Green Blog Media

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• Houses that solve global warming.
• Green buildings may boost occupant health.
• Reasons why we don’t have car-free hoods yet.
• Some builders warming to green standards.
• Building green begins with a light bulb.
• How green is your hotel?
• 3-D printing.

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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.

The Little Easy (Emerging Professional)

The Little Easy was designed by FreeGreen.com and ZeroEnergy Design for an elderly resident on a fixed income. The energy-efficient home features and open kitchen and living room, a chair lift and spacious front patio, and rainwater harvesting for the vertical garden and planter beds.

RAMPed UP (Emerging Professional)

The RAMPed UP house was designed by a team from Buro Happold Consulting Engineers and Rogers Marvel Architects. The home features a rainscreen facade, building integrated shades, and several elements aimed at accessibility.

E.A.S.Y. House (Student Team)

The E.A.S.Y. House – Efficiency, Accessibility, Safety, You – was designed by a single Carnegie Mellon architecture student, Wuijoon Ha. The home features operable skylights, a green roof, and a wheelchair lift.

Greenboy Design (Student Team)

The Greenboy Design was designed by a team from the University of Hawaii and features a side entry that splits the home on each side and a design that incorporates passive ventilation.

[+] More on the USGBC 2010 Natural Talent Design Competition. 

Images via Open Architecture Network.

Earlier this year, Metl-Span introduced CFR Insul-Solar, which is a roof-integrated photovoltaic system that combines the company’s CFR insulated standing seam roof panel with UNI-Solar thin film solar laminates.

The system, which comes with a 20-year warranty, includes solar installed on the roofing, cable trays, and all the electrical parts.  Metl-Span says the payback could be 10 years or less, depending on the state. 

The CFR Insul-Solar is available in panel module widths of 36″ to 42″, panel thicknesses of 2″ to 6″, and panel lengths of 8′ to 53′.  The CFR panel provides an insulation value of R8 per inch, and Metl-Span has 11 pre-designed roof systems ranging in size from 1.5 kW to 120 kW. 

[+] Get more info on CFR Insul-Solar from Metl Span.

Credits: Metl-Span.

I just recently learned of this contemporary retreat designed by CCS Architecture for an eight-person family.  The 2,800 square-foot home sits on a picturesque, 20-acre site nestled about five miles inland from the beach town of Aptos, California.  It’s a vacation place, which some of you won’t think is all that green, but the owners and design team worked to make the $1.8 million project a low-impact one. 

Aptos Retreat has an interesting mixture of wood, stone, steel, concrete, and glass, which provides a contemporary but rustic vibe.  There’s reclaimed barn wood siding, Corten steel roofing, and abundant operable windows. 

The kitchen features a large walnut slab island, eye-catching custom cabinetry, and cedar wall paneling.  At the same time, a solar thermal system is used to warm water for the regular use, radiant floor heating, and pool heating. 

Also, the design has a south-facing orientation for passive solar gain and natural ventilation shafts for passive cooling.  Together with skylights and numerous high-performance windows, there isn’t much need for artificial lighting during the day.  However, when there is, the owners use halogen, incandescent, and fluorescent lighting. 

The owners, when away from San Francisco, now use this reclaimed style retreat for partying, cooking, swimming, gardening, and getting together. 

[+] Get more info on this Family Retreat in Aptos, California.

Credits: CCS Architecture.

I’ve always loved recycled paper countertops and recently noticed ShetkaStone from All Paper Recycling.  SketkaStone is made with old paper and can be used in countertops, vanities, sills, and moldings.  It will also hold up to use; the manufacturer told me in an email that no other similar product on the market “can match our durability.”

Which is a bold statement.  The product is made in Minnesota with post-consumer and post-industrial cardboard, newsprint, and retired United States currency.  

Depending on the binding agents used, SketkaStone will have anywhere from 55-90% total recycled content.  It can be sealed with a no-VOC finish and is water resistant, stain resistant, scratch resistant, and fire rated.

The material is available in three finishes, gloss, satin, and matte, as well as seven standard colors (and a number of custom colors, too).  All projects are finish fabricated and shipped from Le Center, Minnesota.

ShetkaStone is also recyclable.  Some people say that’s not a big deal, but in the future, the company will recycle old ShetkaStone surfaces into a new ShetkaStone product.  In other words, there’s an opportunity to keep this out of the waste stream.

[+] Get more info on Recycled Paper ShetkaStone.

Credits: All Paper Recycling.

I’ve always loved recycled paper countertops and recently noticed ShetkaStone from All Paper Recycling.  SketkaStone is made with old paper and can be used in countertops, vanities, sills, and moldings.  It will also hold up to use; the manufacturer told me in an email that no other similar product on the market “can match our durability.”

Which is a bold statement.  The product is made in Minnesota with post-consumer and post-industrial cardboard, newsprint, and retired United States currency.  

Depending on the binding agents used, ShetkaStone will have anywhere from 55-90% total recycled content.  It can be sealed with a no-VOC finish and is water resistant, stain resistant, scratch resistant, and fire rated.

The material is available in three finishes, gloss, satin, and matte, as well as seven standard colors (and a number of custom colors, too).  All projects are finish fabricated and shipped from Le Center, Minnesota.

ShetkaStone is also recyclable.  Some people say that’s not a big deal, but in the future, the company will recycle old ShetkaStone surfaces into a new ShetkaStone product.  In other words, there’s an opportunity to keep this out of the waste stream.

[+] Get more info on Recycled Paper ShetkaStone.

Credits: All Paper Recycling.

A reader was kind enough to send us listing information on this contemporary home that’s located three blocks from Kehena Beach in Hawaii.  The home has two masses separated by a breezeway — one side has the living, dining, kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom, while the other side has the master suite and bathroom.  It was built to a Built Green 2-Star level of certification and includes some of the following green elements:

• Rainwater collection;
• Natural ventilation and ceiling fans (no AC);
• Efficient CFL and LED lighting; 
• Energy Star appliances;
• Low-VOC paints throughout;
• Cork flooring and Trex decking;
• Durable metal roofing with radiant barrier;
• On-demand water heating; and
• Retaining wall designed for vegetable beds. 

This home is located in Puna, where residents tend to value low-impact and off-grid style living.  Indeed, although the home draws power from the grid, all of the water comes from an on-site rainwater catchment system

Designed by Bob Kirk and built by Asher Trimble, it’s currently listed for $279,900, which includes 972 square feet of interior
space, 326 square feet of outdoor covered space, and a 1/4 acre lot in
tropical landscape setting. 

[+] Get more info on this Modern Green Home in Hawaii. 

Credits: Green Modern Hawaii.

Dave Brach, architect of the first Passive House in Utah, and Benchmark Modern, builder of this modern LEED home, are working on a new project in Park City called Zevon.  The home, which is under construction right now, is being built – for the most part – to Passive House standards and will seek LEED Platinum certification when completed.

Specifically, Zevon should meet the airtightness, cooling demand, and total energy demand requirements of Passive House, though it will come up a little short on the heat demand requirements, according to Grassroots Modern.

I had the opportunity to talk to Garth Hare of Benchmark Modern about the project and got the feeling Zevon is on the cutting edge.  The Sungazing House, also in Park City, is seeking both Passive House and LEED Platinum certification, so these two homes, Zevon and Sungazing, should make for some interesting talk in the area.

So far, we know Zevon will have Warmboard radiant heating, a Zehnder heat recovery ventilator, and some ultra-efficient windows.  Below is a link to Benchmark Modern’s blog documenting construction progress, if you’re interested in more detail.

[+] Follow construction progress via Benchmark Modern. 

Credits: Brach Design. 

Let’s say you get a lot of floor traffic or you have a kid that jabs Hot Wheels into the ground.  Maybe you have a dog that runs in circles, and you want a strong wood floor.  You’ll probably look for a high Janka number — a measure of hardness — to find something that will hold up against denting and wear.  You might even consider this hardened strand woven floor from Cali Bamboo, which took home a 5,000+ pound score in recent tests.

Janka testing measures the force required to stick a steel ball into wood to the ball’s halfway point.  For example, it takes roughly 100 pounds of force with a weaker wood like balsa and about 3,600 pounds of force with a harder wood like ipe. 

Professional Service Industries, Inc, tested HD Fossilized Bamboo Flooring at more than 5,000 pounds of force.  Cali Bamboo, which also makes Lumboo Bamboo, says its strand woven flooring is a good choice when “indestructible floor is desired.“

For those chasing certification, this product may contribute to LEED credits in a number of areas, including for using rapidly renewable materials, low emitting materials, certified wood, and regionally-sourced wood.  Pricing starts at just under $4 per square foot.  

[+] See all Fossilized Bamboo Floor from Cali Bamboo.

Credits: Cali Bamboo. 

Edwin Blue is a new company out of Missouri that makes modern outdoor furniture.  The company’s first collection, Rise,
includes chaises, lounge chairs, stools, side tables, and dining
tables, etc.  Each piece is handmade in America with steel,
sinker cypress (or FSC-certified machiche from Guatemala if a hardwood
is desired), and wood finishes free of heavy metal, petroleum, and VOCs.  Visit Edwin Blue for more on this warm, sleek collection.

[+] Get more info on Handmade Modern Edwin Blue. 

Credits: Edwin Blue.