The good people at Natural Home Magazine are hard at work building their first show house in Brooklyn; upon completion, it looks like it'll not only be an excellent example of urban green building, but will be New York City’s first American Lung Association Health House. This means that the building must meet stringent certification standards that address moisture and humidity control, energy efficiency, air filtration and ventilation, and materials emissions, but that's just the start of its green credentials. Solar electric panels will provide electricity in the building, and an innovative hybrid solar-thermal and gas-fired system will heat and cool the home. Eco-friendly materials will include cement made from fly ash (waste from power plants), countertops made from recycled glass, bamboo flooring finished with low-VOC water-based poly, and kitchen cabinets made from sorghum stalks -- whew! Pictures of the burgeoning project are in the Jan/Feb 2007 issue of the mag, and online as well (looks like they'll be more pics in this month's issue, too), where you can also check out the plans and get more details about the project. The building was damaged in a fire and originally slated for demolition before being resurrected by Natural Home -- gotta love that! We can't wait to see it when it's done. [Natural Home Magazine] via [Apartment Therapy]
