Recently, GSH was chosen for Florida Magazine’s cover story!

As you might imagine, we are very excited to be able to be bringing affordable, sustainable design concepts of our green homes to more and more people. It really is a joy to be able to offer sustainable housing that looks great, and that you can brag about to your environmental friends as well.

Chances are, if are on our waiting list, or have signed up to get a GreenSteelHome, your house will probably be greener than your friends!

If you are looking to read the cover story about us in Florida Magazine, you can download it for 99c on their website here.

As always, we would love to know your thoughts and comments on the green movement on how it is affecting where you live. Stay tuned for more updates soon!

-Lawton

www.GreenSteelHomes.com

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Shelly Banjo of The Wall Street Journal recently wrote a snappy article describing this curious thought process.

Here’s a snippet from the article:

Across the country, thousands of communities are trying to fight urban sprawl and global warming from the ground up.

Instead of adding eco-friendly touches to existing neighborhoods, developers are building whole new communities designed along green principles. Some of these developments offer very basic solutions to environmental concerns, such as street layouts that promote walking and discourage driving.

Others go much further, incorporating environmentalist ideas into every aspect of community life. Some, for instance, use eco-friendly building design and set aside a portion of the neighborhood property as preserved land. Some save on resources — and build community spirit — by having residents share amenities such as washing machines.

Here’s a look at four basic types of environmentally friendly communities that are flowering across the country.

NEW URBANIST

When the Congress for the New Urbanism was founded in 1993, the emphasis was on fostering a sense of community, not saving the planet. The founders were fed up with neighborhoods that separated residential areas from commercial ones — and forced people to drive everywhere.

Read the rest of Shelly’s sustainable article here

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Here’s how to do that and help the earth grow more sustainable at the same time.

In this video you will see how easy it is to buy refurbished products for less, while making the world greener in the process. Sweet!

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By Ben Brown

There are three, interdependent challenges to Florida housing providers: a) Safety; b) Affordability; and c) Energy efficiency.

If we can’t find a way to address all three challenges at the same time, we’re likely to complicate solutions for two of them while we focus only on the third. For instance: We can make houses super-safe and super-energy-efficient while driving costs beyond the abilities of most folks to pay.

We can make houses cheap enough for most people to own by taking short cuts on safety and energy efficiency. But making homes that are safe and energy efficient and also within the reach of most citizens requires addressing the ways these challenges are connected.

Green building requires green community planning. As important as GreenSteel’s innovative approach is, we can’t address the larger carbon footprint/climate change issues through housing technology alone – no more than we can address the problem through automobile technology alone.

Going Off The Grid
Creating off-the-grid, energy-efficient housing in “greenfield” suburbs and rural enclaves will still require each adult in the family to commute to separate daily needs in separate automobiles, canceling out many of the energy gains. Over the last 30 years, the number of miles

Americans drive has grown three times faster than the population and almost twice as fast vehicle registrations. Spread-out development-sprawl is the main reason for that. Research suggests that people who move into compact, walk-able neighborhoods are making as big a contribution to fighting global warming as those who buy hybrid vehicles but remain tied to car-dependent lifestyles. We need to make living in more dense configurations appealing.

Practical Can’t Be Ugly
To succeed, green community planning needs housing alternatives that are not only practical-safe and energy efficient-but also beautiful. Neighbors have to be willing to welcome these new additions to their communities. Even if they can’t explain why, neighbors must instantly associate these new house designs with admired regional vernacular, and they must immediately sense quality in the choice of materials and construction approaches.

Affordable Can’t Be Cheap
The trouble is, quality design and construction costs more than inferior design and construction. Factory-built housing approaches can help deliver higher quality at manageable price points. But up until now, the manufactured home industry has focused on using systems building technology to reduce prices and not to raise design and construction quality.

The result is factory-built housing’s image as the last resort for home ownership. Many communities, including those in hurricane zones along the Gulf Coast, have zoned manufactured homes out of existing neighborhoods for fear of lowering surrounding property values.

GreenSteel’s mission is to re-invent a whole category of manufactured housing that delivers optimum safety, energy efficiency, and curb appeal, while making the most of cost-saving advantages inherent in factory building.

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The Carrabelle and the St. Teresa, which for anyone who has been inside our Evening Rose model here in Tallahassee, the St. Teresa is what you saw.

To see the floor plans and other details, just go to our GreenSteel Homes designs page. Thanks!

P.S Your comments are welcome!

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Not many, finds a new survey by Harris Interactive.

People are waking up to realize not just the environmental advantages of using steel for their homes but also the advantages to the economy and their wallets.

The survey, conducted by the global research firm Harris Interactive, also found that 42 percent of consumers say that steel is the roofing material they would prefer if living in an area that could be affected by hurricanes. These findings indicate that consumers recognize the important role that steel plays in protecting their homes and families.- Modern Trade

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By Jason Dehart

The small coastal town of Carrabelle expects to receive a big economic boost when the doors open on a new factory that manufactures hurricane-proof and environmentally friendly houses called GreenSteel homes.

“It’s going to put a lot of people to work. It’s going to be a good thing,” said Mayor Wilburn “Curley” Messer, who was elected in September.

“It couldn’t be a better day for Carrabelle,” said former Mayor Mel Kelly. “This is exciting to be a part of an environmentally sound factory and good-paying jobs for people.”

Winning the site selection for the new plant happened on her watch.

“People see this as an opportunity to be involved in something bigger than themselves,” Kelly said. “This is one of the most exciting things to happen in Carrabelle - ever.”

Homes built by GreenSteel are environmentally friendly and affordable, according to Lawton “Bud” Chiles, Tallahassee developer and company president. Chiles’ business partner is Tony Attalla, who owns a steel fabrication-frame manufacturing facility in New Hampshire. Together, they are doing business as Hexaport Building Systems of Florida.

The homes are small and feature “Katrina cottage” floor plans and designs by Tolar Denmark Architects of Mississippi. Their hurricane-rated and termite-resistant design should make them especially appealing to Gulf Coast residents from Florida to Louisiana. That’s the market Chiles is targeting.

“I’m getting 10 to 12 e-mails a day from people concerned about insurance costs and floods,” Chiles said. “We’re going to be very busy with making homes.”

After several months of promoting the new housing factory, Chiles said anticipation is starting to build regarding the homes, which he said cost $100 a square foot and ought to go far in creating “work force” housing. An 1,100-square-foot, three-bedroom home with site and foundation could cost in the $125,000 range, Chiles said. A conventional home might cost twice that much.

Feedback has been very positive, Chiles said. It’s not just private homeowners who are interested in the homes.

“We’re getting an unbelievable response,” he said. “It’s amazing the number of cities behind the eight ball trying to produce work force housing. Developers, cities and counties with property want to do joint ventures. This could be the beginning of something extraordinary.”

Located off Airport Road in Carrabelle, the plant is expected to be up and running in January. Once open, it will be able to churn out 400 houses per year. The homes will be constructed with wiring and plumbing and then trucked to home sites in two pieces. They can be assembled in about a day and then plugged into the local water, sewer and electrical service lines.

Carrabelle invested local money and received a Community Development Block Grant to build the $6-million factory. The city also has provided a 99-year lease on the 21-acre site for $10 a year.

At full production, the plant will employ from 250 to 300 people, Chiles said. Kelly said she hopes those are all local people.

“This is exciting to be part of a environmentally sound factory with good-paying jobs for people who live here,” she said. “It’s one of the greatest gifts we can provide.

“It’s an incredible gift to Carrabelle,” Kelly said. “I keep saying it’s a gift to the community and children; they’ll be able to get their first job here, a job with benefits. It’s truly important and sets a high standard for others.”

Cliff Butler, president of Gulf State Community Bank, also longs for the day when Carrabelle’s children can find good jobs close to home.

“We lose a lot of our young people when they graduate,” he said. “For those who want to come back home, there should be something to come home to.”

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It’s funny when you start thinking about green electronics such as printers, tv’s, iPhones, PC’s or Macs.

A survey of 5,000 American adults conducted by Forrester Research found that 12% are ready to dish out extra dollars for computers and TVs that use less energy or come from an environmentally friendly company.- L.A Times

Why is this huge news?

The Power of Percents
Because 12% is a huge chunk of the American population that is not only thinking about going green but is willing to act on that notion as well. Not just greening their houses, but greening gadgets and toys as well.

The financial and economic benefits of going green in every way shape and form far outweigh the costs we would pay if we continue to overuse our resources.

An article from the L.A Times suggests that companies that have green initiatives such as Apple, Toshiba, and HP do more to educate their customers to this fact.

I agree wholeheartedly.

Your thoughts?

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By Ben Brown

Suppose you could combine the safety and speed of steel fabrication with the appeal of architect-designed custom homes? And what if in the process, you could meet high green building standards while delivering the whole package at or below the costs of typical production homes?

Download full article [PDF]

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