There’s something about the beginning of a year that makes the fortune tellers come out in droves. But I guess it’s fun to ponder and pontificate about the future — to string data together to predict what will happen in the next 365 days. Buildipedia took a shot at identifying green home trends for 2012, and here are the five that they list:
I’ve pulled together projects, mostly homes, of all kinds — new, old, modern, traditional, etc — that we discussed in the last year. These projects either obtained or sought LEED Platinum certification from the USGBC, and they’re some of the greener homes you’ll find most anywhere. Click the links below for hours and hours of reading.
Our team had the great opportunity to report on hundreds of green building innovations in the form of new technologies and advanced materials. We see these innovations as contributors to a world where it’s important to reduce waste and resource consumption. I hope you enjoy this unordered review gathered from our archives of the last year.
I’ve seen the tiny house thrive in 2011 like none other. People behind these structures — whether a tiny home, shed, backyard office, ADU, or off-season retreat — seem to have a little Thoreau inside. Nonetheless, please keep this in mind: only about 5% of the population would ever dream to live in a tiny house. Is this for you? Here’s a little round up of the built projects that we covered in 2011, in no particular order. Click the text below for more and use your tabs for hours of reading.
By Gerry McCaughey, CEO of Infineco LLC*
As Americans debate whether prefab is a greener way to build, those active in the discussion should not be surprised when their dialogue receives puzzled looks from their European counterparts.
In Europe, this very question was asked and answered nearly two decades ago. The resounding findings were that prefabrication creates higher-quality structures that reduce both the embodied energy content and the amount of carbon produced annually during the operation of traditional onsite-built homes. The reduction in carbon emissions can be as much as 40 to 60 percent.
