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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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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Back in January of this year, I posted an article about the stylish, affordable GreenMobile® design by Mississippi State University Professor Michael Berk.  Since that time, I’ve received countless emails and a few comments (aside: why do readers email rather than comment?) asking when the GreenMobile® would be available for purchase.  So I’ve come to realize that people, including myself, really want to buy a GreenMobile.  I mean, it’s kind of cool.  The demand for affordable, modern living is really quite incredible (see: 100k House, e-House, Make It Right, etc).  But the long and short is, I emailed Professor Berk and he was nice enough to extensively respond via the below email, which I’ve edited slightly for formatting. 

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I keep an eye on things in the UK because, for some reason, I have this feeling that they’re focusing more on sustainability than we are.  I mean, they’re not necessarily talking about green this or green that, they’re talking about lifecycle of materials and carbon emissions.  This super luxury eco-home, for instance, was designed with lifecycle in mind.  Designed by ZedFactory, the, ahem, 7535 sf home has received Bath (UK) planning permission and should be complete within about a year.  It will feature efficient insulation, solar orientation, thermal mass, and earth sheltering to minimize energy consumption.

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