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Three Stunning Eco Friendly House Designs

July 28, 2010 By 3 Comments
Beccles House

Today's green building piece is from Becky Striepe, a green blogger with a love for elegant, eco-friendly design.   Becky talks here about three eco-friendly homes that have impressed her.  Take a look. *** Whether you're talking about homes made from natural building materials or ones that focus on efficiency and alternative energy, eco-friendly homes save on money and resources. Eco friendly houses aren't just better for the environment - they can be gorgeous examples of unique design. Here … [Read more...]

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Green Low-Income Housing: 5 Developments Making Eco-Friendly Living Affordable

June 3, 2010 By 2 Comments
silver gardens

Today's article is a guest post  from Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, one of the authors of respected sustainability resource Sustainablog.org. In his post, Jeff talks about how sustainable living and affordable housing are connected.  To me, this has enormous implications, not only for lowering the impact we have on our environment, but in raising the standards and expectations for quality of life for lower-income residents in cities here in North America, and worldwide. Jeff mentions 5 development … [Read more...]

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Mike Holmes Builds Green

April 28, 2010 By 3 Comments
Mike Holmes image courtesy of John Bollwitt (johnbollwitt.com)

A few years ago, we at BuildDirect had a chance to contribute to Mike Holmes' first American project; helping a couple in Pasedena, CA with an unfinished, and under-functioning renovation.  That's what he does - he helps homeowners abandoned by unskillful and unscrupulous contractors, and makes it right. The episode of Mikes Holmes on Homes program was called "Pasadena 911", and we donated bamboo flooring, slate, and porcelain tile.  It was a great opportunity to contribute to the work of someone … [Read more...]

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Green Building Hobbit Style!

October 14, 2009 By 1 Comment

One of my favourite stories is J.R.R Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, and its prequel the Hobbit.   Tolkien, who had it in for progress and the industrialization of England, wanted his main character to be one who demonstrated a life of simple pleasures, and being at one with his surroundings.   And to show this, he described the homes of the Hobbits as being integrated with and not intrusive on the natural world. When directed to this article about a self-built, earth sheltered home, I was … [Read more...]

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Does Green Building Increase Productivity?

September 28, 2009 By 3 Comments

In recent times,  cultural attitudes surrounding work life have changed.  This is mostly due to the fact that most companies recognize that the line between a personal life and a work life is imaginary. We take our personal lives to work, and we take work home with us, even if it's just work in our heads if not our briefcases or laptops.  Employees who have a healthy work-life balance as encouraged by their employers means that they do a better job, and tend to stay in their jobs for a longer … [Read more...]

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Green Building To Drive California Building Codes

August 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment

As I read more and more about the green building industry, it seems to me that the efficiency which is inherent in that approach has the goals of combating climate change and in spending less on utilities too. Conservation of resources - both natural and financial - are goals that may be the focus in California's new building codes over residential building standards.  The new codes, effective as of August 1st, are to be implemented as mandatory across the board in California by 2011 with the … [Read more...]

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Green building makes common sense a reality

June 22, 2009 By 3 Comments

I've been reading a bit about the NZI Centre in Auckland, New Zealand, which incorporates a number of green building innovations. For instance,  rooftop gardens, rainwater used as 'grey water' in toilets, skylights that bolter natural daylight, and glass layers that acts as insulation are built right into the design.   One innovation I'd never heard of before has to do with the elevators, which upon their descent generate electricity that feed back into building's main supply.  Incredible. I've … [Read more...]

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The Green Home of the Future!

April 27, 2009 By 2 Comments

I've said it in other blog posts I've written, and in conversation too since I'm a geek and all.  But, as a young science fiction fan, I had great expectations of the Twenty-First century.  I wanted the Jetsons and Star Trek.  I wanted jet packs, instant food via computers, and (perhaps most importantly) a robot housekeeper. Of course, the twentieth century passed into the twenty-first without any of those things becoming a widespread  reality.  But, this is the nature of technology, developing … [Read more...]

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Green Building Programs In USA

November 14, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Did you know that there are over 90 green building programs in the USA? Or that the residential buildings use more energy than the automotive sector? Here’s a video that talks briefly about these issues and makes the point that green building, particularly in the residential sector, can make a huge difference to America’s energy consumption. I’ve talked about LEED and the NAHB programs in previous postings, and I’ll get into some others that are now emerging in the … [Read more...]

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