Green Building : Jetson Green

LEED Platinum Ross Street House

This is the Ross Street House in Madison, Wisconsin.  It's located just a mile from the University of Wisconsin campus and the first LEED Platinum home in the entire state!  I first noticed the home in an article on Cadalyst, where author Kenneth Wong discussed the use of ArchiCad software to model the home and neighboring properties for context.  Owner Carol Richard, partner in the Atlanta firm of Richard Wittschiebe Hand, also used modeling to optimize the amount of natural light brought into the home. 

Green Modular Malaysian Idea House

This is the Idea House by Broadway Malyan for Sime Darby Property, one of the largest property developers in Malaysia.  The home was designed as an attempt to become the first carbon zero residence in South East Asia.  The home would be prefabricated in modules to save on labor costs, speed up the construction process, and make deconstruction of the home easy at the end of its useful life.  Some other green aspects of the home design include:

Hive Modular Completes X-Line Prefab

Hive Modular, a Minneapolis-based company that sells modular, contemporary homes, recently sent us photos of this X-Line prefab in Vadnais Heights, Minnesota.  The X-Line 003 features an exterior of fiber cement, steel, and locally harvested cedar, while the interior features stylish modern elements.  Pay particular attention to the translucent polycarbonate walls by Polygal, the red IKEA kitchen, and the custom tables from Eastvold Custom Woodworks. 

Fortino Modern Green Prefab Debuts!

We’ve mentioned Ideabox several times over the years, and their new offering, the Fortino, has to be one my favorites.  The Fortino was on display at the Seattle Home Show 2, although, unfortunately, there was a huge pole at the show obstructing photos.  You’ll have to imagine the Fortino in a well-manicured, xeriscaped setting on the lot of your choosing.  Something like 30,000 people saw the Fortino in Seattle, and Jim Russell, founder of Ideabox, tells me the response was incredible. 

A Beautiful Bend Oregon Green Prefab

Since we first mentioned Stillwater Dwellings in March, the new company has been extremely busy.  Not only have they lined up plans to build green prefabs in Portland (Or.), Santa Barbara (Ca.), and Healdsburg (Ca.), but they've recently completed their first prefab home in Bend, Oregon.  The company was kind enough to send us a few photos of the inside and outside, and the modern home is just stunning. 

Libeskind Villa Prefab Now Complete!

Several months ago, we mentioned news that Studio Daniel Libeskind designed a modern prefab with the prototype of the prefab under construction in Datteln, Germany.  That home, more precisely a visitor center with conference rooms for the time being, was celebrated in an inauguration ceremony on September 29, 2009.  The Villa, a first in the Libeskind Signature Series of homes, is super efficient and uses minimal energy, despite its size. 

Old Industrial Building Gets an Extreme Green Makeover

By looking at these pictures, you probably can’t tell that an old, two-story, under-performing industrial building was converted into a beautiful modern suite of office spaces.  The Koll Company hired LPA Inc. to transform the old facility and transform they did!  (You can see a before photo below.)  The LEED Silver building, now referred to as the Koll Airport Professional Center for its location near John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, is a fine example of adaptive reuse with new green elements:

Team Germany Wins with Net Metering!

This morning the final results of the Solar Decathlon were announced.  As expected, Technische Universität Darmstadt, aka Team Germany, took first prize.  This is Team Germany's second straight victory.  In the net metering contest, the team gained almost thirteen more points than the next closest team, Illinois, which solidified the victory.  Although the Popular Choice award will be released later this weekend, the competition is officially over.  Make sure to check out all 20 Solar Decathlon homes from 2009 -- they're beautiful and inspirational.  Here are the results (updated with Popular Choice later):

Mesmerizing House with a Solar Skin

Team Germany took first prize at Solar Decathlon 2007, and they're moving up in the rankings this year.  After the architectural competition, the team is now solidly in second place with a few more days to go.  Could the cube with a solar facade bring last year's victor its second consecutive win?  In 2007, Team Germany had a beautiful home covered in oak louvered frames with integrated photovoltaics.  This year, the team of 24 architects and students has furthered the same theme with 40 single-crystal silicon panels on the roof and roughly 250 thin-film CIGS panels on the sides. 

Creative Silo House by Cornell University

Earlier this month, we previewed each of 20 solar-powered homes competing in the Solar Decathlon in Washington, D.C.  Over the next few weeks, we'll try to delve into more detail to uncover innovation at its best.  This house, the Silo House, was designed and built by over 150 students and faculty at Cornell University.  It features three, 16-foot diameter silos that hold the kitchen, bedroom, and living room.  The Silo House is grid-tied and powered by 40, 200-watt photovoltaic panels, a solar thermal system, and a building integrated solar thermal system.  The Silo House currently leads the competition ... will they be the team to take first place?