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While on The Daily Texan’s website I came across an article about at-risk and disadvantaged youth that are finding a way to contribute to their society and can useful on-the-job training. I was intrigued by the head and decided to read on.

The youth are representatives of a organization called American YouthWorks. Through this program, youth receive both a high school education and the opportunity to learn about construction, and more specifically, green construction. The ability for these youth that have a had a rough time before now to learn valuable working skills is amazing. Not only do they now have the knowledge to perform these jobs but they also receive pay to use towards future schooling or to make a decent living.

This was a great story to see how green home design is not only good for the natural environment but it has its benefits in the social aspect. The article is definitely worth your time and will show you what going green can do for the world.

Tags: energy-efficient, green, non-profit organization, solar panel

I’ve been reading a delightful blog called 100khouse.com. This is the first hand experience of author Chad Ludeman, president of Postgreen, who is developing the 100khouse. The neatest thing of all is indeed the reality of green building. Some things go smoothly for Chad, others don’t, and some don’t go at all. I’m still not sure if he can build this green home for the 100k budget. It’s like a reality show of my dreams only in blog form. I would definitely stay up late for this one…

Recent posts detail this rollercoaster of triumphs and downfalls. A week ago, in his post titled “PV Solar Panel Quote for 100K House”, he laments the $53.9K price tag on the solar system he wished would make the house a zero-energy home (a solar/grid system that would produce enough power to cancel his electricity bill). My favorite line is a heart-wrencher “We wouldn’t even have enough room on the roof to fit enough solar panels…”

Check out Chad’s blog 100khouse.com and see what it takes to build a green home with a tight budget.

Tags: 100khouse, budget, green building, green design

I wrote about using old shipping containers to build houses with a few weeks ago. Well here is a great example of a proposed project in Detroit. Designed by architect Steven Flum, in partnership with developer Leslie Horn, the project is waiting city approval. Once received, the condos will end up near Wayne State University.

Other highlights of the story include a 25% cost-to-build savings over condos of similar size and quality, complete re-use of old shipping containers (no new ones), and that cool NASA developed paint insulator.

I was looking for a good example to show how something like this can actually look nice. The condos show an aesthetic that has obviously moved beyond container while remaining refreshingly industrial. For more photos of this kind of construction, visit Container City.

Via Jetson Green and Freep

Tags: green design, housing, modern housing, re-use, storage containers

Building Seattle Green, from seattlepi.com, brings us good news from Washington. Green homes are selling faster and for more money than other homes. Danielle Johnson reports “Environmentally certified homes sold for 4.8% more and stayed on the market for 24% less time than comparable homes sold last year.” This is good news for the earth, and builders and home-based product manufacturer who have a head start on the greening market.

This reminds me of a similar study done by Prof. Norman Miller, where he found that green (LEED certified and Energy Star rated) office buildings and spaces were selling and renting for more money, as high as 30% more, than regular buildings of similar size and class. So we have evidence in both the commercial and residential sectors of real estate that it pays to go green. It pays while you’re operating a building (we all knew that) and it pays when you rent or sale.
(read more about Prof. Miller’s study)

It will be interesting to see the results continue to come in as more studies are done. For now, there isn’t a valid argument against it. Maybe our status symbols will update, and MTV Cribs will feature stars and athletes with extreme green diggs…

We’ve featured Michelle Kauffman before. Her work is pleasing to me, so I thought I’d share some vidoes. These are inside looks into some of her homes, the Glidehouse and the Sunset Breezehouse. Enjoy…

MKD video 1

MKD video 2

MKD video 3

thanks michelle and preston

Tags: green design, green homes, michelle kauffman, pre fabricated homes

Every morning I look at the same hilltop near my basement apartment and imagine building up there. Something about the seclusion and privacy, the view, the abundant natural light, and living above the smog gives me a boost of energy as I’m headed for work. For now it’s a dream, and it probably will be for a long time, but I’ve nevertheless found the perfect house to go up there, and here she is:

The Lightkeeper by Dan Tyree

Now I know I usually write about green building and sustainability. First let me say that I’m fully aware that spreading away from the urban center is a “no-no”, but then again I’ve already shared my feelings about new urbanism. In regards to building big, I have no intention of building bigger than I feel my family needs, I just have a big family… Now that I’ve provided the disclaimer, here’s my attempt to rationalize my decision.

First of all, just look at this small snippet of the view around here (northern Utah):

It looks much the same all around, not to mention a great view of the valley below. To counter-act myself: Isn’t that what I’m trying to protect? It is…

That’s why I’ll do it with straw bales. I would also put in photovoltaic panels (remember, this is a dream home) and wind turbines. By the way, the wind up on that hill is amazing! I would plant my own small forest and turn the landscape into a permaculture garden. When the air car comes out, I’ll be set. I think I’d be pretty carbon-nuetral at that point. Now, if I can only figure out how to get a road level enough for my air car to make the trip…

A note about the designer:

Dan Tyree is a well respected and creative home designer out of Winter Park, FL. His designs contribute a timeless nature to residential architecture that is a kind of sustainability all it’s own. His homes are in many styles inlcuding, but not limited to, beachfront, craftsman, and modern. His work can be found all around the gulf of mexico and up the eastern seaboard, with several others along the western coast. These homes are found in the United States, Canada, Bermuda, Bahamas, Grand Cayman Islands, and Honduras. He is a member of the Front Porch Design Society, AIBD, and the National Trust of Historic Preservation. He sell his plans digitally and works in the sunlight.

His plans can be found at The Plan Collection.

Tags: dream home, lightkeeper

Agilewaves Inc, a California based IT company, has created the Resource Monitor (shown above) which displays a building’s performance. Their first client, Nueva School in Hillsborough, CA built green, incorporating such things as solar-electric panels and a living roof. When they wanted to measure the performance, they went to Agilewaves.

Keeping track of performance has long been an important practice in any management setting. It strikes me odd that we’re just barely getting building owners interested in moitoring their energy consumption. I liken it to a blazer I used to drive. This model had a monitor that showed me my mpg on an instant. Watching it go up and down affected the way I drove. Not only did I drive to conserve gas, but it resulted in safer practices that I still use today. I think the tech is pretty awesome and has the potential to instigate many changes. Agilewaves CEO, Peter Sharer, recently wrote “Conservation is the low-hanging fruit of resource sustainability. The only investment it requires is that we become more aware of the impact of our unconscious habits”. Obviously Sharer and Nueva School had a connection. C-Net reported “the school said the application will be valuable to facilities managers and to students as an educational tool.”

Look for this technology to be integrated in home network systems and power strips. There are already a few models out there from GE and P3 International.

via C-Net

Tags: conservation, green design, performance monitor, sustainability

Though it may not be the hot topic of the century, building residences with storage containers is getting a lot of attention right now. Let me tell you why.

Structure: The biggest reason the idea has caught on is that the structure is already done. No need to worry about structural support. You also don’t need to worry about fire, mold, or termites.

Customizable: You can put these containers together in just about any configuration. You’ll need a good foundation and a good welder, but that’s about it. The rest can be finished and insulated pretty easily.

Creative: This isn’t exactly a new idea, but it is a creative one. This sort of unique housing is not only fun to live in, but it’s a refreshing statement of modern lifestyle. It’s also a unique solution to conventional housing. Let me put it this way, you can get a 40 foot container with 9 ½ foot ceilings for about $3,100.00 (www.storageaz.com). That’s pretty inexpensive and the work is half done. Cut it open a bit, add your windows and doors, and you’ve got a framed house.

Now I know this still sounds crazy for a lot of people. Take a look at the video by G Living with architect Peter DeMaria for further information on building with storage containers. Visit DeMaria’s website to see more of what he’s talking about.

Cooler than you thought, huh?

Via www.jetsongreen.com(see the video here) and www.storageaz.com

Tags: green design, housing, modern design, storage containers

I’ve seen a lot of cool ideas when it comes to architecture. A lot of them come from renovating old structures. For example, turning old department stores and old churches into a house is pretty cool. It creates an interesting space the seems fresh and accommodating. However, I’ve never seen this before: turning a bridge into a guest house.

This 2004 project by dan hisel design was for a client who just so happens to own an old railroad bridge. I’ve got to credit the story to John at archidose.blogspot.com who put together an amazing story about habitable bridges.

Unfortunately the bridge guest house was never built, but I now find myself itching to go buy a bridge. To the owners: Is yours for sale?

Yale economist Robert Repetto created an interactive website displaying possible economic gains based on cutting carbon emissions. The interactive is based on seven key assumptions pulled from various other models. Repetto decided to put together the best models out there to give a more comprehensive view.

The interactive asks you to decide how likely the seven key assumptions are, and then gives you the standard projected economic growth compared to your predictions. It even shows a worse case scenario. I did it based on my own predictions and found that we would come in just under our expected GDP by the year 2030. The important concept here is that worse case scenario, we’re still growing, and we’re still making money.

The personal problem I have is that the model is based strictly on cutting carbon emissions. We all know that the issue is far more complex than that, at least when it comes to government actions. The real elephant in the room right now is energy independence (which coincides nicely with carbon emissions for the most part). Though impossible to predict all pros and cons of moving away from oil and the like, I’m waiting to see a model that considers these priceless contributions. I just don’t see it happening very quickly unless the government is spurred on by something along the lines of national security. Without government support, the free market will take a while to figure out renewable energy, especially with oil companies around.

Source: Discovery News

Tags: cool websites, green economy