Most Popular from All Topics

A Bainbridge Island home represents a marriage of modern aesthetics and sustainability.

When Ed and Joanne Ellis decided to build their dream home on Yeomalt Bluff on Bainbridge Island, Washington, their wish list was threefold: they wanted to create a luxurious yet comfortable space, achieve a high level of sustainability, and help to educate the community on the feasibility of building green without sacrificing beauty.

Marianne Cusato, influential designer and author of “The Just Right Home,” weighs in on how to make this difficult decision and find the perfect place for you.

In 1978, municipal, provincial, and federal Canadian governments began working together to plan the development of a convention center – complete with cruise line and hotel amenities -- on a waterfront property in Vancouver that had been used earlier in the century as a railway pier.

Depending on the age of your home, you may have single-pane windows or double-pane insulated windows. Replacing a broken single-pane window can be easily accomplished by a homeowner with the right tools, materials, and a little time, over the period of a week or so. However, if a double-pane insulated window breaks, you will need to replace it. You should contact the manufacturer of the window and replace the affected wooden glazed sash or vinyl window glass pack. If you cannot locate the manufacturer, you should hire a local glazier to replace the broken glass with a custom-fit sash or glass pack.

This month’s featured Green Home is an Energy Star-rated, LEED Gold-certified single-family home in Orleans, Massachusetts, with a minimal footprint, exceptional energy-saving features, and thoughtfully designed outdoor living spaces.

The cozy and beloved summer cottage near Cape Cod had been in the English family for two generations. Built in 1958, the little cottage served as a centralized gathering spot for family and friends, even those coming from abroad. Although other homes came and went throughout the years, the little cottage in Orleans was the place that most family members considered home. The location was perfect for relaxing, bird watching, and enjoying the beauty of the outdoors… and it was absolutely perfect for Teresa and Dan English’s full-time residence upon retirement.

Denver’s Union Station is a regional multi-modal hub that embodies everything about Denver’s upbeat future. The Union Depot & Railroad Company built Denver's first Union Station at the city's northwest edge. It cost $525,000 to build and opened on June 1, 1881. Union Station houses the Amtrak service and, more uniquely, the Ski Train, a local favorite that takes skiers on an entertaining ride through the Rockies to the Winter Park Ski Resort.

There are few activities more American than watching baseball, but in Miami, extreme weather can put a damper on the beloved summer pastime. One way to ensure that the game goes on? Design a retractable roof system that allows for a variety of configurations. The new Florida Marlins ballpark, designed by Populous (formerly HOK Sport), will replace the Miami Orange Bowl, a landmark structure built in the 1930s in the Little Havana neighborhood near downtown Miami.

Good kitchen design makes entertaining easier. Here’s how to create a kitchen with an intelligent workflow.

For several years universities in the United States have been looking into the feasibility of using asphalt pavement to collect solar energy, or, more correctly, to harvest the solar energy that asphalt pavement is already collecting. Researchers have found that the technology exists for harvesting this energy, and its implementation may not be that far off.

Planting a new lawn and establishing turfgrass begins with understanding your region's climatic conditions. The United States has five climatic zones: Cool and Humid, Cool and Arid, Warm and Arid, Warm and Humid, and a Transitional zone. All turfgrass types have the ability to grow in any zone for a portion of the year. Finding the most appropriate turfgrass type for your location will provide you with the best chances for a lush, green lawn. Once you have determined your climatic zone, the question now becomes seed vs. sod.

One of the most important climate change reduction advances in architecture and building in America is unfolding in the foothills of the Front Range outside Denver where the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is completing a flagship for renewability and energy efficiency. The Research Support Facilities (RSF) in Golden, Colorado, were built and furnished for $67 million, comprise 222,000 square feet of zero-energy building (ZEB), were designed by RNL Design with Stantec, and were built by Colorado’s Haselden Construction. Seeking the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED Platinum status, NREL is certainly practicing what it preaches: its scientists and technologists are occupying daylit spaces this summer to deliver energy strategies as they work to battle climate change and strive for national energy independence.

The Falkirk Wheel, constructed in Falkirk, Scotland in 2002, was developed to connect the Forth and Clyde Canal and the Union Canal so travelers could easily navigate through central Scotland. After consideration was given to several designs including a see-saw-like structure and a rolling eggs structure, a rotating boat design was chosen. British Waterways, Morrison-Bachy-Soletanche, and specialists from Butterley Engineering, RMJM Architects, and Ove Arup Consultants engineered a one-of-a-kind rotating boat lift to connect the two canals.