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We all know what people in glass houses shouldn’t throw — stones. (Actually, it’s probably not a good idea to throw anything if you live in an all-glass house.) But what should people who live in straw houses abstain from doing? Absolutely nothing, according to a new green building trend that is encouraging use of materials like straw, compressed dirt/rammed earth, an adobe straw mixture and aerated concrete blocks. (Lists of such materials can be found here, along with straw construction information.) Builders had in the past shied away from such materials because of fears they were highly flammable, not…

News last week that a recent study by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) had found the industry perception of green building’s costs and benefits was way off base was disheartening news to green enthusiasts. The survey found that real estate and construction industry officials often misjudge the costs and benefits of building green. Their general estimations of what green building added to a project budget hovered around 17 percent (the true cost is just 5 percent); industry members also thought greenhouse gas emissions from construction were 19 percent of the world’s total when they truly are 40…

BRAD PITT IS IN NEW ORLEANS! BRAD PITT IS IN NEW ORLEANS! OMG! BRAD!!! PITT!!! NEW! ORLEANS!!!!!! Such was the breathless, teenage girl-cadenced cry of the tabloids this week, as the Bran half of Brangelina rolled down south into the Big Easy. Numerous media outlets — from People to the Associated Press — covered the trip, publishing articles and photos of the "Fight Club" and Oceans Thirteen" star in New Orleans. Was he partying in the French Quarter? Hanging out in the home he owns there? Reading Anne Rice books? Nope. Pitt was in New Orleans on Tuesday touring a…

An interesting program designed by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory — inspired by the goal of reaching zero energy, where a home would produce what it uses — has outfitted five Habitat for Humanity homes in Tennessee with new renewable energy producing and energy-efficient technologies. The homes, RenewableEnergyAccess.com reports, feature solar panels, geothermal heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, airtight walls and roofing panels and mechanical ventilation systems. They are co-funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Tennessee Valley Authority. Jeff Christian, a buildings technology researcher at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and coordinator of the Habitat for…

I watched Chicago’s Cool Globes exhibit rise slowly over the past few months — from its installation to being surrounded by gawking tourists — because I run almost daily along the lakefront area where they’re on display. And, for weeks, I was confused. I didn’t see any signs; I didn’t see any articles about it; all I saw? Giant globes (whose bases I tripped over on a regular basis.) Summer outdoor displays are a rich tradition in Chicago. Since the 1999 cow show, in which more than 300 life-sized decorated cow statues were placed downtown, we’ve had other giant art…

Although some reports have suggested condos are faring better than most residential projects in the housing slump, a recent Washington Post article says nearly 20,000 condo units in the past 12 months have been removed from the construction schedule in the DC area alone — disheartening news. Also discouraging: Developers have abandoned plans for 22 local condo projects, the Post reported. That’s not exclusive to Washington.     * Charleston, S.C. has seen a number of housing projects stall. Housing 2000 Inc. put its 314-unit Daniel Island project on hold, partly due to market forces, president Fred Morgan told the…

I was reading an article in the Community Times today about a new shopping center in Maryland that will be built with green design when something caught my eye. The actual project details weren’t anything too out of the ordinary for green building — the structure will include use of natural light, a high efficiency HVAC system and possibly a green roof. What stuck out to me was one sentence — "Eldersburg will get the first green shopping center in the mid-Atlantic region with the addition of Main Street Eldersburg, a 90,000-square-foot shopping center on 12.5 acres on Londontown Boulevard…

The Commerce Department released its report on housing starts and building permits in July today, and it isn’t good news. The report said that construction starts hit their lowest point in a decade in July, and that the year-and-a-half housing recession is nowhere near over. Construction is down 21 percent from July 2006; housing starts dropped even more than expected from June to July. But that’s not all. Things to note from the report, courtesy of Bloomberg: Construction of single-family homes fell 7.3 percent in July. Multifamily home starts decreased 1.6 percent. Regionally, construction starts fell 11 percent in South,…

Yesterday’s ruminations on condohotels inspired a new question: How are condo sales in general doing? Interestingly enough, research on some major cities and areas showed that condo sales are indeed down — but in many locations, condo prices are actually stable, or rising. For example: Condo sales for the second quarter in Illinois were down 13.9 percent; however, median condo prices for the state were up 5 percent, to $223,000. Florida existing condo sales declined 25 percent in the second quarter of 2007, although the price of condos remained fairly stable at $208,400, according to the Florida Association of Realtors….

A recent article about Tampa’s strong hotel market and declining condo starts brings a question to mind: What ever happened to the condohotel? When residential real estate was on the upswing, high-end hotels were paired with condos in several projects, within the past several years when condohotels were a hot new real estate trend. The condohotel concept involves selling a percentage of renovated or new hotel suites as residential units, offering amenities like hotel service and the ability to make money off your unit when not residing in it. The industry embraced the trend — several high-profile projects, including the…