USGBC award

Belfast, Maine–October 7, 2011–The GO Home, built by architecture and construction firm G•O Logic LLC, received the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) 2011 LEED for Homes Project of the Year Award, presented at the 2011 Greenbuild International Conference & Expo in Toronto yesterday. According to Nate Kredich, VP of Residential Market Development for USGBC, the award recognizes dedicated leaders for their important contribution to the residential green building community.

The GO Home is rated LEED platinum (USGBC’s highest designation), and is Maine’s first Passive-House-Certified home, a 1500-square-foot elegant and functional model of the German Passive House Standard. The Passive House standard requires 86% improvement on a home’s space heating loads compared to the typically constructed home, which translates into significant financial and environmental savings. Annual heating costs for The GO Home will amount to approximately $300.

The GO Home is rated LEED platinum (USGBC’s highest designation), and is Maine’s first Passive-House-Certified home, a 1500-square-foot elegant and functional model of the German Passive House Standard. The Passive House standard requires 86% improvement on a home’s space heating loads compared to the typically constructed home, which translates into significant financial and environmental savings. Annual heating costs for The GO Home will amount to approximately $300.

“Our aim is to revolutionize home construction standards in North America,” said Matthew O’Malia, Principal of G•O Logic LLC. “The USGBC Project of the Year Award affirms the level of energy performance we’re pursuing, and that is demonstrated by The GO Home: the next generation of housing that maximizes comfort, energy efficiency and cost while providing all of the amenities of a standard home.”

The GO Home combines a broad range of winning features that set the bar for affordable green building, including: a heat-recovery ventilation system rated at 95% efficiency that provides consistent fresh air to the interior; an open floor plan with large, German-built triple-glazed windows; and affordable construction costs of $160 per square foot. For more information, visit: http://www.gologichomes.com.

Preston, the founder/Chief Editor of Jetson Green recently blogged about the TerraHaus, Unity College’s most recent student residence hall that is on target to be passive house certified.

He writes: “The hottest building standard on the block, Passive House, moves to the realm of student housing in a new residence hall at Unity College called TerraHaus. TerraHaus is expected to be the first student residence in the country with Passive House certification and will house 10 students.”

To read more, please visit:
http://www.jetsongreen.com/2011/09/terrahaus-passive-house-unity-college.html

The TerraHaus was recently featured on the Green Building Adviser in a well written article by Richard Defendorf. The article describes the strict energy requirements of the Passive House standard, as well as the design and the construction necessities to achieve certification. In addition to describing the Passive House energy efficiency requirements, Mr. Defendorf also articulated the other design features of the building:
1. Careful attention to acoustical separation to provide privacy in bedrooms and bathrooms
2. Open design for the kitchen, dining area, and living area
3. Generous mudroom space with “cubbies” for outdoor gear
4. Use of white paint and large windows to increase the feeling of spaciousness
5. Separated shower and toilet facilities for efficient privacy
6. Individual thermostats in each bedroom
7. Good connection to outdoor spaces

To read more: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-news/unity-college-s-terrahaus-debut

Bruce Irving, who knows the building business from renovations to new construction, wrote an amusing and insightful article about the pros and cons of German windows, and their use in American buildings. The exceptional craftsmanship and passive house level of energy performance are well know about German windows. Bruce has done a very good job of describing why German windows are amazing, and also what appropriate applications for them might be in this country… If I may quote the article: “They come across the water at a cost, of course– at least double that of typical high-quality American units—and are therefore not for everyone or every house. Just as one wouldn’t want to put Ferrari wheels on a Dodge Dart, and expect the old girl to act like a racer, the windows should match the performance level of the building they’re going into.” An Amusing and accurate comment.

To read the rest of the article please visit page 40 on the following link:

http://perspectivenewengland.com/magazines/perspective-new-england-summer-2011-issue

Today an article in the Colby Echo written by Devin O’Brien describes our Residence Hall project at Unity College:

“Unity College, located not far from the Hill in Unity, Maine, has recently begun designing a one-of-a-kind solar powered residence hall that they project to be completed by Autumn 2011. G.O. Logic Homes of Belfast, Maine was awarded the contract for construction. They will work closely with both students and administrators at Unity at every stage of the building process.”

To read more: www.thecolbyecho.com/local/941

Read the article from Village Soup.
>waldo.villagesoup.com/p/356065″>

GO Logic Homes of Belfast Awarded Contract for Passive Solar Residence Hall at Unity College

The GO Home was recently featured in a blog by the GreenBuildingAdvisor. The Blog discusses The GO Home’s super energy efficiency and passive house standard construction at affordable costs.

Check out the article.

Squeezing The Price on Passive House

Jetson Green featured the GO Logic prototype today on its online publication. This post describes the prototype project with its many green design elements as well as its latest coverage in the news.

To read more, link to:
www.jetsongreen.com

G•O logic’s prototype home being built in Belfast was recently featured in Residential Architect’s innovate Shelter Lab column, written by Bruce Snider. The article captures the spirit of the project, describing the home’s super energy efficiency and stylish and practical design.

To read the article link to:

http://www.residentialarchitect.com/sustainability/savings-plan.aspx

G•O Logic was recently featured on radio news by Tom Porter of Maine Public Broadcasting. The story describes G•O Logic’s soon to be completed prototype home in Belfast, that is scheduled to obtain the first Passive House Certification in Maine.

To hear the story please link to:

http://www.mpbn.net/Home/tabid/36/ctl/ViewItem/mid/3478/ItemId/11653/Default.aspx