6. Engelmohr Residence
Architect Maren Engelmohr and her husband designed a green house for their family of four with Belcher Homes in the St. Louis suburb Kirkwood. The 2,600-square-foot home is built using structural insulated panels, or SIPS, which are insanely good at keeping the interior comfortable with less energy. The house got LEED certification as well as certification from the National Association of Homebuilders' Green Building Program, but environmental consciousness didn't stop at the door. This year the family is on a "waste diet" and challenging every American to join them.
7. Heather's House
Heather Ferrier, a 20-something office manager for Ferrier Custom Homes in Fort Worth, Texas, wanted a green house that she could afford. Good thing her dad, Don Ferrier, is an expert green builder. His firm worked with GGOArchitects to grant her wish, spending about $235,000 to construct a 2,028-square-foot, sand-colored home using structural insulated panels, non-toxic paint, and ultra-efficient appliances that use a third to half of the energy that other homes in the area require. Currently Ferrier brings his approach to the public through the U.S. Department of Energy's net-zero-energy Builders Challenge.
8. Indian Hills Net-Zero Energy Home
At first blush, Eric Doub's creation seems like a potential McMansion, but on closer inspection it clearly has an eco-soul. Under the Victorian rooflines, this Colorado house has been designed to produce more energy than it uses. Doub's company, Ecofutures Building, specializes in this area and built the first net-zero-energy home in Boulder. His latest project will have radiant heat, solar-heated water and large active solar collection arrays. But Doub will be the first to tell you that it's unsexy things like ductwork and drain plugs that make a building super-efficient.
9. Heifer International Headquarters
Heifer is known for helping families around the world climb out of poverty by providing plants, animals and sustainable agriculture education. Its Little Rock, Ark., headquarters also takes a revitalizing approach. Last year the AIA recognized it as one of the best 10 green buildings in the United States, with good reason. Architects Polk Stanley Rowland Curzon Porter situated the curved glass building on a restored wetland and designed it to collect rainwater, recycle graywater and reuse moisture pulled from the interior for cooling.
10. Birdbath Bakery
Chef Maury Rubin opened the first Birdbath Bakery on First Avenue in New York City two years ago. The 240-square-foot interior was repurposed into an all-green bakery for $10,000 in just a little over a month's time. Birdbath is a green confectionary dream: The nontoxic paint is water-based and contains vegetable dyes, the floor is cork, and the counter is constructed from bamboo and recycled denim insulation. The front door has been around since 1937, the cash register came out of the basement, and the whole place runs on wind power. Now at two locations and counting, their all-organic treats are delivered on bicycle rickshaws. Sweet.
If you have any additions to the list, or if you know of any coal-chewing building that could use a greenover, visit Alyssa Danigelis' blog and post a comment.
