Archive for the ‘Green real estate’ Category
August 26th, 2008
Green Weefab Mini-Homes
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In case you can’t tell, we like green prefab homes. Many are beautiful and innovative, and the best of them really push the boundaries of green practices. But for most of us they’re aspirational rather than practical. Most of us aren’t building green homes from scratch, and even if we are the number of green prefab providers who can deliver cost-effective complete green prefab homes is still quite small.
Which is why we decided to write about small green prefab rooms or homes - weefabs - so small that you actually might be able to put one in your backyard. They could serve as a “room-away-from-home” place for the inlaws, a quiet office or TV room out back, or simply a comforting, tranquil place to just hang out and relax. While not affordable compared to pre-made sheds at Home Depot, you can still secure most of these models without having to take out a new mortgage. Which is good, because at least right now most mortages harder to come by than a protest license in Beijing!
We’ve always liked Modern Shed - whether you live in a Mid-Century Modern home or a traditional Cape Cod style in New England, Modern Shed makes a model that will fit in with your design. They have many green features, and you can get several models for less than $10K. Shipping is included in the price, and they’re designed and shipped so that a relatively handy D-I-Y-er can do the install.
Shipping containers are all the rage in prefab (check out this hotel made out of them - pretty cool!), and they’re about the right size, but do you really want one in your backyard? If it’s designed by pieceHomes you do! The Container House is actually a small home with a kitchen and bathroom, but it only takes up 320 square feet (it is the same dimensions as a shipping container making it easy to transport, but it’s not actually made from one). It also comes with a covered deck and lock-down shutters, so you can just close it up when you’re not using it or when that next hurricane approaches. They’re a bit more expensive than a one-room weefab, but wouldn’t you pay a bit more to avoid running into Aunt Edna using the bathroom at 6AM in the morning?
kitHAUS also makes some pretty interesting small structures, specifically the K3 (117 ft2) shown above and the K4 (187 ft2) units. The K3 falls below the 120 square foot threshold of most building codes, so it qualifies as an “accessory” structure and doesn’t require a building permit (this can vary by location, though, so check with your local building department). The K3 also doesn’t need a foundation and can be outfitted with solar panels, making it the perfect option for your own off-grid eco-escape.
If you’re looking for something a little less permanent, consider an Ecoshack Nomad yurt. While many folks associate yurts with a taste for yak butter or Grateful Dead singalongs, these aren’t your traditional yurts. They provide 160 square feet of living (or relaxing) space, they’re made from eco-friendly materials such as bamboo, and they employ some high-tech fabrics to ensure durability and water repellancy. They’re also relatively easy to install, move or store.
With the LifePort system from Envision Solar, you get a DIY carport structure that comes with integrated solar PV panels. As with most solar PV projects, these aren’t cheap, but you get two benefits for the price of 1.5: solar electricity for your home, and either a new carport or shade structure for a covered deck in your back yard. You’ll have to hire an electrician to connect this system to the grid, but aside from that you can do it yourself.
Last, a bit of weefab eye candy. Check out these amazing rolling huts from the architecture firm Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects (brought to our attention by Olivia Chen at Inhabitat.com). These were designed for a custom home project, but it’s not too hard to imagine a herd of rolling green weefab huts dotting a landscape near you. You might not be able to tow these behind your biodiesel pickup, but at least you can tow it farther into your backyard if Uncle Otis’ snoring wakes you up on the first day of his two-week visit!
Visit our prefab directory for more prefab options, or this previous post on why prefab homes can be such great examples of green building.
Popularity: 7% [?]
August 20th, 2008
AIA Launches GreenStep Video Series
Written by Dawn Killough, courtesy of GreenBuildingElements.com
The American Institute of Architects recently launched its “GreenStep” online video series. The series presents short episodes on several green building topics. It is meant for those planning new buildings or the renovation of existing buildings, and shows how architects can help clients address their green concerns.
The schedule for the release of the videos is as follows:
- Greenstep 1: Water Conservation - already posted.
- Greenstep 2: Smart Controls - already posted.
- Greenstep 3: Radiant Heating and Cooling - already posted.
- Greenstep 4: Vegetation for Sun Control - already posted.
- Greenstep 5: The Whole Building Approach - September 2
- Greenstep 6: Green Tags - September 15
- Greenstep 7: Energy Modeling - September 29
- Greenstep 8: Green Roofs - October 13
- Greenstep 9: Daylighting - October 27
- Greenstep 10: Choosing Green Materials - November 10
- Greenstep 11: Carbon Offsets - November 24
- Greenstep 12: Deconstruction - December 8
Links to the videos can be found at http://www.aia.org/walkthewalk/.
Popularity: 1% [?]
August 17th, 2008
Win a Free Custom Green Home –Seriously
We have already written about the innovative folks at FreeGreen, who are providing free green home plans online. (You really need to check out their plans– they’re amazing!) And now they are going a step beyond and offering a contest by which you can win a CUSTOM green house plan. Seriously! I know you’re skeptical, so read on….
“We have created this contest to interact with you and create the next evolution of the American Home. Rather than doing this in a prescriptive manner, we felt that it would be best to allow you (our great FreeGreen users) to help us. We invite each of you to enter our contest, tell us about your new and ideal Green Home, win a free custom home design from FreeGreen, and help us shape the future of residential dwelling in this country.”
There are only three main requirements to enter this contest:
+ You must own land and be prepared to build a new home in the United States
+ You must be prepared and plan to build your new home in 6 months from the end of the design process
+ You must be willing to share your design process, design story, and construction\finished home photos with other FreeGreen users
If you fit the bill, hop to it!
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Popularity: 1% [?]
August 14th, 2008
Rural Areas Are Slow to Adopt Green Building Practices
Written by Kristin Dispenza, courtesy of GreenBuildingElements.com
Author’s Note: While I usually report on green building developments in the Pacific Northwest, today I am examining green building trends in my own geographic region, Southeast Ohio. The architect for the LEED project discussed below is my husband, Don Dispenza.
Nationwide, there are currently more than 12,000 building projects pursuing LEED certification. But in economically depressed regions, there are still only a handful. For example, in Southeast Ohio, defined as an eight-county region in the Appalachian foothills, there are only two registered projects on the USGBC website. In areas such as this, which have a minimal amount of new construction overall, increasing a project’s cost by building green is rarely considered.
An exception is the Chamberlain Office Building in Athens, Ohio. The building’s owner, Russell Chamberlain, is a local real estate agent whose desire to build green stems from his own personal value system, and also from the belief that that investing in LEED certification will differentiate his company as being a progressive one. The project is expected to achieve a LEED Silver rating.
One thing that made certification of this project a challenge is the fact that it is only a 3,000 sq. ft. structure.
“Doing a small LEED commercial project is more difficult than doing a large one, because there is no volume discount,” says project architect Donald Dispenza, LEEDap, of Panich, Noel, and Associates.
The building is expected to earn points in all six LEED NC 2.2 categories, but the designers concentrated most heavily on Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, and Materials & Resources. The new office is situated on a previously developed site, and to improve stormwater management, an existing parking lot was replaced with a pervious paved plaza. The architects followed a prescriptive path to achieve energy savings, eliminating the need to spend money on energy modeling. The designers also tried to use local resources as much as possible, but according to Teny Bannick, LEEDap, also with Panich, Noel and Associates, the remoteness of the geographic region again created an obstacle. “It is harder to source things here. Small local or regional manufacturers aren’t as likely to track their products for such things as recycled content, toxicity, and renewability. That makes it difficult to fulfill the documentation requirements for LEED regardless of the size of the project.”
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Popularity: 1% [?]
August 3rd, 2008
Showing the Green Building Process
Written by Philip Proefrock, courtesy of GreenBuildingElements.com
What does it look like to build a house with lots of green features? We see pictures of the finished buildings, and we read about the features that make them green. We know about the importance of good insulation and reducing electrical loads and choosing efficient equipment.
But what does it look like while it all goes together? Building Green on Montrose offers a wonderfully in-depth view into the process of constructing a green home. The project is the product of a couple of architects, Christopher & Emily Stromberg, working on the renovation of a rowhouse in south Philadelphia to turn it into a modern, efficient, green home. They are building this project as a speculative property, rather than a home for themselves, so it avoids some of the quirky indulgences that other green homes sometimes include. All of this has to make sense and be justifiable for an eventual buyer for the house.
It is also a wonderfully modest 1600 square feet, well below the average new construction house, yet it will have 3 bedrooms, a den, and 2-1/2 baths. They plan to have the house for sale on the market later this year.
The process is being extensively documented, and provides lots of pictures as they carry out each step of the project. They also have included some of the architectural drawings, to show what the plans and elevations for the building look like, as well as to illustrate how some of the sustainable design strategies for the house work.
In addition to documenting the ongoing progress on the project, Building Green on Montrose also discusses materials choices and selections, including bamboo and tile for the floors, countertops, and insulation. They discuss why they like particular choices and what they don’t like about others, and they weigh the various factors in choosing which is the most appropriate selection. For example, they like Caesarstone and Icestone for their countertops. Caesarstone is imported, but the basic slab comes ina size that is well suited for their project and will mean that there is little waste. But on the other hand, Icestone has received a Cradle to Cradle™ certification.
In the most recent entry, they have met with the LEED for Homes raters and were pleasantly surprised to find that what they thought was going to be a LEED-H Gold project is actually on track for LEED-H Platinum.
The range of information covered in Building Green on Montrose gives people who aren’t regularly involved with building construction a great insight into guts of a green building and shows the work as it progresses. It’s a great resource for both green builders and would-be green homeowners alike.
Related features:
The $100K Green Home Project
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Find green builders across the United States here.
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Popularity: 1% [?]
