LivingHomes had the honor of building the first LEED Platinum certified home in the US, and now they’re on schedule to deliver the first LEED Platinum certified home in Orange County. The new KieranTimberlake LivingHome 1.5 (KTLH1.5) was erected earlier this month in a single day. Located in the city of Newport Beach, we carry no doubts that the home will be LEED Platinum certified given LivingHomes‘ track record.

Read the rest of LivingHomes Delivers KieranTimberlake Prefab in Orange County

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", Green Building, green design, kieran timberlake prefab, KieranTimberlake, KieranTimberlake Associates, LEED Home, LEED platinum, living homes, livinghomes

Sanjay Puri Architect’s new Chrome Hotel features a fresh façade punctuated with holes that allow natural light to stream in while keeping air-conditioning costs to a minimum. The opaque windows were purposefully set throughout the swiss cheese façade to allow ambient natural light to enter, and they also create an incredibly cool effect at night when backlit by LED lights.

Read the rest of Chrome Hotel’s Swiss Cheese Facade Saves Energy

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Post tags: Chrome Hotel, Green Building, green design, green hotel, LED lighting, Sanjay Puri Architects, sustainable design, Sustainable Hotel

We’ve seen some pretty energy efficient homes here at Inhabitat, but houses that actually give back to the grid seemed to be a thing of the future — until now. Swedish designers are currently constructing Villa Akarp, a residence that aims to combine energy conservation, energy recovery and energy generation technologies. If all goes as planned, the home will actually produce more energy than it uses and provide the excess to the grid.

Read the rest of Energy Positive House to Supply Power to Grid in Sweden

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Post tags: E.ON, Green Building, Karin Adalberth, Lund Institute of Technology, Malmo, positive net energy home, sustainable design, Villa Akarp

We first announced Pugh + Scarpa’s Cherokee Lofts in Los Angeles two years ago, and we’re excited to say that the renovated recording studio debuted last month with a Rock N’Platinum grand opening. Anticipating its LEED Platinum certification, the opening literally rocked thanks to the music of Ben Lee and BlueSkyReality, plus three showcase lofts were stylized to pay tribute to Alice Cooper, 30 Seconds to Mars, and David Bowie. A fitting gala granted the number of gold and platinum records recorded at the location, which housed Cherry Studios prior to its conversion into sleek residential units.

In case you missed the opening, fear not – you can check it out this weekend on Saturday and Sunday from noon-5pm!

+ Cherokee Lofts

+ Pugh + Scarpa

Photos © Tara Wujcik

Read the rest of Cherokee Lofts: Renovated Recording Studio Seeks LEED Platinum

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", Cherokee Lofts, Cherry Studios, Green Building, green design, LEED platinum, Mutli-Family Residential Units, ReThink Development, Sustainable Building

Hive Modular recently unveiled a brand new pre-fabulous house chock full of eco-friendly materials and lots of high-tech home system controls. Situated in Vadnais Heights, Minnesota, the new X-Line 003 is a 4 bedroom, 3 bath home that boasts clean lines and a sleek interior. There are a lot of prefab companies out there serving up brilliant concepts, but not all of them have actually built a house. Hive Modular has — quite a few actually — and they’ve got the project gallery to show for it.

Read the rest of PREFAB FRIDAY: Hive Modular Unveils New X-Line 003 Home

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Post tags: Architecture, Green Building, green design, hive modular, Prefab, prefab home, prefab residence, sustainable design, x-line 003

Design and engineering innovations over the last two decades have had a dramatic impact on our ability to create beautiful, environmentally sensitive structures that help contribute to a more sustainable future. A dramatic example of the confluence of design, technology and environmental sustainability can be seen in the proliferation of innovative bridge designs around the world. We’ve put together a list of five of our favorites. Check them out and let us know what you think!

Read the rest of Top 5 Most Innovative Green Bridges on the Planet

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", "wind power", Green Building, green design, renewable energy, Solar Power, Sustainable Building, sustainable design

According to the Forest Products Laboratory, a whole, unmilled tree can support 50 percent more weight than the largest piece of lumber milled from the same tree. Putting this principle into practice, Whole Tree Architecture is dedicated to building with materials that lumber companies consider scrap – weed trees, also know as ‘managed forest thinnings.’ The resulting projects are beautiful displays of locally sourced and sustainably managed materials.

Read the rest of Beautiful Buildings Made From Whole Trees

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Post tags: green architecture, Green Building, green design, managed forests, renewable materials, whole tree architecture

When Architect Adi Purnomo of Mamostudio set out to design a live, work, and exhibition space for a photographer/painter client, he knew that maximizing natural light would be a necessity. Purnomo also pushed his studio’s creative design process to maintain the temperature of the home’s interior spaces through passive means whenever possible. The resulting Puri Indah House features an intricate series of slanted walls that reflect sunlight throughout the day, while intermingled gardens and interior pools of water ensure that the house is shaded and kept cool.

Read the rest of Puri Indah House: Poetic Sustainability in Jakarta, Indonesia

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Post tags: Green Building, Mamostudio, passive solar design, Passive Sustainable Methods, Purii Indah House, sustainable design, Sustainable Green Housing

High Density green living is on the rise in Elwood, Australia with Crosby Architect’s new Elwood Green project. Living up to its name, the high-density apartment building will house 25 units that are expected to receive an average 6-star rating – the highest honor currently available from the Green Building Council of Australia. What comes as a bit of surprise is the lack of active systems assisting in the green rating, which just goes to show that old ingenuity and smart design can create buildings every bit as sustainable as the most high-tech structures.

Read the rest of Elwood Green: 6 Star Sustainably Built Apartment Complex

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Post tags: 6 star Rating, Crosby Architects, Elwood Green, Green Building, Green Building Council of Australia, Sustainable Building

The Architectural Foundation of Los Angeles recently announced the winners of the Design Green awards at a recent ceremony hosted by the AIA/LA to recognize outstanding work built or conceived by Los Angeles architects. Citation, Merit, and Honor Awards were given to six projects that ranged in size from residential to corporate, non-profit to civic and educational, with Honor being the highest award. From the diversity of the projects, it’s clear to see that California architects do more than just design green. With each year and innovation, they elevate green, exceeding our expectations of what a green project should be.

Read the rest of Design Green Awards Elevate Sustainable Architecture in California

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", architectural foundation of los angeles, design green awards, Green Building, lost angeles

The 2009 Solar Decathlon may have come to a close, but we wanted to shine a little more light on one of our favorite projects, Virginia Tech’s LUMENHAUS. Ranked 4th in this year’s Architecture category, the LUMENHAUS is named for its “power of light” attributes and architectural references to the BauHaus movement, and was particularly inspired by Mies Van Der Rohe’s Farnsworth House. Like its historic reference, it is comprised of all glass walls, maximizing exposure to natural daylight. The house features an automated “Eclipse System” of highly insulated translucent panels that filters the light using independent sliding layers, creating an ever-changing pattern throughout the day.

Read the rest of Sun Powered LUMENHAUS has a Shifting Solar Facade

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Post tags: green architecture, Green Building, green design, lumenhaus, Solar Power, sustainable design, virginia tech

Berlin is a burgeoning modern city with a compelling history, a diverse culture, abundant art, and distinctive architecture that rivals the likes of Paris, London and New York. But if there is one thing that can set the city apart from its pricey peers, it’s the unbelievably inexpensive property. Not unlike many of the uber-creative expatriates that have taken up residence there, two enterprising artists, Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset, decided it was time to purchase and renovate a place of their own. So what can $700,000 get you in a city like Berlin? An apartment? A loft? Maybe a small house? How about a massive water pumping station!

Read the rest of Water Pumping Plant Renovated Into Gorgeous Living Space

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Post tags: adaptive reuse, Green Building, green design, Green renovation, ingar dragset, michael elmgreen, renovated pumping plant, sustainable design, wenk und wiese

The kitchen of the future was going to be so high-tech. Frigidaire’s Dream Kitchen of Tomorrow had it all; an IBM punch card recipe file, automatic dispensing and online TV ordering. And that’s not all – read on as we take a look at several extraordinary retro-futuristic kitchens to see how they’ve withstood the test of time.

Read the rest of The Kitchen of the Future Today

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Post tags: Green Building, green design, interior design, kitchen of the future, Products, sustainable design

There are reportedly over 750,000 abandoned concrete bunkers scattered throughout Albania, remnants of Communist dictator Enver Hoxha and his policies of paranoid xenophobia. Now graduate students Gyler Mydyti & Elian Stefa have developed a plan called Concrete Mushrooms that would ‘invert the meaning’ of these structures by turning them into a network of habitable eco-hostels, cafés, gift shops and more.

Read the rest of Concrete Mushrooms: Transforming Abandoned Bunkers Into Eco Hostels

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", concrete mushrooms, Green Building, green design, Recycled Materials, Sustainable Building, sustainable design

GERMANY WINS THE 2009 SOLAR DECATHLON!

Drumroll please… after an exciting week of competition and judging, the winner of the Solar Decathlon 2009 has just been announced, and it’s a stunner! In a huge upset (as Team Illinois was leading on the scoreboard until just a few moments ago) the Germans took the grand prize in the heated competition, and beat out the 19 other (mostly American) design teams with their Darmstadt house! This is sure to get national pride ruffled a bit, as Team Germany won the Solar Decathlon back in 2007 as well, kicking the butts of the mostly American teams then, as well. As the sole team representing Germany, competing with 13 American teams from various states and universities, some would argue that Germany might be triumphing in part due to their concentrated resources: the Darmstadt team spent $650,000-$850,000 on their gorgeous solar home, while many of the American teams had much smaller budgets for their houses. (For example, the Rice University Team spent $140,000 on their solar house)

A scoring of a full 150 points out of 150 in the Net Metering category tipped the scales in Germany’s favor early this morning and allowed the Darmstadt University team to once again overcome being one of the only foreign teams in the competition and reign supreme — check out our full story about the surPLUShome here!

+ Solar Decathlon 2009 Coverage
+ Team Germany Solar Decathlon House

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", Green Building, green design, solar decathlon 2009, Solar Power, sustainable design