Brasada Ranch has become the first destination resort in the country to earn the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification rating under the New Construction project category. Moreover, Brasada Ranch, located 16 miles northeast of Bend, is the first destination resort in the state of Oregon to receive certification under any LEED project category.

The Gold certification was bestowed on Brasada Ranch’s Discovery Center, an 8,300-square-foot building at this new central Oregon-based residential-golf resort. Since its inception, Brasada Ranch — one of the JELD-WEN Communities — has talked about its commitment to “walk softly on the land.”

The Discovery Center community building was designed by Cottle Carr Yaw Architects (CCY), an award-winning architectural firm in Basalt, Colo. Completed in 2005, the Discovery Center — one of five buildings comprising Ranch Headquarters, the centerpiece of Brasada Ranch — has previously earned an American Institute of Architects Merit Award. CCY Architects has designed all five buildings to LEED standards; three are still pending LEED certification.

“Our overall mission from the beginning has been that we will ‘walk softly on the land,’ and now we’ve taken that a few steps further,” said Rick Paré, construction coordinator for Brasada Ranch, which has preserved more than half the land on which it sits as open space. “There is an encouraging trend today to implement and execute good green building practices. For starters, it’s the right thing to do. Of the many benefits, LEED-certified buildings have lower operating costs and reduce waste sent to landfills. What we’re doing here at Brasada Ranch isn’t for the short term — we’re building for the long term.”

This is the first project of any kind to gain the LEED designation in Oregon’s Crook County. Only one project, in neighboring Deschutes County, has a LEED-certified project — the Midstate Electric Cooperative Administration Building in La Pine. The Discovery Center joins just a handful of other “multi-use” project to earn LEED certification in the state of Oregon.

“The LEED plaque is recognized nationwide as proof that a building is environmentally responsible, profitable and a healthy place to live and work,” according to the U.S. Green Building Council.

The exterior siding and heavy timbers used in the Discovery Center were salvaged and reclaimed from the Ochoco Lumber Company, which began operations in the area 75 years ago, and the remainder of the framing materials is Forest Stewardship Council-certified. A unique ground source lake loop system tied to the golf course ponds provides the building’s heating and cooling needs.

These and other environmentally sound mechanics and construction details qualified the Discovery Center for Gold Certification. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

Brasada Ranch, according to Paré, is environmentally committed on numerous other fronts through its use of on-site wind generators and solar electricity, as well as its construction of “Earth Advantage” cabins complete with ENERGY STAR appliances. Moreover, all of the resort’s landscaping is native to the area.

For more information about Brasada Ranch, visit www.brasada.com.