Mention “green” building and many people picture a quaint home in the woods made of cob and locally harvested wood or stone with a turf roof.  Or, you may think of the earthships constructed of old tires and other recycled materials in the southwestern deserts.  Perhaps, “off the grid” with images of very plain or in some cases downright ugly buildings comes to mind. There are a multitude of alternative building styles that can be called “green”.  But many of them are unique to a specific environment and not suitable for the typical urban/suburban neighborhood that most of us live in these days. 

Sustainable/Green Building
By Kasandra K. Ireland
While each of these homes was built using sustainable methods, they aren't suitable for urban/suburban neighborhoods.
City building codes tend to be much more stringent than those in remote locations.  So for the purposes of this article we will focus on sustainable building and remodeling in an urban/suburban environment.  Any style home can be built using sustainable methods/materials and virtually any existing home can be made more sustainable than it was when it was built.  But what makes a building sustainable/green?  How is it different from a “conventional” building? For some answers we turn to the U.S. Green Building Council , the Passive House Institute of the US (PHIUS), and the Institute for Bau-Biologie® & Ecology (IBE).
U.S. Green Building Council

The U.S. Green Building Council provides guidelines for green building and certification through its LEED program.  “LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed…” to improve “…energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.” LEED certification can significantly improve the internal air quality of buildings as well as reducing the impact on the environment compared to conventional building. (Back to top)
Passive House Institute of the US (PHIUS)

On their website the Passive House Institute of the US defines a passive house as, “A Passive House is a very well-insulated, virtually air-tight building that is primarily heated by passive solar gain and by internal gains from people, electrical equipment, etc. Energy losses are minimized. Any remaining heat demand is provided by an extremely small source. Avoidance of heat gain through shading and window orientation also helps to limit any cooling load, which is similarly minimized. An energy recovery ventilator provides a constant, balanced fresh air supply. The result is an impressive system that not only saves up to 90% of space heating costs, but also provides a uniquely terrific indoor air quality.” (Back to top)
Institute for Bau-Biologie® & Ecology (IBE)

The Institute for Bau-Biologie® & Ecology (IBE) takes a wholistic approach to green building.  They go beyond LEED by including more natural materials, reducing/eliminating electromagnetic fields in living areas and attending to the chi energy or Feng Shui of the building.   

Their vision statement on their website states, “We believe that human health and wellbeing are intrinsically linked to the materials in our homes and commercial buildings, as well as to the air, water and electromagnetic field exposure in our indoor environments.  Bringing together the technical expertise, biological understanding and ecological sensitivity to create healthy homes and workplaces, we are committed to building the global awareness that natural living space not only promotes human health and wellbeing, it also has a positive impact on the survival of this planet.”  IBE provides education, training and certification for Environmental Consultants and, though it does provide building standards, it does not have a building certification program. (Back to top)
This home was constructed using many green technologies, methods and materials. Passive solar design is coupled with solar electric and solar hot water to provide most of it's energy needs.  Exterior walls are thicker and contain more insulation than conventionally constructed homes.  Energy efficient appliances futher reduce energy consumption.  Non-toxic materials and thoughtful design make it comfortable and highly efficient, as well as beautiful.
Rain water harvesting, solar clothes dryer, and native landscaping add to it's "green-ness".
This is a green home that would be welcome in virtually any city.
An example of a Passive House.  This method is adaptible to virtually any style of construction.  It can also be used to retro-fit an existing home, significantly reducing energy consumption. 
LEED Certification

There are many organizations that advocate green building and most (but not all) of them use LEED’s guidelines for sustainable building. LEED awards four levels of certification (certified, silver, gold and platinum) depending on the level of compliance to its standards.  Key areas addressed by the LEED program include: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy & atmosphere, materials & resources,  indoor environmental quality, locations & linkages,  awareness & education, innovation in design, and regional priority. 

These guidelines address most of the physical aspects of a building yet, some feel that LEED certification doesn’t go far enough.  Indeed, at the lower levels of LEED certification a building can have some very un-green characteristics including higher energy usage and poor air quality. 

Another shortcoming of LEED is that it doesn’t address that difficult to define “feeling” or “atmosphere” created by the built environment.  When you enter the building do you want to stay in it beyond the time that your curiosity is satisfied?  Or does it make you want to leave? A building can be very “green” in terms of efficiency, materials and quality yet, uncomfortable to the people living or working in it.  (Back to top)
Greening Your Home

Whether building a new home or re-modeling and greening an existing one it’s important to:

Determine your needs:
  • Do you really need a 4,000 sq ft home?  Or, would a well-designed 2,500 sq ft home better fulfill your needs while significantly reducing the cost of building and maintaining it? 
  • Is a state-of-the-art kitchen necessary?  Unless you’re a chef (or you have a chef!) those high end appliances and imported Italian marble are likely to add significantly to the cost of your new home or re-model but not nearly as much to its value.  Sadly, a fancy kitchen won’t make you a better cook.  Design your kitchen around how you actually use it.
  • A reading nook in your bedroom?  Why add an extra 100 sq ft to a room whose primary purpose is for sleeping in? Chances are, you read in bed, anyway.
  • Have you ever actually used a formal dining room?  Most people these days haven’t so instead of adding on an office or media room why not re-purpose the dining room?  If you have no use for it, consider leaving it out of new construction completely.
  • Does ALL of an item need to be replaced or could you get away with replacing only the worn/broken parts?  For example, your siding is old Masonite that is beginning to disintegrate near the ground but the rest of it just needs painting.  Can you get away with replacing only the lower third of the siding?  There are many ways to integrate different materials into your design to create an attractive home inside and out. Anything you can keep out of a landfill is a good thing. In most cases it will make your remodeling dollars stretch farther, too.
Stay real and be flexible:
  • Sacrificing some luxury for the sake of living a more sustainable life can be a good thing, but your home still needs to support your lifestyle.  Don’t make it so small that you feel cramped or uncomfortable.  Sustainability is just as much about sustaining you as it is the environment.
  • Your budget may be a factor in how “green” you can go with some items.  Some green products/methods are beautiful, durable, efficient, very sustainable…and cost many times more than their conventional counterparts.  What’s most important to you?   Energy efficiency? Toxin free materials? Conserving water? Air quality?  Only you can make that call.
  • Let go of the guilt and do whatever you can.  Greening your home doesn’t have to be an all or nothing proposition.  Sure, it would be great if you could go all the way, but if you can only do one green thing, that’s something. 
  • Which green thing should you do first?  That will depend on both your house and your budget, but in most cases a great first step is to seal up all those pesky leaks around windows, doors, and vents.  It’s an inexpensive way to gain significant savings in your heating/cooling bills.
Do your homework:
  • There’s a lot of “green washing” going on these days.  A material or item advertised as being “sustainable” or “green” may be no better than its conventional counterpart.  Investigate not only how long it will last once it’s installed in your home, but where does it come from?  What is it made out of? How much maintenance will it require? How much energy is required to produce it compared to similar products?  How much pollution/waste is produced during its manufacture?  Some materials lose their “greenness” when you take a close look at them.
Consult with/hire a licensed professional:
  • Designing and building anything is a lot more complex than it looks.  Let a professional deal with details like building code compliance unless you like reading small print, tearing your hair out, and redoing the plumbing that’s off by 2 inches.  Find a contractor who is open to new ideas that specializes in green building, and ask for references. It may add some to your overall costs, but the results will be worth it. (Back to top)
Sustainable Materials, Items and Methods We Like

There are many new building technologies (such as stress insulated panels (SIPs) and thermal envelope design) and some very old ones (such as strawbale and rammed earth) being used in green building today that are appropriate for the urban/suburban environment.   The limited scope of this article prevents us from discussing the pros and cons of different styles, materials and methods, but we include a partial list below, of some of those being used today, as well as some links to more detailed information. 

Cement-fiber siding   <>   Fiberglass extruded window frames   <>   Stress insulated panels (SIPs)   <>   Solar power
No VOC (volatile organic compound) paints, stains & finishes   <>    Bamboo   <>   Vinyl-free wall coverings
Strawbale building    <>   Solar hot water   <>   Reclaimed wood   <>   Reclaimed brick and stone   <>   Clay plasters
Radiant floor heating   <>   Lumber from sustainably managed forests   <>   Geo-thermal heating   <>   Wind power
Energy efficient appliances   <>   Rammed Earth Building   <>   Passive Solar Design   <>   Thermal Envelope Design
Low E glass windows   <>   Graywater treatment   <>   Rainwater harvesting   <>   Rain barrels and cisterns
Non-toxic household cleaners   <>   Water walls   <>   Permeable pavers   <>   Permaculture landscaping   <>   Solar clothes dryers