It's Friday, so why not take some time to enjoy a unique, green renovation.  This home used to be an old, stucco box, but you'd hardly know it just by looking.  Mr. Jeremy Levine gutted the whole place and gave the home a new lease on life.  The interior of this North Eagle Rock renovation drowns in natural light because of the open layout and heavy use of windows.  Also, the home has been outfitted with beautiful recycled red wood sliding sun screens, a passive thermal rock wall, solar PV system, rain water collection system, grey water recycling, concrete counters made with 50% fly ash, and the recycled wood ceiling, etc. 

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Looks like Chicago city planners have big ideas for a 1140 acre swathe of land in South Chicago.  The spot is former U.S. Steel land, and planners have been mulling development options for the spot since about 2000.  Now, they'd like to submit a proposal for a green development with sustainable neighborhoods, green buildings, street cars, and bicycle paths, etc.  Officially referred to as the "South Chicago LEED Neighborhood Development Initiative," the plan would be rated by the USGBC's LEED-ND pilot program and would unravel over roughly 20-30 years. 

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Some of you may be in Park City for the Sundance Film Festival this week, and while you're in town, you might want to go check out some green projects.  Probably the greenest building in Utah is located near Kimball Junction — Swaner EcoCenter — it's a must tour facility and nature preserve.  Another project worth checking out, and maybe worth buying, is a three townhouse community called Tahoma.  With Tahoma, a local developer took a dive into green development waters and ended up achieving the first Built Green Utah certified residential development in Park City.  Tahoma was developed by Baker Street Properties, and based upon my communications with the developer, they're ready to build even greener for future projects. 

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The good news for prefab keeps coming.  We just received word that the very first KieranTimberlake LivingHome, you know, the one being assembled over the next four days for IBS 2009, will make a second stop in Long Beach, California for TED 2009.  That's right, a prefab is going to be front and center at TED for the world's most influential thinkers.  So after a brief stint at IBS, KT1.5 will be transported to Long Beach, where it will become the Kohler LivingHome from February 3-7, 2009.  The home will feature the latest thinking in green design, and I'm sure it will add fire to this smoldering revolution in home design and construction.  LivingHomes CEO Steve Glenn will introduce the Idea House, and after TED, it will stay on display from February 8-20.  After that, apparently, the home will be sold to the first buyer that's ready to put it on some land. 

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If you know us, you know we like to introduce cutting edge projects, even in the rendering stage.  But we also like to follow up on completion, too, and there's nothing better than seeing a finished project.  Take for instance this 1940s Cape Cod home in St. Paul that was converted into a modern, green home.  We mentioned it back in April of last year and now look at it.  It's ultra stylish and so green!  EcoDEEP is using the home as their offices, too, so potential clients get to see and experience first-hand what a green home feels like.  

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