I think most folks followed our Dwell magazine blog through to the end, but just in case, here is a link to the final installment.  I tried to really sum up what I think zHome is about and where we are with buildings and climate change – a number of people have commented broadly on it so I wanted to be sure it was out there.

Each year the EPA regional Energy Star program (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana) recognizes the best development of the year.  For 2011, that award went to zHome.  Here is Northwest Energy Star’s press release in full: 

“Ichijo USA Co., LTD was recently awarded the Development of the Year award by Northwest ENERGY STAR Homes and its Washington utility partners such as Puget Sound Energy. The Seattle, Washington-based builder has been selected for their commitment to incorporating energy-efficient building techniques and design into a specific housing development, practicing social responsibility within their communities, and providing their customers with improved comfort and reduced energy bills.

Since joining the program in 2011, Ichijo USA has built a total of seven ENERGY STAR qualified homes. The Development of the Year award is given based on a range of criteria including the number of qualifying homes the builder constructed, use of the ENERGY STAR brand in marketing and sales and a commitment to quality that meets and even extends Northwest ENERGY STAR Homes standards.

“We are so impressed by the dedication of Ichijo USA to continue to build high quality, energy-efficient homes in a market where increased requirements and downward price pressures are causing many builders to cut costs and cut corners,” said Neil Grigsby, program manager for Northwest ENERGY STAR Homes. “Our builders’ commitment to excellence is exemplified by Ichijo USA, who is a true leader in building high-performance, energy-efficient homes and educating the homebuyer on the importance of energy efficiency and better quality construction.””

By providing carbon neutral homes in a market context, my hope is that zHome will set the tone for the future of Energy Star, the energy code, etc.  I am glad to see that Energy Star was willing to recognize this even though Ichijo USA is a new entry into the marketplace.

Many have asked about how we pulled zHome together and this is a little summary.

Here it is!

The last installment.  But that’s just for the backstory – there’s two more Dwell blogs to come, including one by Patti Southard of King County GreenTools about green materials on the project.

Don’t miss our awesome new zHome introductory video by the dynamic duo of Sheila Mullen and Valerie Vozza.  This introductory video features Denis Hayes, founder of Earth Day and Bullitt Foundation president.  It was truly an honor to have Denis do this video with us.  People have told me they get goosebumps watching it; don’t miss it!

The Bullitt Foundation is building an amazing new project called the Bullitt Center. I will post on this soon but if you haven’t heard about it, you need to check it out – it’s even more sustainable than zHome, and that’s hard to do!

zHome from valerie vozza on Vimeo.

Bryn Nelson

Bryn Nelson did an article on both zHome and the Bullitt Center titled “Points of Light for Green Construction“.  His focus was about innovation in the building sector, a topic near and dear to my heart.

World Expo in Shanghai

I was really pleased to learn on Friday that the governor had mentioned zHome in a speech in Shanghai, at the Sustainable Cities Forum that was part of the World Expo.  It is great for zHome and other initiatives like the BMW Mega-City electric vehicle to get this sort of exposure – it’s all part of leading the way into a carbon free, economically healthy future.

Kathleen O’Brien of O’Brien and Company is a mentor of sorts for me; one of several people who helped me transition my work in environmental policy and urban design to include green building.  I took her green building class at Seattle Central Community College in 2002.  She is one of a core group of green building pioneers here locally and has a very powerful legacy of her work, in the form of many projects and people.  Kathleen recently posted this very interesting and thoughtful blog on the role of government in accelerating green building and it resonated a lot with me.  She mentions zHome as a great example of government really taking the bull by the horns and trying to truly redefine the marketplace.  Her blog in general is a very interesting resource and a great place to get into some depth on our movement.

We were in France on vacation this year, and I was interested to see a growing deep green orientation there.  In the past, it has always felt like France was lagging behind Germany, Sweden, and the UK in addressing climate change on the ground.  I could feel a difference this year though – in the street art, growing bio street markets, and green initiatives. 

In Paris, a year long planning process resulted last year in “le Grand Paris“, sponsored by President Sarkozy as a way to reshape the capitol to have a smaller footprint in the coming centuries.  Several new deep green skyscrapers, such as Hypergreen, have been proposed in the last several years.  Just in the last two years, Paris has started a dedicated effort to promote bicycling, and there was a new bike rental program called Velib which was used by lots of folks, including commuters – in a short amount of time it has become a great success. 

zHome at Hypergreen display, Cite de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine

Out in the countryside, PV panels were showing up on roofs.  Folks said the big controversy was the local planning authorities were concerned about the aesthetic integration of the panels on the historic tile roofs.   All in all, really positive signs – you could feel the change in the air.

PV installers' van