Holy Cross Project Show House Now a Reality [NOLA]

Showhouse

We talked about renderings and plans for the Holy Cross Project back in August last year, but it’s now becoming a reality.  The first home is finished and Global Green plans to open it to the public this coming May.  When finished, the entire project will have four more homes and a 18-unit apartment complex — all of it low-income and green, too.  Global Green is shooting for LEED Platinum on everything and expects homes to use 75% less energy than a similar, typical building. 

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By |April 15th, 2008|Affordable, LEED, Modern architecture, Single Family|2 Comments
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The Real World Hollywood's Green Digs [PICS]

Kitchen2

In a break from the blue suit and red tie mentality here at JG, I thought I would share this news about The Real World Hollywood’s green digs.  Think MTV teamed up with Bunim-Murray Productions to green the next, certain-to- be-dramatic installment of the show.  It’ll be the first time they’ve gone with green finish outs for the show.  The greenly decorated house includes environmentally friendly products ranging from solar panels and hybrid cars, to bamboo flooring, energy efficient appliances, and a number of recycled and reused products around the house.  No word on product specifics, but here you go — feel free to play name that green product in the comments if you notice something in the pictures.

I’ll also add that I think this news definitely stands for two things: (1) green is here, and (2) green is mainstream.  Any perspective?

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By |April 10th, 2008|Materials, Modern design|0 Comments
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American Clay Earth Plaster, a Natural Solution to Wall Treatment

American Clay

American Clay creates a natural plaster product for your walls, ceilings, and even fireplaces.  It's a wonderful, environmentally friendly alternative to cement, gypsum, acrylic, and lime plasters. American Clay is made in the USA from American materials including natural clays, recycled and reclaimed aggregates, and vibrant natural pigments.  The look is beautiful, textured, earthy, simple, and elegant. 

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By |April 8th, 2008|Materials|6 Comments
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iT House Off-Grid, High Desert Prefab

iT House

So I stumbled upon the iT House construction blog and was completely blown away by the documentation they’re posting.  It’s an incredible little home that was designed by Taalman Koch for a five-acre lot in the high desert.  It’ll be a model home and completely off-grid.  There’s an on-site septic tank, 2500 gallon domestic water tank, and eight solar PV panels by Evergreen — and the home is just the right size, too.

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By |April 8th, 2008|Prefab, Single Family, Solar|0 Comments
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Cyprus Full Circle – a Fluid Four-Home Project

Cyprus Full Circle Development

Something about this project is just too compelling to not blog about it.  Designed by Iosa Ghini Associati for the distant island of Cyprus, the plan calls for four family houses in the residential district in Nicosia.  The fluid, organic shape of the project ties each unit together.  When complete, Cyprus Full Circle will have a number of green design elements, including low-E glass panels, adjustable solar panels, rainwater capture and recycling, and heating storage for the winter.  The external walls also will be treated with photo catalytic concrete, which will transform harmful organic and non-organic matters into harmless compounds.  Anti-VOC architecture?  Incredible.

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By |April 7th, 2008|Modern architecture, Multifamily|0 Comments
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[Video] Peter DeMaria Talks About Cargo Container Design and Sustainability

In this interview, G Living sits down with Peter DeMaria to talk about his work using containers in modern home design and construction.  I was really impressed with DeMaria — he tells you everything you ever wanted to know about container architecture and talks about scalability, sustainability, mold, termites, insulation, design, etc.  If you're thinking about using containers in your project, the ones mentioned in this interview cost about $900 – $2500 and are about 320 sf per unit.  Great video!

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By |April 6th, 2008|Container Design, Materials, Modern architecture, Recycled|17 Comments
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