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[jetson.green]

Web magazine featuring modern trends in green building, sustainable architecture, good design, clean technology, and eco-friendly development.

Inventor Creates Net-Zero Energy IslandToday

Dean Kamen is a well-known entrepreneur and inventor of various technologies, including the Segway, Project Slingshot, and a hybrid electrical car with a Stirling engine.  He's also trying to establish an independent, net-zero energy island off the coast of Connecticut.  The three-acre private island is called North Dumpling, and if granted his wishes, it would have its own constitution, flag, and national anthem.  Kamen's attempts at succession haven't been successful yet, but that's no surprise given the South wasn't able to do it either.  He has found success installing LEDs and saving energy, though. 

According to LEDs Magazine, the self-sustaining island will be unveiled next spring as a microcosm of what can be done all over the world with bright green technology.  In terms of lighting retrofits to increase energy efficiency, here's what Kamen is doing:

• Cutting light-related energy by 70% by switching incandescents to LEDs
• Controlling direction of lighting to increase efficiency
• Illuminating basement with LEDs where incandescents were too hot previously

Says Kamen, "With increasing strain on our world's energy resources, our go

Dallas Planning Nation's First Fully Sustainable City BlockYesterday

What would it take to create a fully sustainable city block in downtown Dallas?  That's the question and discussion that will begin this Friday, December 5, 2008, at Dallas City Hall.  The City of Dallas, in collaboration with Urban Re:Vision and Building Community Workshop, is hosting a Design Charrette to examine the framework and community impact of a sustainable, urban square block.  And by sustainable, the vision is to create a place that is healthy in social, economic, and environmental terms. 

The purpose of Friday's meeting is to create a set of recommendations that will become the structure of an international design competition to create the sustainable city block.  Topics will include: energy systems, transportation, the natural and developed environment, community, the economy, and technology.

Although the precise location of the city block has yet to be announced, Dallas Observer reports that Mayor Tom Leppert will reveal details of the location at the beginning of the Design Charrette.  Apparently

Prefab by the NumbersYesterday

A new article in Portland Monthly delves a little deeper into the prefab world and discovers some new territory.  For newcomers to prefab, pricing can be quite elusive and this article clarifies a little of that (in particular, page three provides some helpful comparative information).  Some people don't realize that certain costs may not be factored in the often-cited price per square foot (i.e., transportation, foundation, crane, site contractor, site preparation, permitting and approvals, etc.).  That's different from a buyer's understanding of purchasing a home from a builder or developer ...

I was also interested to see how many homes certain prefab companies have sold so far.  This is an important indicator, because as companies sell more homes, they may become assembly line oriented and recognize the benefits of various efficiencies and cost savings.  Check the numbers of prefab homes sold:

• LV Homes by Rocio Romero: 64 since 2004
• MKD Portfolio Series by MKD: 34 since 2002
• weeHouse by Alchemy Architects: 20 since 2002

Embody Ups the Green Chair AnteDecember 3

I've been a happy and devoted Haworth Zody user for over a year and my chair is time-tested, blogger-approved -- it's a beautiful hoss.  But my other chair, the office one, is quite hobbled and needs replacing.  So when I was walking the exhibit floor at Greenbuild, the Herman Miller Embody chair caught my eye in a big way.  Depending on the color you go for, it's a loud chair, if not flamboyant, but that's all part of its intrinsic ambition -- and probably why Embody will be the next, must-have chair for stylish office types. 

Embody is made from 42% recycled materials, is 95% recyclable after its lifecycle, and contains no PVCs.  It's also Cradle-to-Cradle Silver certified and GREENGUARD certified.  Additionally, the chair is made i

Johnson Creek weeHouse Prefab HomeDecember 3

Wow, check out this stunning, prefab home located in Honesdale, Pennsylvania.  Just like the Marfa Weehouse, a home we talked about a long time ago, this home was designed by Alchemy Architects.  The Johnson Creek weeHouse is a 2,200 sf retreat home consisting of the main living area for daily activities and a small tower for less intenstive activities, like sleeping.  The two parts are connected by a patio bridge and the entire home is surrounded by the heavily wooded site.   

Gander at the images and note the simplicity of construction.  We're talking about, I believe, a total of four modules with some extras.  And generally speaking, the materials used are similar to those used in other weeHouses.  The result: high design at a more approachable price.

The various problems with prefab have been discussed often, but as companies start to ramp up production, the benefits and green aspects of prefab, I believe, become more dominant.  And according to a recent article in