Charles Pickering, the founder and CEO of architectural and engineering firm Pickering Associates, recently received a LEED-Platinum rating for his project at 12 Faith Meadows in Williamstown, WV. This is the first LEED Platinum certified home in West Virginia, and boasts of 11 kWDC of generation capacity. The solar system is located in an optimal array on the house and garage roof, and provides all the energy usage needs for the household, with some to sell back through the power grid. The house received a LEED Point Score of 113 and a HERS rating of .43.

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The Oakland, CA Merritt Crossing Senior Apartments consist of 70 units, which are reserved for senior citizens with incomes between 30 and 50 percent of the area’s median income. Over half of the apartments in the complex are reserved for the homeless, those at risk of homelessness, or those living with HIV/AIDS. The project was named one of the top ten green projects by AIA COTE in 2013. The building has received the LEED Platinum certification, as well as the Build It Green and Energy Star certifications.

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Winners of the Solar Decathlon China 2013, Team UOW (of University of Wollongong and TAFE Illawarra Institute) was the first Australian team to have ever won a place in a Solar Decathlon final and was the largest student-run competition that the UoW has ever entered.

Hosted by the United States Department of Energy, the Chinese National Energy Administration, and Peking University, Solar Decathlon China 2013 challenged 24 teams from 14 countries to design, build, and operate a solar-powered home that is energy efficient, cost effective to build, and appealing. Categories in which entries are judged include architecture, engineering, solar application, energy balance, market appeal, home entertainment, and appliances.

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The Keith family from Elizabethtown, KY was disappointed with the short lifespan of classic asphalt shingles covering their roof. Only six years after the last replacement, they were once again forced to reroof. Looking for a longer lasting and more sustainable solution, they opted for seam metal panels made by Metal Sales. These metal panels are durable, elegant, energy efficient and sustainable.

The Keith residence is a modern Mediterranean style home with a taupe-colored stone exterior and dark bronze accents on windows and doors. Aesthetically, the metal roofing panels blend in with the other design elements of the house perfectly. The Keith’s roof was covered by 110 squares of Metal Sales’ 24 gauge, 16” wide Vertical Seam panels with a PVDF (Kynar 500®) finish in the Dark Bronze color. Since the metal panels come in a variety of colors, the homeowners where able to choose the color that best complements the exterior color scheme of their home.

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Early last month, Canada got its first recycled shipping container housing development. It is located in the Downtown Eastside area of Vancouver, at 502 Alexander St. The housing project was developed by Atira Women’s Resource Society, which wanted to create affordable and quality non-market housing units to be rented out to older women.

The housing development is comprised of 12 studio units, each with a net living area of 280 – 290 square feet. All of the units are entirely self-contained, complete with bathrooms, kitchens and an in-suite laundry. With its colorful navy blue and burnt orange exterior walls, the housing blends in perfectly with the other building in the neighborhood.

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