King County in Washington has about 26,000 acres of parks and open spaces with trails, trees, and streams.  To help people stay overnight in these areas, the county held a design competition — Little Footprint, Big Forest — to create an overnight structure from a surplus, reclaimed, 20-foot shipping container.  The winning design was just announced and it comes from none other than HyBrid Architecture, the firm behind the cargo container-based Sunset Idea House 2011 . HyBrid’s design called REtain includes a panelized interior wall system with rigid insulation and a finish of exposed fir. ...

How does 97% return sound? This morning, The Washington Post came out with an article that explores how the “green” in your home can pay back up to 97% at resale. The Article states, The  Earth Advantage Institute, a nonprofit group based in Portland, Ore., found that newly constructed homes with third-party certifications for sustainability and energy efficiency sold for 8 percent more on average than non certified homes in the six-county Portland metropolitan area. Existing houses with certifications sold for 30 percent more.” Apparently they have been doing a study for...

Price        $619,900 BEDS: 2 BATHS: 1.5 SQ. FT.: 1,745 $/SQ. FT.: $355 LOT SIZE: - PROPERTY TYPE: Residential, Condominium STYLE: Contemporary YEAR BUILT: 2009 COMMUNITY: West Los Angeles COUNTY: Los Angeles MLS#: 11-528977 SOURCE: TheMLS STATUS: Active ON REDFIN: 97 days One of last 3 live & work lofts left at TLofts. Live upstairs and work downstairs or use the downstairs as an office and bedroom. No more commuting, paying for office space or parking. TLofts commitment to sustainability has been well thought out. Kitchens are complete with CaesarStone...

Clean and Modern – Updated California bungalow Price: $760,000 BEDS: 3 BATHS: 1.75 SQ. FT.: 908 $/SQ. FT.: $837 LOT SIZE: 6,650 Sq. Ft. PROPERTY TYPE: Residential, Single Family STYLE: California Bungalow YEAR BUILT: 1941 COMMUNITY: Palms/Mar Vista COUNTY: Los Angeles MLS#: 11-531647 SOURCE: TheMLS STATUS: Active ON REDFIN: 77 days Adorable home with lots of outdoor living space. Huge lot approximately 6,650 sq ft. Great wrap around deck for the true inside/outside California living style. Hardwood floors in main house with rubber & cork floor in...

Currently Off the Market Green Home and Close to the Beach- Price:                     $1,349,000 BEDS: 3 BATHS: 3 SQ. FT.: 2,839 $/SQ. FT.: $475 LOT SIZE: 2,962 Sq. Ft. PROPERTY TYPE: Residential, Single Family STYLE: Modern VIEW: City Lights, Yes YEAR BUILT: 2009 COMMUNITY: Venice COUNTY: Los Angeles MLS#: 11-543231 SOURCE: TheMLS STATUS: Active Modern new build in 2009. Located within walking Abbot Kinney shops and restaurants and the beach. Clean lines and open spaces with a 600 sq ft roof top deck and 2 car garage make this a summer...

Sierra Bonita Apartments 7530 Santa Monica Blvd. West Hollywood, CA 90046 Perhaps the most noticeable aspect of Sierra Bonita, an affordable housing development in West Hollywood, is the facade-integrated solar array that powers most of the peak load electricity demand for the common areas.  The building also has a solar-powered hot water heating system, but beneath the clearly visible green technology is a modern building with apartments fully adaptable for its disabled residents. Sierra Bonita cost about $20.3 million to build, according to the developer, West Hollywood Community Housing...

In Sweden, IKEA has a line of prefab homes BoKlok.  Now they bring some of their prefab knowledge to the US by teaming up with ReadyMade magazine to show these ReadyMade Signature Modular Dwellings at at locations along the West Coast.

Announcements from LightFair this week lit up the news world.  Lighting Science Group introduced cheap 40-watt and 60-watt replacement Definity LEDs,  Philips announced a brighter, 60-watt replacement called the Endura LED and Osram Sylvania announced a bright 60-watt replacement LED that outputs 810 lumens. Before purchasing any bulbk, to test the lighting, but also check out this Lighting Facts Label to help understand the numbers. The Osram Sylvania LED is dimmable, contains no mercury, and will be available for purchase late August 2010.  Pricing is not yet set but Click here to learn more.