Green Building : Jetson Green

The Commons Strives to be Nation's First Living Building Challenge Residence

In Portland two brothers, Dustin and Garrett Moon, have been getting some serious attention for their project, The Commons -- it could just be the first residence in the nation to meet the standards of the Living Building Challenge.  The Living Building Challenge is about getting to something that's truly sustainable, which is what I think the Moons are going after here.  If you look at their plans, The Commons will use green tech that you might not see in other so-called green homes. 

[Videos] Some Green Prefabs by MKD

I've got 3 super-fresh, green prefab videos for your viewing leisure.  Two videos are of MKD's Glidehouse, which is factory-built in roughly 10-14 months at a cost similar or less than traditional site-built homes.  The other is of the Sunset Breezehouse, which has the butterfly roof and central breezeway that blurs the interior with the exterior.  Pretty cool videos -- it's nice to have Michelle Kaufmann herself blogging these prefab experiences. 

Water + Life Museums, World's First LEED Platinum Museum

In the process of digging the huge Diamond Valley Lake Reservoir in Southern California, some significant fossils were discovered.  The fossils have been sitting around for several years waiting for a super-modern museum to call home, so The Center for Water Education Foundation and the Western Center Community Foundation commissioned Lehrer Architects to design such a place.  The result is the Water + Life Museums, a complex that just so happens to claim a right to being the world's first LEED Platinum certified museum. 

Earth Day 2008, This is How We Do It

Photo by JPhilipson

I've got an inbox full of cool announcements ready for Earth Day 2008, but to be honest, I'm not going to talk about any of them ... not today, at least.  Over the next week or so, I'll take some time to sift through the news and leak out the good stuff.  Today, though, I'm thinking, why not focus on the earth?  The best way I know how to do that is by sharing some earthy images from various, cool flickr folks.  Wear blue and enjoy the day ...

BYOBlue, A Reason to Wear Blue for Earth Day

Here's the deal.  I was going to write about BYOBlue earlier today, but I was cranking away on some green building research and got a little delayed.  So, if you're just reading this today on Earth Day, you still have time.  Architecture 2030 is rallying the nation to participate in the BYOBlue campaign by calling on everyone to wear BLUE during Earth Day 2008 to signify a vote for NO COAL.  So, first, go home and put on something blue.  Second, call Congress at 202-224-3121 and ask for an immediate ‘Moratorium on Coal’ - a halt to the construction of any new conventional coal-fired power plants.  In the past year, fifty-nine conventional coal plants were cancelled (over a third of the 151 planned), so let's get the rest shut down.  It's time to find other alternatives for our energy future. 

Sophisticated Simplicity with Shipping Containers

The Skinners Playground project by Phooey Architects of Melbourne, Australia is a project that makes compelling use of shipping containers.  Many container architecture projects do little that breaks out of the strong rectilinear form of the component boxes.  While only four shipping containers were used for Skinners Playground, they are cut and amended in such as way as to make much more of them than simply four box-shaped rooms.  Even if the exteriors had been painted over, it would be immediately obvious that this was built from shipping containers.  But, at the same time, this is a case of the whole being far more than merely a sum of its parts.

WORKac Vertical Farm Concept for NYC [S2]

New York asked four architects to generate ideas for an oddly shaped parcel of land at Canal and Varick Street in New York.  New York only requested that the ideas include a residential component and generally comply with zoning.  Of the four designs submitted, one of them caught my eye because it's of something that's being talked about more and more.  Vertical farms.  The design by WORKac entitled "Locavore Fantasia" features crops on each floor and four large water tanks for rainwater irrigation.  The idea here is just a concept, but it gets me thinking, which city will be the first to take the plunge on a vertical farm ...
 

Wow! Container Home in New Zealand

Sure, this New Zealand home is heavy on the industrial, nuclear reactor look, but it has a certain draw to it, don't you think?  I was pointed to these images in a flickr photoset owned by petraalsbach and was struck by the interesting use of containers -- as you can tell, the home was built right up to, and possibly into, the hill.  Containers are strong and stackable,and it seems like lots of people are using them right now in home design.  Container homes may just become more popular than modern prefab ...

Carbon Finance, Earth-Friendly Home Fixes, Target Zero Waste, + Green Growth [WIR]

• Top Green Start-up Companies [Time]
• Green construction becomes selling point.
• Carbon finance comes of age.
• Investment in green building sector is booming.
• EPA Administrator says green makes financial sense.
• New LEED model tracks life cycle building performance.
• Heart Tower early to adopt "Target Zero Waste" policy.
• Nine earth friendly fixes for your home.
• Do you know how to read 'green'?

*WIR = Week in Review; a Saturday showcase of excellent links.

[Video] BedZED Zero Energy Homes

You've probably already heard about BedZED, but have you seen it?  It's Friday so feel free to watch a short little video about it.  BedZED is a 100-home, sustainable community in Beddington (UK) that's designed to be a Zero Energy Development.  Hence the Bed and the ZED.  The colorful wind-driven ventilation system gives it a quirky, kind of playful look -- but don't be fooled: This joint is all business.  Most of all, though, residents enjoy the sense of community and quality of life.