Jetson Green

World's First Dual LEED Platinum Building

There's an interesting story to the green building certification of the historic Mutual Building in Lansing, Michigan.  Not only did it receive LEED Platinum certification in both the LEED-CS and LEED-CI ratings systems, making it the world's first building to do so, it's also an historic building that's been preserved, renovated, and certified.  People will, in all likelihood, discuss the building's double platinum certification, but I think it is more commendable and noteworthy that they did all that in the context of a building listed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks.  It's quite incredible ...

South Waterfront Named World's First Salmon-Safe Certified Neighborhood

The South Waterfront area of Portland is a new and interesting neighborhood.  All the buildings in South Waterfront will be LEED certified and thoughtfully planned.  The 35-acre, 17-block district abutting the Willamette River is also the first urban neighborhood to achieve Salmon-Safe certification.  The mission of Salmon-Safe is to restore the health of watersheds so salmon can spawn and thrive.  Here's what the certification tells us about South Waterfront:

Aviator Energy Efficient Live/Work Units Planned for Steamboat Springs

I just received an email about an interesting project on the cusp in Steamboat Springs, Colorado called Aviator.  Aviator is a mixed-use, multifamily and storage units facility that's targeting LEED Gold certification.  Seeking superior energy efficiency for the project, Olson Development retained EcoSteel to provide the structure.  EcoSteel calculates that their company could contribute ~18 points towards overall certification of Aviator based upon energy efficiency (10), heat island effect reduction (1), and recycled, reused, and regional materials use (7). 

Modern Sky Hill Townhomes in Atlanta

Check these urban townhomes out.  They're pretty interesting.  The design here is part of a development called Sky Hill, a twelve townhome community in Midtown Atlanta.  Designed by Kuo Diedrich, Sky Hill is clustered into four buildings with three townhomes each.  They're all 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom units of ~3000 sf and have been LEED registered (not certified).  Each home has a rooftop terrace and equipped with a plant-growing system by LiveRoof.  Apparently the end units have an elevator option, which most would agree is kind of, well, you know.  But being located in an infill location with pedestrian friendly design opens up the possibility for living a greener kind of lifestyle.   

Serenbe, Luxe Conservation Community

Serenbe is located in Palmetto, Georgia, about 30-45 minutes southwest of Atlanta.  The 900 acre community will preserve 70% of it's land and eventual plans include about 600 homes.  All Serenbe homes will be EarthCraft certified and the community offers a variety of options including work/live townhomes, cottages, and estates.  The architecture is diverse and charming and is often inspired by historical buildings.  There's a Dwell Home being built (see below), and the above home by Redbone Construction was featured in various green building articles in local Atlanta publications. 

Beleza To Be Smart, Green Community

River North Properties LLC is planning to develop a LEED Certified, condo/retail project for Denver's River North ("RiNo") neighborhood.  Named Beleza, a Brazilian Portuguese word for "beauty", this luxurious green community is modeled after the Brazilian city of Curitiba.  Like Curitiba, Beleza will focus on sustainable lifestyle, eco-friendly development, and planning that cuts pollution and waste while improving the quality of life for residents.  It will also have smart amenities, such as biometric fingerprint access, climate-controlled window blinds, power outlets in parking spaces, and digital screen controlled integrated lighting, communications, and A/V systems. 

2800 Lincoln Modern Green Residences

This 5 story, 9 unit condo building is 2800 Lincoln and is planned for the corner of Diversey Parkway and Lincoln Avenue in Chicago, Illinois.  Designed by Product Architects, this contemporary green building is aiming for LEED Silver, and might even catch LEED Gold.  2800 Lincoln has a green roof, large terraces, solar panels, solar thermal hot water heating, and will be powered, in part, by geothermal energy (see diagram below).  Yo Chicago reports that the developer, Helios Realty and Development, plans to break ground in the next month or two and has a lease for the ground-floor retail space in the works. 

One Waterfront Place Going Super Green

Just recently, I noticed news that One Waterfront Place in the River District of Portland has received Platinum precertification under the LEED-CS program.  One Waterfront Place is said to be the first Platinum precertified project on the West Coast and the first precertified project of any level in Oregon.  And, as you can tell with the above rendering, the $100 million, 270,000 sf commercial office building has a posh location right near the river.  The Class A+ building will have a host of green amenities:

Zero Energy Idea House Breaks Ground

At the tail end of last week, Shirey Contracting broke ground on the Zero Energy Idea House located at Bass Cove near Bellevue, Washington.  The house is intended to be kind of an inspirational structure that can help homeowners move toward energy independence.  As a zero energy house*, the goal is to generate all the necessary energy from on-site power and efficiency measures.  Specifically, the Idea House will have rooftop solar, solar hot water, and a vertical-axis small wind turbine, judging by the rendering.  In addition, the 1700 sf home will have a large, 1200 sf green roof and a host of other green features, such as:

Giveaway: e² Design Season 1, 2 & Energy 3 PK DVD Set

This is part of the Jetson Green birthday giveaway, so make sure to leave a comment by midnight Friday, July 25, 2008, if you want to be considered for the contest.*

We've blogged about e² previously because the video series is so absolutely compelling.  You can catch previews of the show at the e² series website, view episodes at Hulu, and buy episodes at iTunes.  With the Brad Pitt-narrated, design season three in production and available for viewing from September 1, 2008, we can expect more incredible information in this delicious video format.  While you're waiting for the next installment, why not catch up on what's already been produced?  The critically acclaimed series envisions a better quality of life on earth and explores attainable solutions in a variety of fields: design, energy, transport, water, food, and urban development.  This three pack promotional DVD giveaway is made possible through the generosity of Kontentreal.