Just one mile from downtown Seattle in Madison Valley, Cascade Built has finished their latest green home, the Alley House.  This high-performance home just received LEED Platinum certification last week and, for those that are interested, is on sale for ~$770,000.  The home is on an advantageous urban infill lot and features some high-end finishes such as Caesarstone countertops, Kirei doors, and a Liebherr refrigerator.  In addition to a private bamboo garden, this home has some of the following green features:

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Elizabeth Turnbull was planning for Yale grad school and started estimating her future living expenses.  As an incoming Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies student, Elizabeth calculated that she would spend ~$14,000 over two years of school and wanted to do something effective with that money.  So she channeled a little inspiration from Tumbleweed Tiny House and decided to build her own tiny home as economically as possible.

So far, she’s made incredible progress building the 8′ x 18′ modish home on a flatbed trailer.  By the time she’s done, the off-grid home will price out just over $11,000 or so.  And it’s surprisingly spacious inside, too.

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This 5 story, 9 unit condo building is 2800 Lincoln and is planned for the corner of Diversey Parkway and Lincoln Avenue in Chicago, Illinois.  Designed by Product Architects, this contemporary green building is aiming for LEED Silver, and might even catch LEED Gold.  2800 Lincoln has a green roof, large terraces, solar panels, solar thermal hot water heating, and will be powered, in part, by geothermal energy (see diagram below).  Yo Chicago reports that the developer, Helios Realty and Development, plans to break ground in the next month or two and has a lease for the ground-floor retail space in the works. 

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I find the stories behind green homes to be quite interesting.  I was at the gym and happened upon this article in Home Magazine about Adam Coulter, a 27 year-old screenwriter and actor living in LA.  He successfully battled cancer in his teens and has been in remission since that time.  But since his bout with cancer, he’s always attempted to live in the healthiest environment possible.  This third-floor condo is an example of Couter’s quest for healthy living — it’s been renovated with bamboo flooring, organic linen draperies, recycled glass tiles, zero-VOC paints, and locally produced, sustainable materials, etc. 

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Time Equities, Inc. just broke ground on 50 West Street, Manhattan’s newest green condo and hotel skyscraper.  Designed by influential architect Helmut Jahn, the $600 million, 580,000 sf mixed-use eco-tower is shooting for LEED Gold certification upon completion in 2011.  As a result, the 65-story tower will incorporate a host of green features and measures, including a green roof, water-efficient fixtures, automated blinds and energy control systems, recycling of demolition materials, use of sustainable and rapidly renewable materials, and an energy-efficient glass facade to filter in daylight and filter out UV rays. 

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