A local architecture firm is bringing their vision of "green" building to Great Falls, adopting a national program called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED. And when it comes to designing environmentally friendly spaces, this firm is "leading" by example.

"We heat it with a heating coil in the winter time, and and we cold it with a cooling coil in the summer time."

This is the future home of CTA Architects and Engineers, a showplace of green design and downtown revival.

"We're experimenting with some new technologies, some technologies that we don't see around here a lot, but that are proven,” said Anthony Houtz of CTA. “And we're trying to set an example and show people what value there is in downtown buildings and these sorts of environmentally sustainable technology.

Technology like a ground water well system 650 feet below the building that takes care of most of its heating and cooling through a coil system and radiant floors.

Then there's the good old fashioned way way to be energy efficient: insulation. The east side of this nearly 100 year old, brick warehouse is insulated on the inside and the opposite side, features outside insulation.

"We try to use almost everything that was in the building,” Houtz explained. “We tried to maximize the character we could pull out of it and retain it and re-use it in a new way."

The construction mantra for the CTA office building is fewer materials, more labor. For example, these bricks were removed for window openings, then reused inside. And this staircase was made from old ceiling joices.

Yet, recycling materials accounts for just some of the points a builder can earn through the LEED rating system.

"LEED doesn't just deal with the physical environment, but also the interior atmosphere and the quality it creates for employees," said Jule Stuver of CTA.

So, is "green building" is the way of the future? The architects with CTA think LEED standards are catching on, even in more rural settings like here in Montana.

"We don't have the influence of the urban setting as much here,” said Stuver. “We have green space around us, so people aren't as conscious about it."

Other Great Falls buildings designed with LEED certification in mind include the Missouri River Federal Courthouse, and the new First Interstate Bank location on 10th Avenue South.