Earlier this month, Hardwick G.C. of Orlando received a Multifamily Remodeling Project of the Year award from the NAHB for converting an old single-family bungalow into a green duplex.  The existing 1920s home was about 800 square feet, and the renovation added about 250 square feet and a garage.  In addition, an attached home of about 2150 square feet (and its own garage) was added to the rear and second floor.  Here are some of the green features of Amherst Place:

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In Bainbridge Island, Washington, there's a slick modern home under construction that was designed by Coates Design for owners Ed and Joanne Ellis.  Although Seattle has roughly 13 LEED Platinum homes as of today, the Ellis Residence has been designed to achieve LEED Platinum and could be the first single-family residence in the Western Puget Sound region to achieve such a lofty designation.  As you can tell from these renderings, the home has a number of active, passive, and green elements in store:

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Three of the six homes at Madison Street just received LEED Platinum certification, making them the first Platinum certified homes in Tennessee.  Developed and designed by Christian Rushing and built by Collier Construction, this modern green project recently received the award of Green Development of the Year by the American Planning Association's Tennessee Chapter.  Rushing says it doesn't cost more to build green, it just requires better decisions and smarter skills.  Here are a few of the homes' green features:

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This is a guest contribution from Deborah Cameron, a designer / project manager who was on the design team for Cave Avenue Homes.  Deborah also lives in this co-op community.

In Banff National Park in Western Alberta lies a 19-unit residential housing project called Cave Avenue Co-operative Homes.  Cave Avenue was designed by one of the most prestigious architectural firms in North America, William McDonough + Partners.  Completed in 2005, the project was built to LEED Silver certification.  Cave Avenue has a light footprint with some of the following sustainable features:

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The Guardian just published an interesting article about the world's first Active House.  An Active House, as compared to a super low-energy Passive House, is a highly efficient home that captures more energy than the occupants need for heat and power.  In particular, this Denmark Active House should generate enough electricity over 30 years to cancel out the energy costs of building it.  And it operates like a machine: a computer monitors the temperature and climate of the interior and opens, closes, and adjusts windows accordingly. 

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