This home is the first LEED Platinum certified home in the Sacramento area.  Located in Folsom, this "Home of the Future" is the product of a collaboration between BP Solar, OCR Solar & Roofing, R.J. Walter Homes, and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District.  Working together, the focus of the home was to design it using state-of-the-art energy efficient materials.  It has dual pane windows, solar-assisted hot water and space heating, LED lighting, energy efficient appliances, and advanced framing and insulation. 

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How good would a chicken (or veggie, if that’s your style) burrito bowl taste, knowing that it’s been cooked by the power of on-site green energy?  I haven’t tried one yet, but I can only imagine … Chipotle Mexican Grill will be opening a green restaurant in Gurnee, Illinois, which restaurant features a prominent six-kilowatt wind turbine.  Although mostly a symbol for the company’s efforts to create more environmentally friendly store designs, the turbine will generate ~10% of the store’s power.  The Gurnee Chipotle will have some of the following green features:

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Justin Timberlake (you know: singer, actor, songwriter, producer, etc.) is a single-digit-handicap golfer, and loves the sport.  Recently, he noticed that the first course he ever played golf on as a kid was going up for auction for development.  Originally called Woodstock Hills, Timberlake was able to buy Big Creek with a consortium of owners.  Soon after purchase, Timberlake discovered he could "green" the course, so he decided to build the upscale clubhouse, cart cottage, and maintenance facility to LEED Platinum certification standards. 

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Maybe you’ve never considered living in a cohousing* situation, but some of the greenest neighborhoods in the country are trying to use this pattern of living for their communities.  The images in this article show a peaceful, cohousing condominium community called Nubanusit Neighborhood & Farm.  Nubanusit is located in Peterborough, New Hampshire, and all the homes will be super green — that is, if they’re all not LEED Platinum certified.  Imagine that: 29 homes on 70 rolling acres and all of them are LEED Platinum certified!

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Earlier this month, the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design announced a total of 66 buildings as winners of the prestigious and coveted American Architecture Awards program.  One of those buildings was Tom Eliot Fisch’s and LMN Architects‘ design for the City College of San Francisco’s (CCSF) new performing arts center.  As you can tell from the rendering, it’s going to be a beautiful, contemporary structure with tons of green features and natural lighting.  Scheduled to be complete in Spring 2010, the performing arts center will target LEED Gold certification with some of the following features:

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