This project for an insurance office in Fort Benton, MT was a long time in the making.  With circumstances in funding and siting changing throughout the project, it required patience and flexibility to achieve the final product.

Our client had outgrown their previous office and needed a new facility to accommodate staff, archives and client functions they were previously unable to accommodate.  Sited opposite the historic Chouteau County Courthouse, the building was designed to respond respectfully to its scale and prominence.  The project is both contemporary and commercial while maintaining a decidedly residential aesthetic, this in response to the surrounding neighborhoods.

Material choices were meant to reflect a vernacular sensitivity with steel and wood featuring prominently.  The building uses a radiant floor heating system embedded in stained concrete on the main floor, with individually zoned rooms at the upper level through radiant panels.  The walls are constructed using SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels) to afford improved thermal performance.  Exterior finishes are both fiber-cement lap siding and flat-lock metal panels with T&G Radiata pine at the recessed entry areas.

Cost:    $550,000