Green Building : Jetson Green

Edible Portland Platinum Green Home

The last time we mentioned Green Hammer Construction, it was in regards to a nice green renovation, which just so happens to be for sale right now.  These days, the company has just finished building another green home that’s located in West Linn.  The 1,867 square-foot residence is waiting for LEED Platinum certification, an amazing feat even considering the fact that approximately eighteen other homes in Portland have already received the designation.  In some cities, high performance green design and construction is fast becoming the standard.  Here are some of its green features:

Probably Platinum Modern UR 45 Home

Just a quick jaunt north of Dallas right off of Central Expressway, there's a small community called Urban Reserve.  In Urban Reserve, all the homes are modern and sustainably designed -- the minimum standards require Energy Star and a HERS of at least an 80.  This home is just one of several architecturally unique homes in the development.  Referred to as UR 45, it was designed by Shipley Architects for an executive of the development company, Rick Fontenot.  And according to GreenSource, the architect and owner are aiming for LEED Platinum. 

A Smart Green Living Zero Home

This is the Living Zero Home, which was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy and built by All American Homes.  The home was on display in Chicago last weekend and will move to about fifteen other destinations throughout the year, including Louisville, Greensboro, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Dallas, Phoenix, and Denver, among other cities.  The modern demonstration home features a Smart Living System -- both an energy management and home monitoring tool -- which helps owners save money and provides an alert for potential problems, such as a water pipe leak.  The home includes a number of other green elements, too:

Efficient Modern Passive House in Utah

There's a new site called Our Passive House, where the owners are documenting the design and construction of the first Passive House in Utah.  It just so happens that I live in the same general neighborhood, so we'll try to present a follow up article when the home is complete.  Owners Joe and Rebecca, available on Twitter @ourpassivehouse, hired Brach Design, Utah's first certified Passive House consultant, to design the home.

Georgia Manufactured Home Gets LEED Platinum, Skips Costly Green Gizmos

When you think of manufactured homes, you might think of the ranch house with vinyl siding that you gingerly pass on the interstate as it travels on the back of a wide-load truck.  You might also think about a LEED Platinum home and imagine a roof spotted with photovoltaic panels, windmill in the front yard, and geothermal dug deep into the ground.  The newest offering from New World Home turns both of these ideas on their heads.

LionForce ecoLiving Custom Green Home

San Antonio-based LionForce built this efficient home as a prototype for their ecoLiving System -- a web-based configurator that will help homeowners design homes and build them through a national network of certified building partners.  LionForce says their homes are efficient, healthy, low-maintenance, quickly constructed, and cost effective.  This first prototype home, the T-2 home, has already received a 2009 Green Building Award from the City of San Antonio (in the custom home under 2,200 square feet category). 

A New Lazor Designed Dwell Home

Some of you old school prefab enthusiasts may be interested in knowing that a brand new Dwell Home designed by Charlie Lazor (i.e., also doing the Flatpak House) is for sale in Sausalito, California.  61 Wolfback Ridge was just completed this year.  The 4,200 square foot home contains 5 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, and an additional 2,400 square feet of decks and outdoor spaces.  It can be yours for current price of $3,650,000. 

The Ultimate Modern Desert House

The July/August issue of Dwell brings us this beautiful desert home in Pioneertown, California (not too far from Three Junipers, actually).  The home was designed by architect Lloyd Russell for Jim Austin, an entrepreneur who wanted something simple.  The functional home of 1,600 square feet is what Austin calls, “the ultimate desert structure.”  It’s built with recycled and durable materials, as well as a prominent steel canopy that shelters and shades the home.

Green Cubed Modern Eco Lux Home

This is the Green Cubed house, which was designed by Nelse Design + Build.  Located on an infill lot in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood of Seattle, the 5-star home was recently the superstar of a Green Built home tour.  And for those in the area, this modern, single-family home is listed for sale for $900,00, which includes four bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms in a 2,667 square-foot package.  Some of its many green features include the following:

Vibrant Columbia City Green Homes

Columbia City Green is a Case Design + Project Management development of two homes in the Columbia City neighborhood of Seattle.  The grand opening for this first home was last weekend, and Case Architects was kind enough to provide these interior and exterior photos.  It's Built Green certified and includes three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, and a bonus room -- all for the price of $699,000 (if still available).  In addition to the vibrant green CertainTeed Fiber Cement siding, the home features a number of other green products and elements: