Plaza Diane garners gold-level LEED certificationFor going green, Plaza Diane earned a gold-level certification in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, which is administered by the United States Green Building Council.Plaza Diane became Park County's first LEED certified building and one of 10 in Wyoming, joining the recently-completed Old Faithful Visitor Education Center in Yellowstone and Washakie Museum and Cultural Center in Worland. The downtown community arts center's gold-level LEED certification was announced last week.

LEED is the most widely used and recognized green-building rating system in the nation, recognizing buildings that use less energy and water and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Plaza Diane's gold rating is the second-highest level of LEED certification.

“It demonstrates the (Plaza Diane) board's desire to be good stewards of the environment,” said Anya Fiechtl, the CTA lead engineer for the Plaza Diane project.

Last year, Plaza Diane underwent extensive renovation, thanks to a nearly $1 million Community Facilities Grant through the Wyoming Business Council. The city of Powell served as the sponsor for the grant.

During construction, crews renovated the existing building — a World War II-era filling station — and reused or recycled more than 90 percent of the material. The 1,345 square-foot building now functions as a public gallery and community gathering place. The exterior was remodeled to feature new landscaping, shade structures and a splash pad water feature.

Other green-building techniques used at Plaza Diane include:

• Water conservation: The irrigation installed reduces water use by half, using an automated weather station controller and drip-irrigation system to deliver moisture directly to the plant roots. Landscaping features drought-tolerant plants that require less water.

A dual-flush toilet was installed and low-flow aerators were used on all faucets, conserving more than 30 percent of the potable water in the building.

• Energy efficiency: Photovoltaic solar panels on the stage canopy harvest energy from the sun, generating enough electricity to offset two-thirds of the facility's electricity use and provide savings of more than $500 per year on utility bills.

Insulation was added to exterior walls in the gallery and inefficient storefront windows were replaced with insulating windows providing natural daylight. A programmable thermostat regulates cooling and heating, saving energy.

Total combined energy conservation and generation measures are expected to provide 46-percent annual cost savings.

• Resources: By renovating the existing building, the project reduced the environmental footprint of the space. New construction materials used for the building and overall site contain an average of 30 percent recycled content, and 32 percent of the new materials came from within 500 miles of Powell.

The plaza area in the front of the outdoor stage reused donor bricks and used porous pavers to allow water to filter naturally through the ground.

Through the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED certification system, more than 32,000 projects are certified in all 50 states and 114 countries.

“With each new LEED-certified building, we get one step closer to USGBC's vision of a sustainable built environment within a generation,” said Rick Fedrizzi, president of U.S. Green Building Council, in a news release. “As the newest member of the LEED family of green buildings, Plaza Diane is an important addition to the growing strength of the green building movement.”

As Powell's first LEED-certified building, Plaza Diane can serve as an example for other energy-efficient projects in the area, Fiechtl said.