These are the green ideas in order of importance to sustainable design:

1. On-site solar panels for green electricity - to make net zero energy onsite;
2. Solar thermal collectors for hot water supply and radiant floor heating;
3. Radiant cooling via infloor cold water in the same circuits in summer; (great idea!)
   
4. 10-ft high trombe wall collects passive solar heat;
5. Butterfly roof for rainwater collection;
6. Rainwater collection used for toilets/landscaping;
7. Drought tolerant, native landscaping;
8. Maximimum openings for natural ventilation;
9. Low-water use fixtures and plumbing;

In addition there are the usual elements that garner so many LEED points:

1. 95% of the construction waste is recycled.
2. Use of FSC-certified woods and low VOC products.
3. High recycled content materials used throughout.

…and indeed, this building has gained LEED Platinum certification, the third to do so in Utah.

It’s a good example of the self-sufficient new design vernacular in sustainable design - including net zero solar power and the new butterfly roofs for rainwater harvesting for a water constrained future.

Because Utah, in the American Southwest, is an arid land and will be increasingly drought-prone as our hotter future heats up the region.

Via Jetson Green

Given the climate change coming to most regions of the US, this new roof idea is a great passive cooling solution worth looking at even if you don’t live in the desert regions… now.

Because, by century’s end; you might.

“Summer temperatures in Florida could rise by 10.5F, with the heat effect multiplied by decreased rainfall under the higher emissions scenario. There would be increased hurricane intensity and rising sea levels leads to loss of wetlands and coastal areas.”

“When you’re out in the desert, shade is gold. It’s the most valuable asset you have, so to make more shade was [the] strategy,” says Lloyd Russell of this house he designed to withstand both the scorching heat and the cold of the desert for a client in Southern California.

Russell’s very low carbon way to cool a home is another example of how creatively some architects are thinking out of the box and in the process creating an entirely new design vernacular - architecture for zero energy use in a carbon-constrained, hotter, wilder new world.

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