Announcing The Chain of Eco-Homes Competition

Calling all architects, designers and zealous supporters of The Chain of Eco-Homes project, we're asking YOU to help us imagine and invent the next three Eco-Homes. In partnership with FreeGreen.com, we're officially launching The Chain of Eco-Homes Competition.

Through our Chain of Eco-Homes Competition, Architects and Designers around the world are asked to develop a design using one of three disaster resistant wall system. Specifically, these wall systems are Amvic’s ICFs, Virginia LimeWorks’ EMUs, and HIB Systems. Competitors will be asked to choose one wall system per entry and judges will choose one winner per wall system. Another key component to the competition is cost. We're asking the judges to choose designs that can be built for $110 per sq. ft. (the average building cost in that area), with a construction cap of $154,000 per house. We don't want to develop an unattainable future house, but instead a home that shares the realistic and common sense roots of the Greensburg Community.

You don't have to be an Architect or Designer to get involved either. Through the competition website we are asking for individual donations. Your donations will help to construct these winning designs by supporting The Chain of Eco-Homes project. We highly encourage everyone to give what they can to this great cause as you will not only be helping Greensburg, but also the world of green design. To that end, all winning designs (and their subsequent house plans) will be placed on FreeGreen.com and will be able to be downloaded for free.

Greensburg GreenTown has partnered with FreeGreen.com because we share a common goal: to make green design accessible to all. To do this, FreeGreen.com provides full sets of green house plans for everyone to download from their website. In line with this open-source model, we want to make the winning house plans available to the world. Even more, we want to build the winning designs in Greensburg, Kansas. Doing this would allow eco-tourists visiting Greensburg to stay in an Eco-Home before downloading, adapting, and building it in their own town. Greensburg had over 40,000 visitors annually before the tornado; now that the community is “going green”, the potential for eco-tourism is off the charts. Visitors and media representatives from around the globe are flocking to see this model green community on the prairie. Add to this the more than 25,000 house plan downloads per year on FreeGreen.com, and you see how your design has the potential to change the residential housing industry.

Please join us in our mission to change the world, one open source green home at a time!