7 Amazing Handmade Eco-Friendly Homes

Long before anyone thought of the term ‘green building’, there were handmade houses created with sustainability, respect for the land, and the pride of creating something by oneself as high priorities. Such handmade houses have been around since the dawn of man, but they saw a resurgence – and a new wave of creativity – starting in the 1960s.

The home shown above is one of many featured in the book ‘Handmade Houses: A Guide to Woodbutcher’s Art.’ Now out of print, this cult favorite features everything from tiny cabins to gigantic treehouses, all made by hand in Northern California in the 60s and 70s.

Dug into a hillside in Wales, this low-impact woodland home combines some of the aesthetics from those California homes with partially underground ‘Hobbit House’ feel. Mud and tree trunks from the property, as well as lots of straw bales and lime plaster, were the main materials used in addition to plastic roof sheeting, wooden pallet floors and junkyard finds like windows and wiring.

Built primarily by a man and his father, this handmade woodland home was built with just a handful of common tools like a chainsaw, hammer and chisel. All told, it cost just £3000. Plans and many more photos are available at the website.

Another low-budget but charming eco dwelling is Steve James’ Scotland home, which bore a price tag of roughly £4,000 along with a lot of hard work and ingenuity. In fact, James says he could have saved about £1,000 if he had cut the wood himself instead of going to a sawmill. It took the software engineer about 10 months to build and he now has a website, envisioneer.net, which guides others through the process.

Back in the ‘70s, a man named Michael Reynolds began building what he called ‘earthships’ in New Mexico, self-sufficient passive-solar home made out of recycled and natural materials. The central building blocks of these off-grid homes are recycled car tires filled with local soil. The tires, along with recycled glass bottles and aluminum cans, absorb heat during the day and radiate it into the homes once the temperature drops.

Eliphante is a handmade home built by Michael Kahn and Leda Livant in Cornville, Arizona beginning in 1979. Kahn and Livant created the home over 28 years using mostly found materials. As the couple stacked stone, created complex driftwood arches and glass mosaics and arranged recycled and reclaimed materials in free-flowing patterns, a shape reminiscent of an elephant emerged – hence the name.

Eliphante is a work of art in itself – a strange, meandering, dreamlike work of art peppered with the surreal and incongruous, like the astroturf that lines the yard. See more photos at Eliphante.org.

Perhaps the strangest of the many amazing handmade houses in the world is the ‘Mystery Castle’. One day in 1927, Boyce Luther Gulley got some bad news: he had tuberculosis, and if he didn’t leave Seattle, it would kill him fast. Gulley walked out of his doctor’s office and disappeared.

Then, fifteen years later, his daughter was contacted by a lawyer in Arizona: she apparently owned a home there. Gulley had spent the remainder of his life creating an 18-room mansion made of stone, adobe, car parts and other natural and recycled materials. Furthermore, when he left Seattle that day, he walked all the way to Arizona. His daughter had asked him shortly before his diagnosis if he would build her a castle, and he did.

Who’s Who in Green: Michael Reynolds

Driving through New Mexico, at one point or another you’re bound to see one: those strange structures built half into the earth, with a bunch of old dirt-packed tires forming the front wall. These ‘earthships’ are incredibly efficient off-grid homes using passive solar energy, thermal mass construction and natural and recycled materials to be as environmentally friendly as possible.

Michael Reynolds founded Earthship Biotecture, a company that specializes in designing and building Earthships, in the 1970s. He wanted to create a home that was not only sustainable, but also mostly self-sufficient and within financial reach of the average person. Earthships generally cost between $50,000 to $100,000 and can be built by just about anyone, regardless of whether they have any previous experience.

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Over time, Reynolds began to incorporate technology like solar panels, wind turbines and geothermal cooling, making the homes even more efficient. And, earthships aren’t limited to tires. Reynolds also designed many similar buildings that used other recycled materials like aluminum cans and glass bottles.

Reynolds’ process of developing his earthship concept has largely been based on trial and error. After each one that he builds, he comes up with improvements that can be applied to the next one. The experimental nature of Reynolds’ homes has not exactly made for smooth sailing – he lost his credentials in the 1990s after several buyers filed lawsuits and complaints over defects like leaky roofs. However, his license has since been reinstated.

Reynolds has also applied this natural and sustainable building concept to multi-unit rentals, making them even more accessible to the public. He is also the subject of a documentary called ‘Garbage Warriors‘, which follows him for three years as he builds earthships around the world and lobbies the government for the right to build a sustainable living test site.

His earthships have inspired a whole new generation of green builders, and they remain some of the most iconic examples of green architecture in the world. Learn more about earthships at EarthshipBiotecture.com.

Michael Reynolds’ Green Score: 34,689

Photo credit: Flickr user cer!se

Snuggles, a Modular Hotel Inspired by Hamster Tunnels

If you’ve ever looked at a hamster tunnel and thought, “Gee, I wish they made these human-sized”, you’re in luck. A German urban design firm has created a modular hotel concept that can be used for camping in the woods, fun on the beach or as an urban residence. And it’s so cozy, they named it ‘SNUGGLES’.

From Inhabitat:

The modular system was intended for use as comfortable, safe housing for travelers to festivals, workshops, or other artistic events. Each unit features a three-sided pod with a window and tunnel access to a central pod with sanitary facilities.

We love that their hotel design uses the barest of resources, and is totally mobile and reconfigurable. The pods can built on stilted platforms, which gives the eco advantage of adapting to their environment without disturbing it. This vertical living configuration could be even more sustainable than camping, with the ability to fit more travelers per square foot of land used.

So now there are human hamster balls, hamster wheels and hamster tunnels. To complete the experience, we just need some clumsy giants to pick us up and squeeze us until our eyeballs bulge, then forget to feed us until we die in a pile of our own feces. Awesome. Sign me up.

Link [Inhabitat]

Vancouver’s Incredible Harvest Green Tower

Vancouver wants to become the most sustainable city in the world, and if concepts like the Harvest Green Tower come to pass, they’ll be well on their way. This incredible vertical farm was designed by Romses Architects as part of the city’s 2030 Challenge, and it would have a tower for growing fruits and vegetables, a livestock grazing plane, a dairy farm, transit lines and more.

From Inhabitat:

The tower consists of interlocking tubes that grow various fruits and vegetables, house chickens and contain an aquaponic fish farm. On top of the vertical growing tower is a rainwater cistern to collect and help water all the plants and animals. At the base of the tower is a livestock grazing plain, as well as a bird habitat and boutique sheep and goat dairy facility. Underneath that is a grocery store, farmer’s market and Harvest Tower Restaurant. Renewable energy is produced from rooftop mounted wind turbines and photovoltaic glazing on the building with the additional help of geothermal heat pumps and methane generation from composting.

Not only would the tower produce local, organic food, but it would also support people with live/work units off to the side of the tower, an educational center, and a seed lab. The base of the tower features a transit hub along with an underground parking lot and shared car co-op. The tower would play an important role in the production of locally grown foods, provide urban employment opportunities and contribute sustainable density to Vancouver.

Structures like this make so much sense. Why import food from hundreds or even thousands of miles away when you can take advantage of tall buildings and grow vertically, right there within the community? It’s exciting to know that soon, concepts like the Harvest Green Tower will be a reality and urban living will become truly sustainable in so many ways.

Link [Inhabitat]

Self-Sustainable City of Green Rings to be Built in South Korea

Gwanggyo, a new city to be built south of Seoul, South Korea, will get a futuristic, green city center designed by Dutch architecture group MVRDV. The town is planned to be self-sufficient, with 77,000 inhabitants, and the buildings in its center will be unlike any others in the world. MVRDV won a competition to design the city center.

From Meta Efficient:

The architects say that all the elements of the city center will be design as rings, and “by pushing these rings outwards, every part of the program receives a terrace for outdoor life.”

Box hedges will be planted on the terraces and roofs of the buildings. The intention is to improve ventilation, and reduce energy and water usage.

The shifting of the floors causes as a counter effect hollow cores that form large atriums. They serve as lobbies for the housing and offices, plazas for the shopping center and halls for the museum and leisure functions. In each tower a number of voids connect to the atrium providing for light and ventilation and creating semi-public spaces.

 

Interesting concept… with the rings of greenery and large glass walls, you feel a connection with the outdoors no matter what floor you’re on. Such a design would practically eliminate the claustrophobic feeling one can get when surrounded by concrete and steel in city environments. Details on exactly how the city would be self-sustainable are thin, but it will be interesting to see how this concept will translate to real life once it’s completed in 2011.

Link [Meta Efficient]

Can a 15,000-Square-Foot Mansion be Green?

It’s indulgent and opulent, with all of the bells and whistles multi-millionaires expect from a seaside mansion in a wealthy Florida community. Dubbed ‘Acqua Liana’, this 15,000-sq-ft megahome has 8 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, 2 elevators, two laundry rooms, two wine cellars, a movie theater and a guest house. It’s also supposedly ‘eco-friendly’, with a state-of-the-art air purification system, reclaimed wood and CFL light fixtures. The home just recently went on the market for an astounding $29 million.

But isn’t the term ‘green mega-mansion’ an oxymoron? How can such a large home ever hope to be truly green?

Inhabitat caught up with the developer responsible for this monstrosity, Frank McKinney, and asked him some tough questions about the supposed greenness of his high-dollar creation.

The average American household consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. How much electricity is Aqua Liana expected to consume? Is there any way to quantify the energy consumption of the house?

Don’t know it in kW but I can tell you in terms of electric bill….for a 15,000-square-foot [house], $4,500 would be the average electric bill.

Our electric bill, when you combine the solar application, the inflated wall panels, the insulation in the attic, our electric bill will be hovering around 800 bucks. That’s a 70% reduction. It’s not that the folks who buy the house can’t afford it, but the footprint they’re leaving is no greater than a half a million dollar house that would be 3,000 to 35,000-square-feet. We’ve signed up for net metering, selling electricity back to the provider. January, February, and March we will have a zero electric bill. The home owner will be credited money toward their future bills. We love the evergreen solar panels. They’re great, they’re efficient, they’re cheaper. Efficiency when it comes to energy is where we’re headed and having an electric bill of zero is in the future.

Read the rest of the interview at Inhabitat and decide for yourself whether this gigantic home is really green.

As for us, we say HELL NO. It’s almost sorta got a green tinge. It’s greener than other excessive mansions typically are, that’s for sure. But a home this large can never be truly green. Sure, rich people who don’t give a shit about the environment are going to continue building ridiculously gigantic homes – and use massive amounts of energy all the while – but this is putting lipstick on a pig, if you’ll permit the tired expression.

Being truly green means using space and resources wisely.  If this home were to be occupied by multiple families, putting every square foot of space to optimal use, that would be one thing. But how much do you wanna bet one spoiled couple with a couple chihuahuas ends up moving into this place, if it ever sells?

Link [Acqua Liana] + [Inhabitat]
Photo credit: Acqua Liana/Frank McKinney

Seattle’s Largest Green Roof Covers Bill Gates’ Garage

The largest green roof in Seattle covers 60,000-sq-ft or about 1.4 acres, but it’s not at a public park or a museum. It covers the roof of the parking garage adjacent to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation headquarters, which is currently under construction and seeking LEED gold certification. The garage itself is also seeking LEED gold. The vast, sloping green roof is easily visible from atop the Space Needle and from homes on Queen Anne Hill.

From DJC.com, via Groovy Green:

Shannon Nichol of GGN, said the green roof sets a precedent in Seattle because of its size and design, which was inspired by German roofs. In Germany, she said, a green roof is viewed not as a garden but as a functional roofing choice that is optimized to be as low maintenance as possible. “You could call it a minimalist green roof.”

The Gates roof has five inches of soil over a layer of synthetic drainage. Other styles of constructing green roofs include sod-based roofs and planter-based roofs. Models predict the roof will treat about 90 percent of the water that falls on it. The other 10 percent goes into the local combined sewer overflow system.

Nicol says that they hoped to give area residents a nice view, providing an example of how green roofs can beautify cities. It softens the stark concrete urban environment and is meant to reflect the natural history of the area, which used to be a meadow.

You might think that ol’ Bill is trying to make up for having America’s largest carbon footprint, but the Gates Foundation wasn’t even going for sustainability when they made it. Lisa Howe Verhovek, community relations manager, says being green it wasn’t specifically a part of their mission.

Intentional or not, it’s great to see Seattle getting in on the green roof action. Perhaps this will spark a trend that will give this rainy city some mood-brightening greenery.

Link [DJC] via [Groovy Green]

Sustainable Village in Nepal Houses Former Street Children

The Pegasus Project built a small sustainable village near Kathmandu, Nepal in the Himalaya mountains where there are over 40 super adobe domes to accommodate 80 children, 10 staff and a small school. The village also has solar panels for hot water and a bio gas plant. The video below shows how the adobe homes are built:

Transforming Oil Rigs into Oceanic Eco-Resorts

Once we complete the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, there’ll be a lot of unused oil rigs sitting around. One architecture firm, the Morris design team, already has an idea that’s making waves: turning them into oceanic eco-resorts. Their ‘Rig Hotel’ concept reuses an abandoned oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, transforming it into a luxury resort offering amenities like boating, snorkeling, and diving as well as acting as a destination for conferences and business meetings.

From Inhabitat:

Situated in the middle of the ocean, the Rig Hotel will need to be as autonomous as possible, generating all of it’s own power from renewable energy, most notably via a large vertical axis wind turbine affixed to one of its foundation towers. Wind power tends to be far more efficient off-shore than on-shore, and the turbine will meet a significant portion of the Rig’s energy demands. Wave energy generators will be buoyed nearby with undersea cables to transmit the power. Solar panels will be affixed on the sides and top of the rig. Additionally, geothermal heat pumps will take advantage of the consistent water temperatures at lower sea levels to aid with heating and cooling of the interior rooms. All of these power systems can easily be integrated into the existing rig infrastructure.

The Oil Rig Resort and Spa will provide unparalleled views of the Gulf through patron’s rooms as well as a glass lobby floor. The lobby will be naturally lit with ambient light, which will be reflect the ocean. A central core will be filled with water, which acts as a ballast to help stabilize the platform during stormy conditions. This central core will also host theatrical performances much like the Cirque du Soliel show ‘O’ in Las Vegas. Guests will be able to view the show from their own room every night.

This is a brilliant example of how creative we can really get with using what we already have and turning it into something better and greener. Fascinating concept, and one we hope isn’t too far from becoming reality.

Link [Inhabitat]

The 10 Dumbest Green Buildings on Earth

While it’s great that green building practices are gaining popularity, sometimes, LEED certification doesn’t exactly mesh with the building’s intended purpose. Case in point: eco-friendly gas stations, parking garages and – amazingly – bottled water plants. Greener Building Elements has come up with a great list of 10 ridonkulous LEED-certified buildings that’ll have you scratching your head and calling greenwash.

From Greener Building Elements, via Treehugger:

1. BP’s Helios House Gas Station – Los Angeles, Cal.

Yes, there is an LEED-certified gas station. It’s actually a nice building, complete with rainwater collection, solar panels, recycled building materials, and LED lighting. However, don’t think you’ll be able to refuel with biodiesel or charge up your electric car—they’re only in the petroleum-dealing business. How green of them, right?

2. Justin Timberlake’s Golf Course/Lodge – Woodstock, Tenn.

So Justin Timberlake decided that he wants to buy a golf course and fix it up with an LEED-certified lodge. While it’s an improvement compared to most other golf courses, the fact remains that maintaining a golf course takes chemicals and lots of water. In the United States alone, golf courses total more than 1.7 million acres and consume around 4 billion gallons of water every day. How does a green lodge counteract the water used to maintain the course? Justin, if you really want to be green, you should have turned it into a wildlife sanctuary instead.

3. Nestle Pure Life Water Bottling Plant – Boiling Springs, Tenn.

While this isn’t the only LEED-certified water bottling plant, it’s listed for having the most greenwashed name. Ozarka, Arrowhead, Ice Mountain, and Deer Park water bottling plants also have LEED certifications of some sort, but they couldn’t compete with Pure Life in the name department. If anyone needs a reminder of why bottling water is a bad idea, here are five reasons to ditch the bottle. Oh, and Nestle as a whole won’t be getting an award for their treatment of the planet and its people any time soon.

Get the rest over at Greener Building Elements. Treehugger has also added a few of their own hilarious (yet sad) examples to the list.

Link [Greener Building Elements] + [Treehugger]

10 Photos of Stunning Green Roofs from Around the World

Green roofs are sprouting up around the globe, on both complex commercial and public buildings and tiny backyard sheds. Green roofs are planted with grass, flowers, shrubs and other greenery atop a waterproofing membrane and help to reduce heating and cooling loads, reduce stormwater runoff, filter pollutants and greenhouse gases out of the air and increase natural habitats in urban areas. Here are 10 beautiful green roofs from Tokyo to Wisconsin that illustrate just how versatile this concept really is.

(image via: Inhabitat)

This incredible green roof is at the School of Art, Design and Media at Nanyang Technical University in Singapore. The 5-story facility blends in effortlessly with the wooded campus around it, blurring the line between nature and architecture.

(image via: thegrowspot.com)

If it weren’t for the perfect dome shape and the skylights, you might not even be able to tell from atop the California Academy of Sciences that there’s a building under there. It’s been called a “masterpiece of sustainable architecture”, and it’s easy to see why.

(image via: GreenRoofs.com)

Chicago’s Millenium Park is the biggest green roof in the world at 1,067,220 sq.ft. Hidden beneath the vast expanse of grass and flowers is a parking garage.

(image via: Flickr user Bockstark Knits)

The Waldspirale is a residential complex in Darmstadt, Germany covered with grass, shrubs, flowers and trees. ‘Waldspirale’ means ‘wooded spiral’, a name that reflects both the unusual shape of the building and its green roof.

(image via: Metaefficient)

The ACROS Fukuoka building in Fukuoka, Japan looks like a conventional office building on one side, but features a dramatic terraced green roof on the other. The garden terraces contain around 35,000 plants representing 76 species.

(image via: Environment Solutions)

Grassy roofs have been a tradition in Norway for hundreds of years. These ‘torvtaks’, or ‘turf roofs’ can be seen all over the country, even on the humblest of buildings.

(image via: ABC News)

The green roof at the Library Square building in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia was planted with kinnickinick in a pattern that mimics the flow of the nearby Fraser River.

(image via: Apartment Therapy)

Apartment Therapy spotted this green roof in Iceland, planted with grass and flowers. Green roofs are gaining popularity around the world for both commercial and residential buildings alike.

(image via: StreetsBlog)

What could be more relaxing in a big, bustling, concrete jungle like New York City than to escape to your rooftop and enjoy the sights and smells of greenery? Green roofs are slowly growing more popular in big urban cities not just for their ecological benefits but as relaxing getaways. This one is atop the Solaire Building in Battery Park.

(image via: Treehugger)

Goats on a green roof? Why not? Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant in Door County, Wisconsin employs goats to graze away all summer long, with the benefits of both neatly trimmed grass and grabbing the attention of tourists passing by.

Sustainable Urban Mushroom Skyscrapers Mimic Tropical Rainforests

Imagine living in a city filled with gigantic, mushroom-shaped skyscrapers modeled after the ecology of equatorial rainforests. Architect Sarah Mohd. Salleh has envisioned a way for humanity to survive in a future of overpopulation and land scarcity. Designed specifically for Sentul, Kuala Lumpur, the “Tropicool @KL” project aims to “retain the meaning of existing urban green lung and integrate it within a conducive tropical living environment.”

From EcoFriend:

Taking inspiration from the equatorial rainforests, a hostile place where life still thrives, the architect has envisioned similar structures for the urban world as well. Dubbed as The Symbiotic Tropical Mushrooms, the architecture is an artificial rainforest where trees are replaced with self-sufficient Mushroom towers. Just like in a tree, the canopy of the mushroom is integrated with transparent solar cells and the branches provide sustainable housing. The trunk is an energy passage from where supplies to the branches are made.

Apart from solar electricity, the buildings will also generate bio-mass energy, which would be channeled to each colony on the mushroom. Rainwater would be harvested and used for both potable and non-potable uses. Transportation will be minimized by keeping 90% of the area only for pedestrians. Each colony would be producing food and energy for itself by vertical gardens and living roofs.

You can’t say the world of futuristic eco-architecture is boring. This particular example shows just how creative architects can get with sustainability, and taking cues from nature is a great way to move forward as we all adjust to the realities of changing climate. As Inhabitat notes, it’s probably too complex to be built any time soon, but it’s an intriguing concept.

Link [Eco Friend] via [Inhabitat]

Great Green Job of the Week: Manager, LEED for Homes Affordable Housing Program

Location: Washington, DC US

Skill Level: Mid Level

Position Type: Limited Contract

Be part of an exciting organization that is transforming an industry for the betterment of business and the environment!

The U.S. Green Building Council, a Washington, DC-based national nonprofit organization of over 17,000 corporate and organizational members from every sector of the building industry united to transform the building marketplace to sustainability, is currently seeking an Affordable Housing professional to support the Home Depot Foundation’s Initiative for Affordable Housing.

The Initiative will take place in concert with the LEED for Homes Demonstration Pilot. The primary goals of the Initiative for Affordable Housing are to develop a detailed understanding of the inherent differences between affordable housing – particularly multi-family homes – and market-rate, single-family homes, and to ensure that the LEED for Homes Rating System successfully addresses affordable housing to the extent possible.

Position Overview:

The Manager, LEED for Homes Affordable Housing Program for USGBC’s Residential Market Development group will be responsible for fostering, growing, and managing the key relationships that further the Residential Market Development Group’s initiatives in the affordable housing sector. This individual will also will be responsible for research, documentation, and preparation of tools that will engage and educate the affordable housing market toward adopting more environmentally-sound measures.

**This is a temporary position, endowed through a grant from the Home Depot Foundation, with a maximum duration of 24 months.**

Responsibilities:

• Conduct a detailed review of existing affordable green home programs, modeling the LEED for Homes program against them (credit categories, intents, delivery methods).
• Help to form, manage, and prepare information for an affordable housing advisory panel.
• Manage USGBC’s LEED for Homes existing affordable housing program, including grant request process, awards, and project tracking.
• Serve as USGBC’s residential voice, presenting at affordable housing conferences and other forums that increase the visibility of USGBC’s affordable residential efforts.
• Assist in developing educational programs designed to promote increased awareness of sustainability within the affordable housing sector.
• Manage and grow existing and new strategic relationships with green homebuilding and affordable housing programs.
• Prepare updates and provide support to the LEED for Homes Committee on progress in the affordable housing sector.
• Help coordinate with the LEED for Homes Midrise pilot on issues specifically affecting affordable housing.
• Assist in drafting amendments to the LEED for Homes Rating System that will make it more responsive to the affordable housing market
• Assist in defining the boundaries between LEED for Homes, LEED-NC, and other LEED products, as applicable to affordable housing projects
• Prepare a detailed reference manual for the LEED for Homes Initiative for Affordable Housing with input from the LEED for Homes Committee and other industry experts. The guide will include technical specifications and guidelines, sample marketing plans, support tools required for the effective delivery of the LEED for Homes Initiative for Affordable Housing, and appropriate integration/benchmarking with respect to LEED for Homes.
• Incorporate lessons learned in the LEED for Homes program infrastructure and supporting documents.
• Help coordinate the LEED for Homes Initiative for Affordable Housing at Greenbuild 2009 and beyond
• Develop case studies on successful projects in the pilot demonstration of the LEED for Homes Initiative for Affordable Housing. The purpose of these case studies is to highlight the true costs and benefits of creating socially and environmentally responsible, affordable homes.

Qualifications:

• Prior experience within the affordable housing sector is required. Experience in sustainable building practices and/or residential construction is a plus.
• Strong analytical and presentation skills are required.
• LEED AP or ASID credentials a plus.
• USGBC experience and familiarity (LEED AP, chapter membership) strongly preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree required. Advanced degrees in environmental or public affairs preferred.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience with public speaking.
• Excellent interpersonal abilities.
• Strong computer skills, including fluency in MS Office suite.
• Excellent organization and multitasking abilities
• Ability to travel up to 50% of time.
• Commitment to USGBC mission.

Compensation: Compensation includes an excellent benefits package, including 100% employer-paid premiums on healthcare and employer-matching 401(k) program.

To Apply:

Please submit resume and letter of interest, with salary requirements and title of position applying for, via email or fax, attn: L. Jay.

Contact Information:
L. Jay
202-478-5046 (fax)
jobs@usgbc.org
http://www.usgbc.org

Link [Green Dream Jobs]

Smaller Houses are in for 2009

2009 will be the year of downsizing, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Small is productive and beautiful, especially when we’re talking about homes. They’re easy to heat and cool, low maintenance, have a small footprint and force you to buy less junk out of necessity. A web magazine called Small House Style, devoted to everything small-house-related, puts the spotlight on some of the best small house designs.

Small House Style also has a directory of small house plans and builders (including prefabs and kits) and a shop full of books on small house design, architecture, décor & furnishings.

Here’s what Small House Style has to say about why they’re so in love with petite residences:

Clearly there is an issue here on Earth. We are not going to be able to continue succesfully at the current pace without disrupting the ability for life to exist as we know it. Big deal, right? Change is the only constant. But there is something to the fact that we are conscious about it and therefore able to change our behaviour. So is it possible to maintain our current lifestyle in a more sustainable way? It is possible but the only way to find out is by making change. But where? There are so many options. Small House Style strives to inspire those who can change our built environment.

Small House Style is definitely a fantastic source of inspiration for anyone who’s wondering if they could manage moving their family to a smaller home.

Link [Small House Style]

EcoFutures Turn-Key Zero Energy Homes

Turn-key green homes are becoming more widely available across the United States, and Solar Village has announced a new set of energy-efficient home designs that put smart, eco-friendly design within reach of the masses. Turn-key Solar Village Homes feature passive solar design, foil faced rigid foam and Icynene insulation, fiberglass windows with low-E glass, healthy indoor air, a solar hot water system, a 2.5 kW solar pv system with online monitoring, and super efficient HVAC system.

From Jetson Green:

Turn-Key Solar Village Homes are built exclusively by All American Homes, a company with plants in Virginia, North Carolina, Indiana, Iowa, and Colorado.  These plants build “systems built,” modular homes, and matter of fact, the Altos Homes pictured at the very beginning was built by All American Homes in Decatur, Indiana.

The two designs shown here are the Solar Village Altos – 3/2.5, 2047 square feet, and the Solar Village Zero2 – 2/1, 1106 square feet. Three more designs can be seen at Jetson Green.

Prices aren’t readily available, but they’re likely far more affordable than most green homes. And, having very low to zero energy bills every month is definitely a plus. The nine reasons why Solar Village Homes believes that systems-built homes are a great option include near zero-waste construction, low maintenance, smart passive solar design, ultra-efficient heating and cooling, low cost and the fact that they’re customizable.

Link [Jetson Green]

34 Stunning LEED Platinum Projects from Jetson Green

Leave it to green architecture blog Jetson Green to come up with a list of incredible LEED Platinum projects from around the world. The 34 residential and commercial buildings on the list include the twin eco towers planned for Abu Dhabi, the world’s first LEED platinum museum and Justin Timberlake’s golf course buildings. The list is comprised of all the LEED platinum buildings Jetson Green has covered throughout 2008, underscoring the fantastic growth we’ve seen in green building despite economic uncertainty.

From Jetson Green:

There’s so much innovation in the green building space, it’s pretty hard to keep up with it all.  I mean, check out these articles below.  In the past year alone, we’ve discussed at least thirty-four different LEED Platinum projects — some are done, some are under way, and some are still on the boards.  Wow, what an incredible year in green building news!  Innovation at the highest rung of the USGBC’s LEED system continues.  And so you know, we plan to pay more attention to the greenest of green projects over the next year.

Check out the four pictured here and see the rest over at Jetson Green!

Top: Platinum Environmental Nature Center in Newport Beach

Swaner EcoCenter, the Greenest Building in Utah

Hawaii Center a Fascinating Display of Solar Potential

Independence Station Chasing Highest Scoring LEED Platinum

Link [Jetson Green]

Low Cost Housing Made from Loofahs

If you thought all a loofah is good for is exfoliating your butt, think again. The dried vegetable is being used as a renewable, natural building material in impoverished areas of Paraguay thanks to the genius of social activist Elsa Zaldívar.  Elsa realized that not only is the loofah a great cash crop for poor communities to grow, it also makes strong yet lightweight building panels.

From Ecolect:

Working with industrial engineers, Elsa Zaldivar has combined readily available waste from the loofah with plastic waste to form strong, lightweight building panels. The panels can be used to create furniture and construct houses, insulating occupants from temperature and noise. This innovation addresses a real need in Paraguay, as around 300,000 Paraguayan families lack adequate housing. When the panels break or fall apart they can easily be broken down and recycled back into new panels, greatly easing the demand for wood in Paraguay’s over-harvested forests. Because of Elsa’s inspiring work she was awarded a Rolex Award for the creation of a low cost housing material. Rolex is now partially funding her effort and Elsa hopes to provide her sustainable and low cost housing throughout all of Paraguay.

It’s pretty incredible that Elsa was able to combine creating an income stream for these communities, giving them environmentally friendly housing and innovating a new eco-friendly building material all in one project.

Even better, Elsa persuaded local women to grow and process the loofahs using ecological methods that make the products superior to the ones grown on plantations in China (which are the ones you most often see in stores). The main, high quality part of the loofah is made into high-profit cosmetic products while the waste is used to create the building panels.

This is quite an admirable accomplishment – if only more of us could do so much for our communities and the world! Learn more about Elsa’s work at the Rolex Awards website.

Link [Ecolect] + [Rolex Awards]

Who’s Who in Green: Brad Pitt

With the Make it Right Foundation celebrating its first anniversary this week, it’s a great time to celebrate the notable environmental and philanthropic efforts of Brad Pitt, the famous actor who’s much more than just a pretty face. Pitt is passionate about architecture – especially green architecture – and he puts that passion to admirable use in helping rebuild the city of New Orleans after the still-visible destruction of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Pitt fell in love with the city of New Orleans while filming there, and became determined to help it bounce back from the devastating blow of Hurricane Katrina. He founded Make it Right NOLA to build 150 sustainable, eco-friendly homes in the Lower 9th Ward district of New Orleans, believing that it’s our responsibility when rebuilding communities to take the opportunity to build green. Make it Right has achieved a lot, and this week – just in time for the holiday season – six families will be moving into completed Make it Right green homes. Two more homes are under construction and another 14 will be built in early 2009.

“I’m really happy for the families that are going to be here, but I can’t help but think about the families that aren’t,” Pitt said Monday. “It’s a push-pull for me. The excitement is that it’s being proven, that it’s working. The frustration is that we have a long way to go.”

“You’re going to see 100 homes here, mark my words,” he said. “It’s nice to see a few, but I’m anxious to see 100, 150, 1,000.”

The homes feature enough solar panels to cut back the electricity bill by up to 75%. Pitt revealed to Larry King this week that every single Make it Right NOLA home meets platinum LEED certification, the highest rating a structure can get. That’s not too much of a surprise considering Cradle-to-Cradle architect William McDonough is one of Pitt’s partners in the project.

Pitt has also worked with Global Green to sponsor an architectural competition which aimed to generate ideas about how to rebuild sustainably. This competition actually spawned the Make it Right project, giving it the foundation it needed to create truly green homes for the 9th ward.

It’s easy to see how much of an impact Pitt’s work has had in the world of ‘green’. Just search for his name on Ecorazzi, the green celebrity gossip blog, and you’ll find that he’s contributed a lot over the years. Pitt worked with Kiehl’s to create the fair trade, organic Aloe Vera Biodegradable Body Cleanser, which benefits environmental charities (including Make it Right NOLA) and comes in a post-consumer recycled bottle. He also hosted a series about green design and architecture on PBS called ‘Design: e2’.

Brad Pitt and his partner, actress and activist Angelina Jolie, have also been extremely generous with their own personal fortunes in terms of giving to charity. Pitt recently donated $100,000 to the No on Prop 8 campaign against gay marriage discrimination, and has been known to give substantial amounts of his income to various charities.

Yes, it’s true that Brad Pitt is a mega-celebrity who enjoys all of the finer things in life, including traveling on private jets. But he has also made outstanding and laudable contributions to the green revolution, and for that he’s earned a place among the green elite of the world.

Brad Pitt’s Green Score: 43,765

Brad Pitt’s Make it Right Foundation Builds Eco-Friendly Playground in New Orleans

Kids in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans now have a safe and healthy place to play thanks to a collaboration between Brad Pitt’s Make it Right Foundation and the Play Green Initiative. On Wednesday, Make it Right’s 1-year anniversary, the playground was dedicated to the children of the neighborhood. Since Hurricane Katrina caused catastrophic damage to the Lower Ninth Ward in 2005, not a single playground had been built. This new, $500,000 eco-friendly playground was made possible thanks largely to donations of equipment, landscaping and labor.

From Market Watch:

BNIM, a national leader in sustainable design and also one of 12 design firms for the Make it Right Project, designed the overall site, and JWA, a New Orleans architectural firm, served as a local collaborator. Both the equipment and the site are designed using sustainable methods and materials that minimize the impact on the environment while providing exceptional play value and a quality community gathering place. The play space will be constructed in an environmentally sustainable way, using local suppliers, native plantings, and natural means to control water flow, thereby reducing pollution, runoff, and other problems associated with asphalt and more traditional playground design. The playground equipment is constructed using sustainable methods including the use of non-toxic, recyclable and environmentally friendly materials. Solar energy will also be used to power the electronic components on the new equipment.

Thanks to this project, the Lower Ninth Ward is now home to the greenest, most technologically advanced playground in the country – in fact, it’s the first of its kind in North America. Considering all they’ve been through, the families of the Lower Ninth Ward really deserve this.

The Make it Right Foundation’s efforts in New Orleans are really remarkable. It makes so much sense to rebuild in a green way after a natural disaster, and the things they’re doing in the city are worthy of all the praise they get. Check out the rest of their efforts at Make it Right New Orleans.

Link [Market Watch] + [Make it Right]

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