Second Eco-Home On Its Way

We are pleased to announce that the seed funding for the second of GreenTown’s model eco-homes has been secured. Groundbreaking for the Meadowlark House will happen this fall, across the street from our current headquarters in the Silo Eco-Home. Thanks to the generosity of Rob Threlkeld, who heads up his family foundation in Michigan (Raymond C and Anna T Johnson Foundation), the project has been given the green light. Rob and his son Nolan stayed in the Silo Eco-Home this summer, got a tour of the town, and liked what they saw.

Readers might remember that last year GreenTown co-sponsored an international design contest with FreeGreen.com, an internet-based company that offers free building plans for sustainable homes. Meadowlark, designed by Steven Learner Studio in New York, was the winning entry among the 150 that were submitted. The Studio describes Meadowlark as "designed to be both a comfortable and flexible home for a growing family on a modest budget and a demonstration model for sustainable design and technologies". A public voting period on the designs was followed by review by a panel of well-known architects and builders (including Steve Thomas, former host of the TV show “This Old House”). There was consensus among the judges that this was the best choice for a model home in Greensburg.

We are excited about the building system being used for this home. A product called HIB has been in development in Germany for the past decade and over 100 houses have been constructed in that country from these sustainable, durable wooden blocks. The HIB wall system has been tested to withstand winds of over 180 m.p.h. and earthquakes of 8.0. The building envelope is 100% recyclable. Meadowlark will be the first in the United States to be built with this technology.

It is a passive solar home, meaning that its windows, walls and floors are designed to collect, store and distribute energy from the sun in the winter. In the summer it will deflect the sun’s heat. It is called passive technology because it does not involve the use of mechanical or electrical devices to move the heat throughout the house. According the U.S. Department of Energy, the basic difference between a passive house and a conventional house is design, and the key to a successful passive building is taking advantage of local climate.

While passive solar as a design concept has been around for many decades, Meadowlark will be built to a more recent construction standard called Passive House. The Passive House standard was developed in Germany in the 1990s (Passiv Haus), and there are tens of thousand of structures in Europe that have been built following these rigorous construction requirements. Here in the U.S. we currently have fewer than 2 dozen completed and pre-certified projects, but it is a concept that is catching on. We feel confident that having a model in Greensburg will inspire lots of other folks to consider building such a home. Homeowners can save up to 90% on their heating bills given the airtight design, super efficient windows and solar orientation of the structures. Plus, the ventilation system provides for superior indoor air quality. A special thanks goes to the folks at Passive House Institute US who made a significant contribution by donating their work to the Greensburg project, ensuring that we will meet the appropriate standards.

Next week, funder Rob Threlkeld and GreenTown project manager Joah Bussert will travel to the HIB plant in Germany to learn first-hand about this revolutionary technology. There they will meet HIB North American Representative Jan Hoetzel and be given a tour of the plant, as well as a number of in-process and completed homes to see firsthand how well the system performs.

Watch this space for an announcement of the groundbreaking ceremony as well as additional articles and features on the construction of this exciting home. We have a sample of the HIB block at our Green Visitors Center on South Sycamore Street here in Greensburg, and invite you to stop by when you're in town for a look at this cutting-edge technology.

To learn more about all the features planned for the home, please visit the Meadowlark House page located in the Chain of Eco-Homes section of our website.