This is a small little mixed-use building called Graham Street Lofts.  With 12 residential units and some ground floor commercial, the infill building sits in the Eliot neighborhood of Northern Portland.  Residential units start at ~$324k and each home is energy efficient and modern inside.  The R-30, 10-inch thick PerformWall ICFs are made of recycled polystyrene and cement and help to keep the interiors quiet.  Combine the efficient envelope with hydronic radiant floors and overall home energy use is quite low, too.  Additionally, Graham Street Lofts has some of the following green amenities and finishes:

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The Margarido House is on its way to being the first home the nation that's both LEED-H certified and GreenPoint rated.  It's also aiming to be the first custom home in Northern California to be LEED-H Platinum certified.  The ~4600 sf home is still waiting on Platinum certification, but it's important to note that because of it's large size, the homeowners had to pursue drastic green measure to get into Platinum territory.  And they did quite well, actually, building a home that's 55% more efficient than California's Title 24 energy standards.  Check out this list of green features:

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• LEED-ing the way to sustainability.
• Building industry to deliver green collar worker boom.
• D.C. schools offer "green collar" classes for next gen workers.
• Eco-friendly roof coverings being poorly installed due to research gap.
• SFC considers whether bike lanes cause pollution.
• We need to apply information technology to the energy grid.
• New wave of structures are like organisms and give back.
• Single family houses are getting a green seal of approval.
• Consider these green home heating alternatives for the winter.
• NYC Mayor calls for wind turbines atop skyscrapers.

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

It’s fun getting weeMail … we’ve just learned from Alchemy Architects about some new weeHouse announcements relating to affordability and sustainability.  First things first, everyone wants to know about prefab pricing, right?  You can now get a 2000 sf weeHouse with so called Good Stuff for around $125 per sf, give or take.  Second, weeHouse has teamed up with The Fusion Companies to offer off-grid and supplemental Energy Kits for weeHouses. 

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We keep hearing about thin film solar innovation and building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), but it may be hard to image how this technology will play a part in the future of our buildings.  But I think CENTRIA Services Group has a product that could certainly change that: EnergyPeak.  They’ve combined the flexibility of laminate photovoltaics (LPV) with strong, durable standing seam roof panels to create a rooftop solar option with a fast payback.  I mean, just look at the diagram and check out its immediately recognizable benefits:

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