Green Building : Jetson Green

Shout Out for Thanksgiving 2008

Hope you're all enjoying this fine autumn holiday and hanging with friends and family. Not to get all historical and such, but Thanksgiving has some interesting roots. It's my understanding that the holiday we now recognize harkens back to when the colonists and natives got together and had a meal of thanks in celebration for the harvest. Imagine all the work and sweat and travail that went into the harvest. Imagine those years when the harvest was slim. When the harvest was abundant. Life is crazy like that.

I certainly have nothing to complain about and want to shout out to you for your readership, comments, emails, and friendship. Let's turn this thing up another notch over the next year and meet back. And just so you know, posting on this end is going to be a bit slower because I'm with family and, well, wireless internet is sort of non-existent.

Image credit: Nature_photonutt.

A Green Business Rule

This went popular on Digg the other day ... just thought I'd share because we have opinions on the related concepts of lifestyle minimalism and consumption ... Jetson Green focuses on new construction, renovations, sustainability, and the like, but we're also thinking about consumption, conservation, and minimalism. 

Flickr LVL Home With Subtle Flashes of Red

As always, I'm amazed by what can be found on Flickr.  Just within the last couple weeks, someone posted photos of their friend's LVL home by Rocio Romero.  It's quite nice both inside and out.  But we've talked about Rocio Romero prefabs before, including this Napa LV Home and this Arkansas LVL Home, and what's interesting is: how they're customized.  Every Rocio Romero home starts with a primary focus on quality, sustainability, and design -- from there, owners tend to add their own personality to the inside and out. 

A Stunning Flatpak House in Aspen, CO

This is a Flatpak house in Aspen, Colorado.  I stumbled upon these shots in Flickr, so I don't have much background on the project.  But we've featured modern Flatpak homes before in the Goodwin-Wise Flatpak and Lazor's Flatpak.  Flatpak houses each have their own particular and interesting features, but the Flatpak system is the same.  It's a menu of components for living that includes walls, cabinets, bathrooms, kitchen, and various built-ins.  The components are pre fabricated and designed to meet the needs of a various owner and/or site. 

Earth Day 2008, This is How We Do It

Photo by JPhilipson

I've got an inbox full of cool announcements ready for Earth Day 2008, but to be honest, I'm not going to talk about any of them ... not today, at least.  Over the next week or so, I'll take some time to sift through the news and leak out the good stuff.  Today, though, I'm thinking, why not focus on the earth?  The best way I know how to do that is by sharing some earthy images from various, cool flickr folks.  Wear blue and enjoy the day ...

Merry Christmas from Jetson Green

I'm getting withdrawals from not being connected to the internet, but rest assured, posting will continue as usual on Wednesday evening.  I hope everyone enjoys this holiday time, no matter what your reason or religion is.  It's nice to have a collective break from whatever has become the norm. 

Image Credit: arkworld.

Jetson Green Thankful for Blogosphere

It's' been a long time since I've kicked out the shouts, but it's Thanksgiving and I'm feeling it.  The blogosphere is crazy, fast, and smart as all get out.  For that, I'm thankful.  The blogosphere has an abundance of cool green news.  So much to read and write.  Comments add perspective and flavor, too.  For that, I'm thankful.  I didn't realize it when I first started blogging, but the blogosphere is a small world.  You hear about 72 million blogs, etc., and you think you can do something stupid without getting noticed, but that's not the case.  For that, I'm thankful.  In the ebb and flow of the blogosphere, there are real friends to be made.  Conversations that shouldn't be delayed.  For that, I'm thankful.  Stay safe, enjoy the break, and check out some of my friends in the blogosphere.  In order below, but not in particular. 

Solar Decathlon Flaunts the Most Attactive Green Homes [Exclusive PICS]

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a friend on the scene in Washington D.C., providing us these exclusive shots from the Solar Decathlon.  The Solar Decathlon joins 20 college and university teams in a competition to design, build, and operate the most attractive and energy-efficient solar-powered house.  And, as you can see from these images, this place is flooded with visitors.  I bet many of them are asking themselves, "what would it take to live in a home like that?"  "Why can't I get a home like that?"  We're seeing the essence of Jetson Green on display -- this is the ultimate confluence of modern + green.  You can view our entire Solar Decathlon Photo Set on Flickr.

Shouts to Tali for squeezing through the throngs of people to get some excellent shots!!

O2 Student Village, A Community of M-CHs (F2)

This is a pretty popular photo of the O2 student village at the Technical University of Munich.  In addition to being sponsored by O2 Germany, the community of seven micro-compact homes (posted about previously here) is also sponsored by Siemens.  Six students and one professor stay in the homes for an entire school year.  Each home includes a plasma screen, high-speed internet, a bed, and state-of-the-art kitchen and bathroom appliances (although you probably wouldn't want to powder your nose and cook at the same times as these are only about 76 sf big).

"F2" is short for "Flickr Friday," a weekly short posted on Friday with an image from Flickr and a quick description.  Feel free to email me your F2 ideas.

MiniHome: Ultimate Sustainable Mobility

This is the Sustain Minihome, a green, urban RV for the modern-day recreationists.  When you see this, you won't believe how much functionality and comfort can go into a mere 325 sf.  To get the real feel of it, go check out the HGTV video of Andy Thomson's miniHome (the designer).  Nice.  I'm pretty sure this is going on the Christmas wish list.