This container structure was on display earlier this month at Abitare il Tempo in Verona, Italy. The architects, Studio Astori De Ponti Associati, used discarded containers to build a home that is meant to “propose an alternative starting point for reflection,” as opposed to “a definitive and absolute solution to the question of sustainability.”
Today, the most viewed and emailed article on the NY Times is one on Passive House, “Can we Build in a Brighter Shade of Green?“ The concept of Passive House has been growing in popularity over the last eight years or so, especially in green building circles. These homes are ultra energy-efficient and, with some on-site energy generation, can be energy neutral or energy producing.
Blue Sky Homes, maker of modern, green, steel homes, recently announced a new infusion of funding and, with that, a new website, new pricing, and new projects slated for construction this fall.
The California company first built a modern home in Yucca Valley, which by the way is open for reserved tours on October 23, and now has a pipeline of subsequent homes in various stages of construction.
This month, Modular builder Keiser Homes and architecture firm Kaplan Thompson Architects launched the net zero energy series of modular homes called the "Modular Zero Collection." These homes have been designed to use the smallest amount of energy possible and, if purchasers opt for solar hot water and solar photovoltaics, can produce as much energy as is consumed on an annual basis.
The USGBC recently held a competition for the design of an affordable, single-family house with between 720 and 880 square feet that meets the requirements of LEED Platinum certification. Local chapters chose 49 designs and a national jury picked two professional finalists and two student finalists. These four designs will be built in the Broadmoor neighborhood of New Orleans by enviRenew.
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