Jan
12
Top Ten Green Building Trends of 2010
Photo by Jerry Levine Designs
Earth Advantage Institute, a nonprofit green building resource, recently released its list of the top ten building trends for 2010. Take a peek at the list and pop back here to post your comments. Do you agree with the list? Did they miss a few trends you feel are important?
1st….I'd like to acknowledge the photo and the efficiency of the design of this deck. I see an advantage of the shading system being on tracks to accomodate for the sun's rays. I want to garden. And do not want to put a tree in the yard; however, I do want some shading opportunities to keep our living space cool.
There are so many topics withing the article is it logical to respond to EACH item?
"Building information modeling (BIM) software … soon be offering more affordable packages" caught my attention. I shared my "solar panel" findings with my husband based upon a website that took the energy cost in OUR area and how cost effective it would be/not. And of course, my findings received the thumbs DOWN. Next, I shared this with other INFORMED individuals that have said this has changed. I believe the general public is being given differing information and it keeps us confused and uncertain. Hopefully THIS will be corrected in the future.
"Rightsizing of Homes" My husband and I do NOT live in a HUGE home. However, this past summer our young company (ages 4,9, and 12) were shocked that there were only two of us and THREE bathrooms available. I believe our society has thought "bigger = better". And real estate agents have decided the term "cozy" as a negative factor…but charming. Who makes this decision? The actual owners. They know their needs.
Talk to the people on the east coast…homes are very close to each other. Go west, and you'll find homes spread so far apart. I've lived both. Do people want the "yard" WITH the upkeep and cost of fuel to GET TO conveniences and Freezers/Pantries to keep food items on hand? Or, are they happy to have the close proximity to everything and keeping things fresh? Are you getting Lemons, or are you making Lemonade?
MARY, thank you for the new post!! I love the information posted in the article. When we get Community involvement, changes can truly be made.
Thanks MARY, an excellent topic for lots of discussion.
I think the list should have included HGTV's dedication to eco-friendly Green Homes! But aside from that, an extraordinary list of trends to which we can look forward.
I'd also like to thank Marie Miller for her valuable service in providing us with her MGTOTD's!
Now, I must be off for my exercise walk, and then an afternoon movie at the ongoing film festival. However, I plan to be back in the blink of a blog, reading up on all of the latest top ten green building trends.
Live Lean and Go Green!
I'd would like to thank MAR as well for this new discussion! I can't wait to read up on everyone's thoughts! I do believe that education of a greener lifestyle is key to the future of our planet!
Living the Dream!
Thanks Trish. I didn't notice those shades on tracks. Pretty slick idea!
You're right, Lynn, and if we don't change our ways, and soon, our planet will have to learn to get along without us!
Live Lean and Go Green!
This is in large part a whole new world of information to many of us, at least the finer details. It's fast becoming a complex science, but the basics are certainly understandable to most folks with any grasp of the facts.
In reading over the top 10 Green Building Trends, I found it interesting that, from my point of view, the 10 Trends were listed in ascending order of importance. That is, I'd think that Sustainable Building Education is the number one LONG term priority, while Net Zero Building is the most VITAL priority. Next, in order of necessity, comes Carbon Calculation, Water Conservation, Eco-districts, "Rightsizing" of Homes, Financial Community Buy-In, BIM software, Energy Labeling, and finally, The Smart Grid and Connected Home.
Yikes, and this is only the top 10!
Lead us not into frustration, MARY, when we realize how much there is to learn about the science of going eco-friendly! Here is the next great technology boom, and I'm already feeling overwhelmed, left behind, with so much information, and so little time to absorb it.
Well, at least reading about the top 10 Green Building Trends is a start, even if many of the younger runners are already out of the gate, well ahead of me!
Thank you Mary for leading us out of frustration, and delivering us into wisdom about 'green living!!' Some other helpful comments I would like to make come from expert data about green building that continues to grow in spite of the global credit crisis and the ongoing economic recession in most countries!
The green building industry will continue to grow more than 60 percent in 2009, on a cumulative basis. "We've seen cumulative growth in new LEED projects over 60 percent per year since 2006, in fact 80 percent in 2008, and there's no sign that the green wave has crested!
Green building will benefit from the new Obama presidency, with a strong focus on green jobs in energy efficiency, new green technologies and renewable energy. This trend will last for at least the next four years.
Awareness of the coming global crisis in fresh water supply will increase, leading building designers and managers to take further steps to reduce water consumption in buildings with more conserving fixtures, rainwater recovery systems and innovative new water technologies.
LEED Platinum-rated projects will become more commonplace as building owners, designers and construction teams learn how to design for higher levels of LEED achievement on conventional budgets.
Solar power use in buildings will accelerate with the extension of solar energy tax credits for buildings through 2016 and the prospect of increasing utility focus on renewable power goals for 2015 and 2020. As before, third-party financing partnerships will continue to grow and provide capital for large rooftop systems.
Local governments will increasingly mandate green buildings from both themselves and the private sector. While concern over economic impacts of green buildings mandates will be present, the desire to reduce carbon emission by going green will lead more government agencies to require green buildings.
Zero net energy designs for new buildings will gain increasing acceptance in both public and private buildings.
Green homes will come to dominate new home developments in more sections of the U.S., as builders increasingly see green as a source of competitive advantage.
European green building technologies will become better known and more widely adopted in the U.S. and Canada.
MGTOTD: Apply your savings to buying Energy Star appliances. Check the EnergyStar.gov website to see what green items comes with rebates. Another way to help your budget.
Coop: So happy to hear that you appreciate my daily diet of green tips!!
Wow, definitely no Boolean Programs in YOUR green building comments, Marie. Yet, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Much more to come, fast and furious as it may be, and SO LONG overdue!
Live Lean and Go Green!
I love all of the Top Ten Green Building Trends for 2010. But I would have to say that my favorite trend is Eco Districts. I would love to be able to leave my home and walk to where ever I need to go….stores, restaurants, etc.
Other corollary issues for building green:
"smarter" building materials that address the toxic fumes, gases, and production processes and byproducts that harm our health and environment, both inside the home and out. (Excess formaldehyde is a notorious one.) This goes beyond the enormous problem of carbon emissions.
Using recycled, AND recyclable materials for eco-conservative building.
Of course, something that homeowners (in conjunction with concerned green builders) can do now: efficient, commonsense, cost-effective energy retrofits.
In the realm of architecture, is the growing concept and bright future of going modular, among other innovative and energy efficient home building trends. When Warren Buffet puts his mind and money on the line, it's a powerful indicator that Going Green is more than just a politically correct statement.
Live Lean and Go Green!
Going online to Jerry Levine Designs is a real treat. The project in MARY's blog photo above, called The Red Box, is a stunning home, an impressive remodel and addition in S Eagle Rock, CA.
"Movable wood screens on the deck block sunlight. These carefully placed openings continue through the interior with deep apertures and clerestory windows. Other green elements include a rainwater collection system, photovoltaic panels, bathroom water recycling, recycled materials, and passive systems."
This is one red hot and green building!
Thanks Mary for the great information! Hope to fully digest it in the days to come.
Jerry Levine's Design's photostream is on Flickr, and well worth a visit. The Red Box Project, pictured above, is even more remarkable inside. Talk about an eco-friendly dream, this home has it all.
Agreed, long past time this country started moving in the "smaller community" direction!
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The Red Box Project by Jeremy Levine Designs: this is a two story addition to an existing house utilizing passive and active green technology.
Home office: "The sliding glass doors open to an interior pocket courtyard filled with bamboo. The ceiling is recycled lumber. The door is built from recycled lumber from the demolition of parts of the old house, whose materials were re-used through-out the project."
On the front deck, "Mobile sun shades control the Southern light and lower the solar gain."
In a bedroom: "Recycled douglas fir ceiling glows with light from clerestory windows."
However, the website photos really tell the story.
Comments regarding Jeremy Levine's Red Box Project continued:
Bathroom: "Tumbled Carrera marble tiles cover the walls in a brick like pattern. Bright orange Caesar Stone countertops wrap custom walnut vanity floating off the wall."
Living Room: "Fireplace of powdered steel surround and built in bench seat of slate tile. Mobile sun shades that run across the outside of the deck are visible through the sliding glass doors. Clerestory windows bring light into the space while limiting solar heat gain.
"
Pocket Courtyard with Bamboo: "A pocket courtyard was carved out of the center of the house- replacing a closet- and filled with bamboo fed by rainwater. Sliding glass doors open the courtyard space to the house- creating a thermal chimney that creates a pressure differential that let's warm air rise up the vertical shaft, drawing cool air into the house through open vents and windows.
Jeremy Levine's 3 Trees Project, also in Eagle Rock, is no less impressive and eco-friendly.
"Top Ten Green Homes This Year…[2009], as posted online by USA Today (photos of each accompany the online article), 12/29/09:
Here are this year's LEED for Homes award winners, by category, 1-9:
1. Single-family project:
Arbor South Architecture won for The Sage in Eugene, Ore. The house earned 109 LEED points, one of the highest scores to date.
2. Innovative project:
The BrightBuilt Barn project in Rockport, Maine, won the innovation award. The result of a two-year collaboration by Kaplan Thompson Architects and Bensonwood Homes, it earned the top or platinum LEED rating,
3. Production builder:
This honor went to Pulte Homes for its Villa Trieste project in Las Vegas…. Its planned community of 185 platinum-rated homes is one of the largest LEED for Homes projects ever.
4. Affordable housing project:
Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity's Hope Crossing project won this award. The 59-acre project will be the largest certified Habitat for Humanity community in the United States upon completion. The units' energy bills are expected to be 50% lower than comparable ones elsewhere, due in part to upgraded windows, efficient foam insulation and compact flourescent lights.
5. Affordable developer:
This award went to the housing authority in Columbia, S.C., for its Rosewood Hills project. Its mixture of apartments, townhouses, senior citizen housing and single-family homes were built to suit a range of incomes.
6. Multifamily project:
Wakeland Housing & Development Corporation's Los Vecinos project in Chula Vista, Calif., received the multifamily award for its 42 affordable apartments, which generate 90% of their power onsite. The units are rented to families earning 60% or less of the area's median income.
7. Commitment to Leed for Homes:
This award went to Hunt Yates for its Keesler Air Force Project in Biloxi, Miss., which includes 792 single family homes registered for LEED certification.
Free green energy using "geo-air" technology has certainly been over looked. I'm so glad to see that Russ Finch's projects have finally been picked up by USDA and some of the media.
He calls his projects "Citrus In The Snow" and his results are absolutely astounding. This type "geo-energy" should become a "standard energy base" for every residencial and commercial building project.
Going Green for Less the Modular Way:
"A subsidiary of Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway, Clayton Homes, has announced its line of green modular homes. These 750-square-foot eco homes, dubbed “i-houses,” can be purchased online for less than $75,000."
"The green buildings have enough eco-friendly features to achieve the platinum rating from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. To achieve LEED certification, homes must incorporate a design that saves energy and water, reduces carbon dioxide emissions, improves indoor environmental quality, and considers the impact of the materials used on natural resources. The platinum rating is LEED's most prestigious award."
"The i-houses include low-flow faucets, low-VOC materials, high-efficiency heat pumps, dual-flush toilets, roofs designed for rainwater harvesting, and insulated walls, roof and floors. Upgrades to bamboo flooring, Energy Star appliances and solar panels are also offered. Exact pricing is determined by several factors, including the model and features that are chosen."
Check out more info at motherearthnews.com.
Hi Everybloggie,
I think the new green trends will be smart homes, thick walls, lots of insulation, high tech info' carried along the homes' electrical circuitry in safe little " spike" surges, and " room occupancy" sensors, to heat, cool and light up rooms that are occupied, while automatically shutting down unoccupied rooms. There won't be airconditioning units as we know them now, there will be heat exchangers and sensors in the ceilings.
I would love the house just the way the builder designs it. It would be an honor and a blessing to accept this house on behalf of my family. It would be the first thing that we have ever won. And of course we would in turn do something wonderful for someone else. And read lots of Country Living. We could cal it the original Country Living Home. People could come visit and buy a magazine as they look around. And maybe their dreams would come true also.