Construction slated for completion early 2007.

Sustainability is possible in even the most standard suburban home, say Cherokee Investment Partners and Lutron Electronics. To create a model for environmentally friendly living in traditional American neighborhoods, the investment firm, which revitalizes environmentally impaired properties, and the lighting control manufacturer have joined forces to build the National Homebuilder Mainstream GreenHome in Raleigh, North Carolina.
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With a bevy of green buildings, a centralized location, and proper funding, sustainability is riding high in the second largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Where steel was king, sustainability now reigns. A new economic development program in Western Pennsylvania could help the area jump to the forefront of sustainable design. Read more » »

A 9m steel tower with views into neighbours’ backyards has raised the ire of some Claremont residents.

1900 – The heritage-listed Thomson Road house with its original tower.

They have likened it to Auschwitz, or the Gulag or a concentration camp.

“It’s as ugly as sin,” said one.

Others say it resembles a fire watchtower or a voyeur’s post. Read more » »

As the performance characteristics of strawbale construction are more critically defined through accredited laboratory facilities, it is becoming increasingly viable in mainstream contexts. New tests of two strawbale wall assemblies under ASTM E119-05a to establish firewall ratings continue that trend: separate one- and two-hour ratings were achieved. A two-hour firewall is required for many applications—such as schools and other institutional or commercial buildings—while most residential firewalls require a one-hour rating.
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