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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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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Earlier this month, the USGBC awarded LEED Silver certification to the Resonance House, a project designed and built by the collaboration of Design Lab Inc. and University of Kentucky College of Design.  Of note, the Resonance House is the first and only Kentucky home to be certified by the USGBC at the time of certification.  It’s a 4,400 sf home with contemporary finishes and energy efficient elements.  Located at 151 Old Georgetown Street in Lexington, the five-star plus Energy Star home has a small operating cost of 2.8 cents per sf, or ~$125 per month.

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I’ve been intrigued by ZEDfactory ever since I first started seeing their homes and designs.  The three letters "ZED", which stand for Zero Energy Development, seem to show up in all ZEDfactory designs.  But I must admit: their designs have a certain whimsical, if not playful, look.  That’s no big deal, though, because future solutions are going to look different.  Certainly, ZEDfactory is serious when it comes to pushing the envelope towards sustainable housing options.  The above and below RuralZED was on display earlier this year at EcoBuild in Earls Court, London.  To be clear, RuralZED is more than a house, it’s a system for developing zero carbon, zero energy, healthy homes. 

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River North Properties LLC is planning to develop a LEED Certified, condo/retail project for Denver’s River North ("RiNo") neighborhood.  Named Beleza, a Brazilian Portuguese word for "beauty", this luxurious green community is modeled after the Brazilian city of Curitiba.  Like Curitiba, Beleza will focus on sustainable lifestyle, eco-friendly development, and planning that cuts pollution and waste while improving the quality of life for residents.  It will also have smart amenities, such as biometric fingerprint access, climate-controlled window blinds, power outlets in parking spaces, and digital screen controlled integrated lighting, communications, and A/V systems. 

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