Portland, Oregon MLS listing green homes

"The Portland area's most comprehensive real estate database went live with a feature Tuesday designed to help Realtors identify and sell homes with environmentally friendly features... " Read more...

Solar Umbrella House

As promised, the favorite residential selection from '06's AIA awards: the Solar Umbrella House. Inspired by Paul Rudolph's 2,000SF Umbrella House of 1953, the Solar Umbrella House is a) in Venice, CA, b) slightly smaller (at 1,700SF) and c) doesn't retain the 9 interior levels (9 levels!) and entirely glass-backed concept of Rudolph's work.

It is, however, clearly driven by the original overhanging roof on Rudolph's home (removed by its first owners); Pugh + Scarpa architects transformed the design element into overhanging solar shades instead, which provide 100% of the home's energy. Why did everything turn out so perfectly? Lawrence Scarpa lives here. Read more...

Photo copyright Marvin Rand

The Solaire

We were at a green seminar last week, and someone asked "What one project should I know about if I'm going to talk about green successes?" The speaker naturally said The Solaire, Tribeca's now-famous green apartment building that rumor has it fully-leased in under five seconds. So, old news perhaps, but it reminded us every green residential blog should probably include the project somewhere.

The site's green feature shortlist isn't terribly in-depth but here's the quick skinny:

- nation's first green residential tower: 27 stories, 293 units, 580+ residents

- LEED Gold certification

- awarded Top-10 Green Projects by the AIA in 2004

- uses 50% less potable water, 35% less energy, and black water treatment on-site

Tomorrow, a selection from the AIA's most recent awards.

Lennar commits to SF

From Builder magazine's Feburary 22, 2006 issue:

"Lennar Homebuilding announced Wednesday that, beginning immediately, all of their new communities constructed in the greater San Francisco Bay market will be equipped with a roof-integrated solar electric system from PowerLight, a subsidiary of SunPower Corporation, as a standard feature. The launch begins with the introduction of Milano, a 77 luxury home development in Danville, Calif.

... Milano is one of 25 California communities that are under construction and using PowerLight's solar electric system. In addition to a one-time $2,000 federal tax break, home buyers will also receive a $5,000 to $6,000 California Energy Rebate and an average electric bill savings of 40 to 60 percent or up to $1,000 a year. Kelly says the cost to the consumers for the system is $23,000 to $25,000."

ASLA's green roof project

The ASLA (American Society for Landscape Architects) green roof project site lets you follow this particular roof from concept through execution. (There's actually a live web cam, so you can even watch the breeze hit the grass if you're so inclined.)

Their fact sheet generalizes the specs: this roof could accomodate up to 40 lbs./SF and used a dual-wave design to hide the HVAC system. And even though the cost details are a vague sketch, at $20/SF on the high end, the cost relationship of green vs. traditional is approximately 2 times, with a corresponding expectation that the green roof will last twice as long while reducing heating and cooling costs by 10-20%.

Don't stop there if you're seriously considering green roof technology: Check out the schematics from Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc., the project's architect.

Photo credit: ASLA

Because it's Friday...

Behold the Kohler Steward -- the company's waterless urinal whose profile is much, much more flattering than the traditional models'. We've been told (as we wouldn't know) that, unfortunately, these products are a plumbing nightmare because of crystalline buildup in the pipes. At $525 it's a hefty investment for more work, but it leads into the necessary discussion about whether we occasionally go too green too quickly, and miss better options like grey-water tanks, etc. Still, as they say:

"Waterless urinals can save 40,000 gallons of water per fixture per year, based upon a typical commercial installation. Further, this product has redefined the paradigm for urinal design and functionality by offering a virtually splash-free surface along with odorless, easy-to-maintain performance." More...

Brent Comber Gallery Collection

Each one-of-a-kind piece from Brent Comber's three colletions deserves to have the entire room all to itself, but they work so well paired with anything intricate and delicate (see his custom commercial work at Avenue's Other Blog).

The Vancouver designer was using sustainable pricinples before it was the "thing to do": "Most of our woods are reclaimed or recycled. Cedar, Douglas fir and maple come from fallen or already-harvested wood that would have otherwise ended up as wood chips or waste. We find our alder in places where “progress” (construction) is about to clear it out, for example, on roadsides and under power transmission lines. We ensure that our sourcing of wood supplies has minimal or no negative impact on the environment.

Every piece of wood we select has a story. We partner ourselves with individuals and small sawmills and manufacturers that share our vision and assist us in sourcing wood that we can bring to its full potential. They set aside odd-sized off cuts that make them less desirable for manufacturing but which, in our hands, can be transformed into beautiful sculpted solid wood furniture." Read more.