worked on projects in states as diverse as Vermont, New York, Texas, Arizona, Wyoming, Oregon and California.

Companies nearby