LEED commercial projects reach one billion square feet

I guess Kermit the Frog was wrong...it's easy to be green after all.
The footprint of commercial projects certified under the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED Green Building Rating System recently surpassed one billion square feet worldwide, and an additional six billion square feet of projects are registered and working toward certification.
“This traction demonstrates the transformation of the way we design, build and operate buildings,” said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair, USGBC. “Not only does green building contribute to saving energy, water and money, it also creates green jobs that will grow and energize our economy.”
Since it was first introduced to the marketplace in 2000, more than 36,000 commercial projects and 38,000 single-family homes have participated in LEED.

Extreme makeover: Adirondack furniture

This is not your traditional sitting by the lake Adirondack-style furniture.
The Adirondack Museum asked six modernist and postmodern architects and designers and six Adirondack rustic furniture makers to create a new, modern aesthetic. The results of the collaborations have reinvigorated rustic furniture trends using traditional methods and materials.
The "Rustic Tomorrow" collection features a desk by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill consulting partner David Childs that was built by Wayne Ignatuck with red oak salvaged from his yard and walnut castoffs from a nearby farm. A table by Shope Reno Wharton Associates’s Allan Shope was constructed in black walnut by Judd Weisburg, according to Interior Design magazine.
Other contemporary designers include, Michael Graves, Nils Luderowski Architect and Dennis Wedlick Architect, and 20th Century Fox art director Thomas Cardone, according to Interior Design.
This exhibit will travel to:
Munson-Williams-Proctor Art Institute, Utica, New York — February 14 through April 19, 2009.
D. Wigmore Fine Art Inc., New York, New York — April 22 to May 6, 2009.
"Rustic Tomorrow’s" one-of-a-kind pieces will be sold at auction to benefit Adirondack Museum on May 6.

Lifestyle-driven architecture

It’s like the Guggenheim but homey.
LivingHomes, a developer of modern, sustainably designed, prefabricated homes, has partnered with Kohler Co. to present the Kohler LivingHome, which debuted at the TED Conference, Feb. 3 – 7, in Long Beach, Calif.
The new KieranTimberlake line of LivingHomes offers six “expandable” single-family residences and multi-family models that are designed for “infill” or inner city lots that have limited space and views.
Designed to achieve LEED-Platinum certification, the two-story, 2,200-square-foot home features furnishings, materials, products and technologies that showcases high design with a low ecological footprint. Some of these products include, Anderson composite wood recycled frame windows, Sherwin Williams no VOC and Low VOC paints and stains, Humabuilt Wheatcore doors, Trex decking, railing and trim products, Lyptus hardwood floors, Crossville recycled mosaic glass and porcelain tiles and Dupont Zodiac countertops.

Essentially a series of simple, stylish, stacked boxes, the modern aesthetic offers open and flexible interiors and promotes passive solar and day lighting. The design also reflects LivingHome’s Z6 Sustainable Building Goals for construction and operation: Zero water, Zero energy, Zero waste, Zero emissions, Zero carbon and Zero ignorance.
“As with all LivingHomes, the Kohler LivingHome features a comprehensive environmental program which dramatically reduces the water and energy the home requires for operation, as well as reducing construction waste and indoor air pollution,” says Steve Glenn, CEO of LivingHomes. “Once it is placed on a permanent site, the home will generate and store power, and it will be eligible for LEED certification.”
The home is valued at $675,000 but is being offered for sale at $499,950. That price does not include transport, install or foundation.
Photos courtesy of Visual Nomad.