In the mid-1980s, Amory Lovins, co-founder, chairman, and chief scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute, built an efficient, 4,000 square foot home in Colorado for living and working.  By today’s thinking, the home is a little larger than most greenies would prefer, but it was built to be 90% more efficient than a traditional home of its size.  That’s pretty impressive, especially at a time when the panels on the roof of the White House were being taken down for “repair.”

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Perched on the east side of the city is this renovated gem at 3602 Apollo.  I saw it a few months ago mid-renovation, and it's hard to miss: floating entry steps, dark mystical brick, expansive new windows, and a modern cedar fence.  Wow!  The home sits on a corner, and that deck provides captivating views of the surrounding mountains and downtown Salt Lake City.  Plus, it's for sale. 

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This is a new model home in Daybreak, a planned community in South Jordan (about 35 minutes from downtown Salt Lake City).  With the exception of some urban townhomes and condos, Daybreak homes haven't been modern, but they're all Energy Star.  However, Garbett Homes had some home designs put together by KTGY Group and built two of them as model homes.  This is Style A (see Style B).  These modern homes will be replicated with different interior and exterior options on a street in Daybreak.

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Daybreak is a thoughtful community in South Jordan (about 35 minutes from downtown Salt Lake City), and all their homes have a certain level of character that you just can't find with most new construction in the city.  Up until now, Daybreak homes haven't been modern, although all of them are Energy Star.  But Garbett Homes recently built two modern model homes, and this is Style B (see Style A).  The home was designed by KTGY Group and will be replicated with different interior and exterior options on a street in Daybreak.

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In July or at Dwell on Design, you may have heard about the launch of Hometta, a collective of architects and builders offering affordable, modern home plans online.  The collective may just be on to something interesting.  Opting to differentiate from the myriad other house plan providers, Hometta is focusing on small, sustainable, modern home design.  And all house plans adhere to a set of criteria, or the following principles:

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