If you’re thinking about raising chickens, there are a few ways to go about it. You could build a retro Modern Coop or Quonset Coop. Or, you could build a boxy coop with a green roof, like this one pictured here and featured in Dwell. It’s framed with two-by-fours, insulated, sheathed with oriented strand board, covered in reclaimed cedar, ventilated with two upper windows, and topped with native landscaping, according to Miyoko Ohtake.
Builder magazine recently announced plans for the 2011 Concept Home, officially called the KB Home GreenHouse: An Idea Home Created with Martha Stewart. The home has been designed for net-zero energy use, resource efficiency, and LEED Platinum certification.
Just when you thought you’ve seen it all, a new company comes along with a different approach. SolTech Energy makes an innovative roof tile — similar but distinguishable from this thin-film solar tile offered by SRS Energy — that harvests solar energy with a traditional looking glass tile. Currently offered in Spain and Sweden, the SolTech System can be installed to work in conjunction with most common heating solutions on the market.
Notwithstanding the economy, I imagine there are folks in Manhattan that would drop $6.8 million on a green townhouse without batting an eyelash. Here’s such a place, now listed with Michael Pellegrino of Sotheby’s, that received a mention in the Wall Street Journal. The home includes 12 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, 15 closets, 2 laundry rooms, 1 wine cellar, and a personal elevator. It comes with LEED Gold certification.
Leave a comment below through the end of Friday, October 22, 2010, to be considered for this random book giveaway.*
Recently, Chelsea Green Publishing sent us a copy of a new book, A Solar Buyer’s Guide for the Home and Office, by Stephen and Rebekah Hren, also the authors of the Carbon-Free Home. Just like the first book, the authors chose a topic that they’re clearly expert to talk about. Stephen is a builder and teacher with experience in passive and active solar heating technologies, while Rebekah is an NABCEP-certified photovoltaics installer, licensed electrical contractor, and ISPQ-certified solar instructor.
