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In This Issue:
EDITOR’S QUEST FOR HOME WITH CURB (AND POCKET) APPEAL:
When Karrie Jacobs, the founding editor of Dwell, left the magazine in 2003, she set out on a mission to find the perfect affordable home. Her road trip, which covered 14,000 miles, is summed up in “The Perfect $100,000 House: A Trip Across America and Back in Pursuit of a Place to Call Home,” which will be published soon. According to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times (David Hay, 07/27/06), Jacobs discovered several homes, including the “LV Home,” a seamless, galvanized aluminum box with generous windows; a pair of steel-clad boxes topped by plastic roofs created by the University of Kansas architecture school’s Studio 804 design program; and a Tacoma, Wash., area house defined by its high, curved roof and zebra-striped siding. She eventually found the “perfect” house in a Houston, Texas, suburb, called the “Shot Trot” home. The home is a cross between the Southern style known as "shotgun" and the Texas Hill Country archetype, "dog trot," which has breezeways running from one side of the house to the other. With a starkly pitched roof and cement-based cladding, the home balances the traditional and the modern. The designer has since developed three versions of the house sold in kit form and assembled on site by builders, and has sought contracts in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. If successful, the homes may fulfill the need for practical, affordable houses that are mass-produced. To learn more about the houses and Jacobs’ trip, read the article.
TEXAS CITY CREATING ZERO ENERGY HOMES TASK FORCE:
According to a recent article in the Austin Business Journal (07/31/06), the city of Austin, which declared that it wants to be the Clean Energy Capital of the world, will create and appoint a task force to study the possibility of adopting building code changes that require all new single-family homes in Austin to be “zero energy capable,” or able to power themselves with on-site energy generation, by 2015. The task force will also develop strategies that will be piloted through Austin Energy’s Green Building Program; those that result in significant energy efficiency and cost effectiveness will be incorporated into the City’s Energy Code. To learn more, read the article.
TENNESSEE BUILDERS DISCOVERING GREEN MARKET:
According to a recent article in The Tennessean (Kristen Hampshire, 07/30/06), builders who have been introducing green building to the Nashville residential market often incorporate fancy upgrades alongside less visible, “behind the walls” benefits, like energy savings, in order to market their homes. However, the pace of green building is picking up speed in the area as more residents translate green to energy conservation and better air quality. According to the area, regional builders and others in the home building industry have seen a significant increase in buyer interest in green building, especially among empty nesters and among younger buyers. To learn more about how the area’s green building market is evolving, read the article.
HUD SYMPOSIUM OFFERS WAYS TO CREATE DURABLE HOUSING:
According to a recent article in the (South Mississippi) Sun Herald (Priscilla Frulla, 08/02/06), the recent Sustainable Housing Technologies Symposium, in Biloxi, Miss., offered attendees the opportunity to get the latest information on disaster-resistant materials and building techniques. The two-day event, which was open to the public and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), brought in the nation's best experts on building technology to help educate pertinent groups about rebuilding along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Rather than marketing a particular product or method, training available at the symposium covered new technologies in building construction, disaster resistant building materials, zoning, flood plan management, on-site versus off-site construction, area building codes, and design selection. To learn more about the Symposium, read the article or visit the HUD website.
GREEN BUILDING AWARDS APPLICATION PERIOD OPEN:
NAHB (the National Association of Home Builders) is now seeking entries for its National Green Building Awards, which recognize those who have helped move green into the mainstream of the housing industry through their designs and construction practices. This year, the program includes a new green land development award, which honors resource-efficient site design and development practices, including on-site recycling, preservation of trees, and innovative stormwater retention features. Other categories include Green Project of the Year for single-family, multifamily, and remodeling; Green Advocate of the Year; Green Building Program of the Year; and Outstanding Green Marketing Program. Members can submit projects started by June 2005 and substantially completed by December 2006. Applications are due by December 31, 2006 and winners will be notified by February 15, 2007. Awards will be presented during the National Green Building Conference, held in St. Louis, March 25 to 27. For additional information, read the article in Nation’s Building News.
HOMEBUYERS LOOKING FOR MORE HOME TECH OPTIONS:
A recent survey conducted by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) found that home builders are missing out on an opportunity to differentiate themselves from the competition and increase their profits by introducing more home technology to increasingly receptive buyers. According to a recent article in Nation’s Building News (07/31/06), the CEA’s 4th Annual State of the Builder Tech Market Study, conducted among 379 builders online by the NAHB Research Center, showed evidence of a clear upward trend in the revenue implications of home tech, such as home theaters, energy management, monitored security, multi-room audio, lighting controls and home automation. Thirty-three percent of those surveyed said that their revenue from home technology products had increased in 2005, up from 24 percent during the prior year. The survey also found that installation of electronic products grew fast last year, with the exception of structured wiring, which has decreased because of the advances in wireless technology. To learn more, read the article.
KB HOME RAISING BAR ON FALL PREVENTION SAFETY:
According to a recent article in the Arizona Daily Star (Becky Pallack, 07/19/06), more construction workers die from falls than from any other type of accident. Yet despite devastating accidents, production pressure can be a barrier to effective fall-protection programs for many companies. As a result, KB Home Tucson, Inc., an NHQ Certified Builder, is starting to place anchors on roof trusses before they are installed, providing a consistent, permanent point at which workers can tie their safety lines. The company will initially implement the system in new Tucson homes, and eventually at all KB Home building sites nationwide. The anchors, called the Guardian Truss Boss, include a cap made of heat-resistant plastic that is designed to prevent the anchors from degrading in the sun. The company will offer bilingual training and a certification process for workers who will install the anchors. To learn more, read the article.