Sky Cottage, the residence of local architect Barry Yoakum, just received official certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), making the 2,566-square-foot structure Shelby County's first home to receive the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver designation.
MLGW provided EcoBUILD certification for Sky Cottage, as well as serving as the local green verifier for USGBC-required documentation. In addition to EcoBUILD requirements that helped meet energy efficiency criteria, Sky Cottage includes a wide variety of materials selected to achieve LEED points in areas such as site selection, use of local and regional building materials, indoor air quality and landscape irrigation.
The modern architecture of this three-story home, which features massive glass walls facing the Mississippi River, proves that green building can be achieved for any floorplan and architectural style. TERRA, the University of Memphis' demonstration house located in Uptown, also has submitted documentation and is awaiting LEED certification. TERRA was built to meet EcoBUILD, LEED and the American Lung Association's Health House standards.
EcoBUILD, MLGW's residential green building program, utilizes a prescriptive set of building standards, installation techniques, inspections and performance testing to yield a home that uses approximately 30% less energy than one built just to local code and typical practices. EcoBUILD has certified 523 homes in Shelby County since 2004, helping homeowners lower utility costs and reduce their carbon footprint through reduced emissions from power plants. Eight EcoBUILD-certifies homes are open for tours now through November 1 at the VESTA Home Show located in Arlington's Village of White Oak. Visit the Memphis Area Home Builders Association's website for details.
1 comment:
That's sad that a new house that's over 2,500 SF is considered green or efficient. Yea it's 30% more efficient than another 2500 SF but why not design it more efficiently so you don't need as much SF?
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