LivingGreen

This is the first Passive House in California and the first retrofit Passive House in the entire country, according to a press release issued by Solar Knights Construction earlier this week. The airtight retrofit was accomplished with, among other things, superior insulation, triple-glazed windows, and an energy recovery ventilation system. A Passive House, like ones we’ve discussed in Lafayette, Salt Lake City, and Kansas City, must be airtight, or have less than 0.6 air changes per hour with an air...

This is the first certified Passive House in the “South,” and it’s located in Lafayette, Louisiana. What’s interesting about the home – other than that it illustrates the use of the Passive House standard in a hot and humid climate – is the fact that the low-energy home, with the help of rooftop solar laminates, is a net zero energy prototype for the future. It was designed by Corey Saft, architecture professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and and includes a 1-ton mini-split AC system, an UltimateAir RecoupAerator ERV, and a 3.264 kW rooftop-integrated, penetration-fee, solar laminate system from Whirlwind Solar.

This is Casa Dominguez, a new multifamily development in Los Angeles County. It’s actually the first LEED Platinum multifamily project in the county, according to non-profit developer and architecture firm Abode Communities. Located in East Rancho Dominguez, the project features a blend of one- to four-bedroom green apartments suited for low-income families. Market rent is something like $916 to $1,800 for units of these sizes, while homes at Casa Dominguez range from $396 to $1,279 per month.

Staybull Flooring, a Florida company, recently let us know about their recycled flooring available in more than 20 wood species. The company salvages waste wood from lumber mills around the globe; binds discarded strips together with a solvent-free, no-VOC adhesive; and then mills and finishes the planks with a ceramic, no-VOC finish. The result is strong, mosaic-like, rich in detail, and made in the U.S.A. And if you're looking for an FSC certified option, Staybull Flooring can provide that, too.

Think gadgetry can’t be “green”? My family’s favorite home-entertainment gadget turns this stereotype on its head! In my household, the hardest working gadget is our Roku Box — or as we often call it, the Netflix box. Despite our nickname for it, we love it just as much for watching new releases, listening to music and viewing photos, too. This lightweight, compact little black box is Wi-Fi ready and streams content from the Web onto our TV with ease, entertaining my kids for hours, without DVDs, Netflix mailers or any other excess clutter.

Most large urban areas are located next to a large body of water – whether it is a canal, river, lake or ocean. As a way to combat commuter and residential pollution, parts of these waterways can be utilized as ‘off the grid’ marina-style living spaces. Created by Heck Yes Design, the Uboat is a floating, green urban living space that comes well-equipped with self-sustaining technologies.

These colorful Fold-out Pallet Chairs from Gas & Air Studios combine strength-of-form with environmentally-aware design. Each chair is hand made from a single recycled wooden pallet – thousands of which continue to fill landfills across the UK each year. No extra treatment is used on the wood during the production process, and the paint used is solvent-free.

Perched on the foothills near Camos do Jordão in Sao Palo, Brazil, the House For A Couple is a thoughtful residence made from low-impact materials that minimizes any disturbance of its site. The architect André Eisenlohr built the home as a bridge projecting out to the forest below it.