Just look at the before and after photos of this green home and you'll see a couple critical renovation strategies: (1) get rid of water-sucking grass without making your landscaping look crazy, and (2) keep the same size and scale of your home rather than building it into a monstrosity.  This home, located at 8020 S.W. Elmwood Street in Southwest Portland, is expected to receive the rare designation of LEED Platinum certification and is now listed for sale at $850,000.  Here are some of its green elements:

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There's a conundrum in the green building world that a lot of people are working on.  They're trying to figure out how to building homes that are both sustainable and affordable — homes that most of us can approach.  I could rattle off a list of folks working on this, and Habitat for Humanity would certainly be at the top.  We just mentioned how a Michigan branch of Habitat for Humanity designed and built a LEED Platinum affordable home; and now according to The Oregonian, two Habitat homes in Portland are seeking LEED Platinum certification.  The goal with these homes, like the Michigan home, was to test out various green strategies and technology for affordability.  Here's a little more background:

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This classic American home is the end result of smart planning, high performance materials, and passive design techniques.  Designed on a $100,000 dollar budget by the Michigan firm of Dominick Tringali Architects, the project is set to be a prototype for the next generation of Habitat for Humanity homes.  Lets take a closer look…

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Design/build firm Aquidneck Fine Properties is getting ready for their next project called Swede Hill.  Designed by Estes/Twombly, the green home will be planted on an incredible patch of ocean-front land on Block Island, Rhode Island.  Aquidneck is seeking LEED Silver for the 3000 square foot home, which will be complete a little over a year from now.  I thought it would be nice to preview Swede Hill, since many of our readers favor the less modern of green homes.  In any event, here are some of the planned green features:

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Just recently, the new headquarters for the Barton Group was awarded LEED Platinum, a noteworthy achievement for an historic building originally built in 1865.  The building appears to be only the seventh Platinum building in New York (and the 105th in the country) and was a finalist for ED+C's 2008 Excellence in Design Awards.  The 16,000 square foot building now has a green roof, energy-efficient windows, a raised floor for air and electrical, a rainwater collection system, and a number of other green features:

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