Whether or not it's really green, it certainly is beautiful. WIRED magazine has teamed up with LivingHomes, a company that builds green, prefabricated homes, to create WIRED Home, a house in LA that showcases green, sustainable technology.
The home was manufactured in the factory, reducing cost and construction waste. When the home was brought to the site, the installation took only two and a half days. The home is fully automated, with the latest in gadgets, gear and appliances, yet still keeps kilowatt usage low.
To find out more about this home, as well as to see some gorgeous photos, just read more
This is no drop-in-the-bucket cheap and green home, though. In fact, this modernist palace costs $4 million and is housed in an exclusive enclave of Los Angeles. And while I believe that small is beautiful (and green), the house measures in at 4,057 square feet—almost 2000 square feet bigger than the average US home! However, it is designed to attain at least a Gold rating from the USGBC LEED for Homes Program, which is nothing to sniff at. The home’s anticipated energy use is 36% more efficient than a conventional residence of a similar size (but again, if the house were smaller, it would be even greener). The home will also feature a forced hot air radiant heating and cooling system; recycled glass bathroom countertops; Heath ceramic tile; low-maintenance high-design ecological kitchen cabinetry; an environmentally friendly washer/dryer system that uses less water and energy; windows and doors constructed with recycled glass and aluminum; reclaimed redwood milled from old military barracks; FSC-certified exterior siding; tankless water heaters; and LED lights that consume less energy than conventional light bulbs.
What do you think? Is this really a green home, or is it just an example of trying to put a coat of green paint on something that's too big, too expensive, and too unsustainable?
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Vero Moda
ugh....i love that people are looking for greener building techniques but i wish americans would get over the need to have the biggest house on the block. while some of the resources are recycled, the "greeness" of the home is diminished by the fact that so many resources were needed to build such a massive house. but i guess if it means that one less resource depleting, energy wasting, mcmansion home is built, that has to be a good thing.
1It depends on how many bedrooms it has and how big a family it is for. If a large family lives in it, then it is a good use of space for that square footage in that market.
2Seems plenty green to me.
This is gorgeous. It reminds me of the house from "THE STARTER WIFE."
3It looks brown to me.
4Like Red said, it depends on the size of the family that lives in it. If it is a weekend home or something, then its just ricidulous. But if its a full-time home for a big family, then sure, its green.
The reclaimed redwood form old military barracks is an awesome feature!
5It seems to me that the huge glass windows all over the house reduce energy efficiency. To regulate temperature inside the house better, the house should have thicker, well insulated walls, not glass. If they want sunlight for warmth or light, a couple of skylights can do the trick.
6For a 4 million dollar home you'd think they could hire an interior decorator. It looks like someone spent a weekend going to flea markets and buying junk to throw into the rooms!
7I really like the flea market decor! I agree with the other posters, it's ok if a large family lives in it year-round, otherwise its wasteful.
8I would love to have a house that beautiful AND energy effiecent!
9Definitely the latter, Casa...
10well, what about the lights, they seem to me like halogen lights, which have a massive consumption. not green at all.
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