Beauty in Sustainable Architecture – more specifically, home dwellings

Yum: Reading Home-Design Book and House Plans

This turned into a little bigger of a subject matter than Yum bargained for: Here are some interesting excerpts for an array of sites…. She went from the small site to the broad stroke of HGTV. First she asked herself and of others – “What does living green mean to you?”

One of her favorite inserts came from Pure Green, and it’s photographer and friend, Erin Monett. puregreendesign.blogspot.
“Living green boils down to respect.  Respect for one’s health and quality of life, and respect for all the earth and creation. I believe we’ve only been given one planet. As far as I’m concerned we have (and continue to) mess it up. It’s our moral obligation to take ownership and make that wrong, right again. Everyone can learn to live a little greener! Make educated decisions about what you are feeding your children, pouring down your drain, and financially supporting in your purchases    BTW- thanks to Céline MacKay, Editor in Chief and founder of Pure Green Magazine!

Then Yum asks herself a bigger questions of what is ” Sustainable architecture” – since your home is indeed architecture of some kind or another. In it’s most simple form Yum says- it simply means that your architecture (home) strives  to be as small a negative impact of the environment as possible. That is done first with design and the materials of your home to enhance it’s efficiency, then what energy that you will consume as the resident of that home, and again, how can you maximize the efficiency. How can your home and your own footprint be as  small as possible on the world?

Further poking around Yum found and liked this:  (HGTV) The 8 categories and the total possible points for each are as follows:

What Makes a Home Green?
  1. Innovation and Design Process. 9 possible points are given for using special design methods, unique regional credits, measures not currently addressed in the Rating System, and exemplary performance levels.
    2. Location and Linkages. 10 possible points are given for placing homes in socially and environmentally responsible ways in relation to the larger community.
    3. Sustainable Sites. 21 possible points are given for using the entire property so as to minimize the project’s impact on the site.
    4. Water Efficiency. 15 possible points are given for indoor and outdoor water conservation practices built in to the home.
    5. Energy and Atmosphere. 38 possible points are given for improving energy efficiency, particularly in the building envelope and heating and cooling design.
    6. Materials and Resources. 14 possible points are given for selecting environmentally preferable materials, efficiently using materials, and minimizing waste during construction.
    7. Indoor Environmental Quality. 20 possible points are given for improving indoor air quality by reducing possible air pollution. 
8. Awareness and Education. 3 possible points are given for educating the homeowner, tenant, and building manager (for larger multifamily buildings) about the operations and maintenance of their home’s green features.

How this for truly a GREEN DWELLING! Super efficient small dwelling  http://www.minibpassivehouse.com/ Follow link to see a lovely drawing of the home.

Next: A home in Michigan that the front glass is put in to reflect the water it is on so it “blends” instead of sticking out from its surroundings. “Because modeling sustainable building practices was a key goal of the project, Baker was averse to demolishing the existing cottage on the property. Instead, builder Luke Gingerich and his crew at Golden Rule Construction removed the pitched roof from the cottage, stripped it to the studs, and used the framing and foundation in the new house.

The old cottage now makes up most of the private quarters, including a small o…ffice, laundry room and master suite downstairs, plus a den, a bathroom and two small bedrooms upstairs. It connects to the new pavilion in a modular, very modern floor plan that doubles the size to 3,000 square feet.” Read the whole story and see a photo of the home.

Do you love to look at house/home photos. Yum does, I do and if you do too- a whole array of amazing Sustainable Homes around the world. Lush photos, a brief description of the homes. Brought to you by  http://www.besthousedesign.com/category/houses-design/green-house/. FAB!!!!!!

Last but certainly not least. So – what makes a home a Sustainable Home?   According to  http://sustainablehouseandhome.com/what-makes-a-sustainable-home/ which is a site is dedicated to those principles that we believe will have the greatest impact to limit our footprints on this blue and green planet we co-inhabit.

“This is a simple answer in terms of coming from a knowledge of these things.  However, when trying to come up with a concrete and succinct answer, it is sometimes a bit more difficult.  The simplest answer is to say that what makes a house a sustainable home is that it is not only built from materials that are harvested or manufactured in a way that is supportive of the larger global environment, but that is in constant balance and harmony with the environment that it is a part of as well.  In other words, it is constructed of materials that support a more ‘green friendly’ – we’ll get to that as well – approach and is also surrounded, supported and maintained in this fashion as well.”

Sounds good to Yum – she is ready to go and start designing her Sustainable Home!

Yum has had a great time this week – she learned a ton and hope you did too. Happy Beauty to one and all!

Tomorrow- Fun Fact Friday…