Jay Hicks didn’t miss a beat when he lost his South Carolina cabin to a fire. He decided to build off of the 80-year-old original structure’s partial wall that had remained standing and devised a plan to have Addison Homes design and build a high-performance, energy efficient home that would have an old-world charm.

Fitting the floor plan to the topography and granite subsurface of the site that is located near Caesars Head State Park, Todd Usher, president of Addison Homes, directed workers to follow the flow of the rock shelf and form a foundation of concrete footings made of recycled content. Rigid foam insulation that was placed under the slab serves as a thermal break. The structure is oriented to benefit from passive solar heating and natural daylighting.

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One of twenty teams that have been chosen to compete in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2013 competition, Team Texas is comprised of eighty students from multiple disciplines at University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and El Paso Community College.

Their submission is the $250,000 ADAPT home, a single family dwelling that takes on the unique challenges of the Far West Texas region where a high temperatures, low humidity, an average rainfall of eight inches a year, and strong winds can create a harsh and dusty environment in the Chihuahua desert that features mountain plateaus, high deserts, chaparrals, and verdant farmland. Taking cues from desert flora and fauna, ADAPT is an acronym for Accommodate, Design, Adjust, Provide, and Transform.

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Dubbed BARNagain,  this LEED Platinum-certified home was designed by Rick Hauser of In.Site:Architecture to meet the client’s request for an energy-efficient house that utilized materials from a deteriorating barn for its structure and skin.

The main structural elements of the home were built using timber frames, while reclaimed barn siding served as the exterior skin. Salvaged barn framing was also used for flooring, ceilings, drywall, and decking.

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One of the twenty-one projects that have been named as winners by REMODELING magazine in the 2013 Remodeling Design Awards, the Shornecliffe Residence gets its recognition in the category, Green Remodeling Over $250,000. The sustainable renovation of the 1914 arts-and-crafts-styled home has achieved it a LEED for Homes Gold rating.

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An entry in the Solar Decathlon 2013 competition, Ecohabit is a project of a cross-disciplinary group of sixty Stevens Institute of Technology students with expertise it the areas of engineering, design, computer science, and the technological aspects of business, visual arts, and music.

The Stevens Team, only one of twenty that were selected to compete in this year’s Solar Decathlon, states that its mission is to create an innovative home that utilizes green technology to revolutionize renewable energy and sustainable living strategies and practices.

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When young Alex Finnell was challenged by his parents to design an “age in place” home for them and his 95-year old grandmother, he set about helping them to achieve their goal of living in their own home late into their retirement years while being as safe, independent, and comfortable as possible.

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