Recently, we had to opportunity to talk with Don Ferrier about the progress of a home called the Zero Energy Casita. Ferrier, president of Ferrier Custom Homes, started building earth-sheltered homes 25 years ago and has the distinct accomplishment of building the first LEED Platinum home in Texas. In this net zero energy beauty, Ferrier is building a home that generates as much energy in the course of a year as it consumes.
A new solar racking structure — one of the largest continuous elevated solar racking structures in the country that spans the length of three football fields — was just completed for the Manheim Auto Auction in Bordentown, New Jersey. Rated at 1 MW, the project includes 5,880 photovoltaic panels covering 104,000 square feet.
Part of an abandoned, former industrial site in Oakland is now Ironhorse at Central Station, a 99-unit affordable housing development. Owned by Bridge Housing, designed by David Baker + Associates, and built by J.H. Fitzmaurice, the ~$41.4 million project includes one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments for families with incomes ranging from $18,000 to $50,000. Ironhorse is a fascinating display of green, affordable housing that's also solar-powered.
Update 1/27/2010: A Small Osprey Eco-Cottage Has Landed!
Starting January 19 in the Las Vegas Convention Center, four modular demonstration homes will be on display for the International Builders’ Show 2010. All of the homes will qualify for the NAHB’s National Green Building Certification, and they’ll be smaller, too. One home in particular, The Osprey, caught my attention. The 523 square-foot home, perhaps, will be the greenest of all four models in the Show Village.
This school in the village of Granados in central Guatemala is a fascinating display of ingenuity and recycling. According to an article in The Oregonian, Peace Corps volunteer Laura Kutner came up with the idea of finishing the construction of a school with the abundance of plastic waste in the area. With the help of the local community, volunteers from Hug It Forward, and $3,000, the school was completed and painted in a vibrant orange color.
Project Profiles
