This is an affordable green home that is also the first, LEED-H Platinum, single-family home in Ohio.  In addition, the home is said to be the first in state to feature both solar thermal and photovoltaic solar panels on one roof.  It's beautiful and traditional — definitely the kind of home our non-modern readers dream about — and accented by a leisurely large front porch.  If you're in the area, there's an open house on Thursday, May 21, 2009; if you're not, we have some great photos to give you a peek inside.  Check out its green features:

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Autodesk recently completed tenant improvements at their new headquarters building on the East Coast. The company retained the services of KlingStubbins and Tocci Building Companies to design and build the interior to a LEED Platinum level of certification using LEED-CI.  The result is modern office structure with abundant natural light and, of course, plenty of style.  My favorite design element is the custom, prefabricated millwork explained in the YouTube video below.

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This beautiful and traditional home is the first LEED Platinum home in Connecticut.  The three bedroom and two bathroom home was designed/built by Jim and Mark Picton, or Picton Brothers, LLC, and was profiled last month by the new folks at GreenBuildingAdvisor.  It's the kind of home that prioritizes design first and expensive green technology second.  Picton Brothers went with a super-insulated envelope — R40 in the walls and R60 in the roof — which definitely helped the home earn a HERS score of 30, Five Star + Energy Star rating, and of course, the LEED Platinum certification.  Check out some of this home's other green elements:

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If you didn’t win the Dream Home, you now have another chance to win a home.  The HGTV Green Home 2009 contest is slated to begin on April 17, so get your bookmarks ready.  We mentioned the HGTV Green Home 2008, which was actually a handsome home, and thought we ought to give it a go this year, too.  The design is kind of, well, they’re calling it modern Spanish-style architecture.  The $700,000 home was designed by Carlson Studio Architects, and the Herald Tribune reports that it already received LEED Platinum certification.  Impressive.

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This week, the west expansion of the Vancouver Convention Centre celebrates its grand opening, and we thought you should know a little about this incredible facility.  Designed by Seattle's LMN Architects, as well as MCM and DA, the green convention center's most visual feature is the massive, six-acre green roof.  It's Canada's largest and the biggest non-industrial living roof in North America!  Set directly on the waterfront of Burrard Inlet, the west expansion is 1.2 million square feet and seriously enlarges the city's ability to provide greener conference space.  Here are some of its green features:

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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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