After three variances and about 5 years of work this in-fill house was rewarded with the 2008 Best Custom Home under 5,000 square feet. Take a look at the photos to see why.

Sustainable features include radiant floor heating from a condensing gas boiler, Energy Star appliances, bamboo floors and cabinetry, low VOC paints, 6-inch studs allowing greater insulation, and a membrane cool roof that surpasses the local standards. Read post in Inhabitat.

Now, even the new occupants of the White House are showing their support for green housing.

Michelle Obama recently made headlines with her White House garden, and now the Obama’s want the White House to be LEED certified. According to a post in Inhabitat, Rick Fedrizzi of the USGBC will be a consultant for the renovation needed to morph the historic structure into a more modern energy efficient house. Some of the included changes at the White House include low flow water fixtures, ridding the kitchen of CFCs, a recycle program, new heating and cooling systems, automated light sensors, and using low VOC paints.

This and a lot more, plus the new White House garden will be a great example of how any house can be updated to modern energy saving standards. Read post in Inhabitat.

Team California, a joint effort by Santa Clara University and California College of the Arts students is getting praise for their Refract House.

Currently on display on the Santa Clara University campus, Refract House is a demonstration of minimalism, practical living, and the latest in technology harnessed into a sustainable living environment. Wary of some past modern energy saving house designs, the CEO of Applied Materials, the team’s top sponsor remarked, “Energy efficient homes don’t need to be funky, they have shown and proven that it can be beautiful and effective.”

This is an important benchmark for modern house designs because few people have actually seen in-person a well crafted, practical, energy sustainable house, being left only with impressions of typical impractical “wow” news getting type houses latched onto by major media outlets.

A great place to start then is by visiting this years Solar Decathlon beginning October 9 on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Read post in Inhabitat.

The bonus for Cocoon from Bellemo & Cat is you’ll be vacationing in Australia.

The architects describe Cocoon as “a matchbox inside and egg, a rectangle within an oval.” Given this as their inspiration we’d have to say Bellemo & Cat have pulled it off.

If you like what you see (or just need an excuse to vacation in Australia), Cocoon can be rented at $240 per night. Read post in Inhabitat.

And just what did it take to persuade the contractors to recycle the wood for the architects? Beer coupons, of course (a gift giving tradition in Japan).

While there’s no word on whether this “pilsner tactic” has been tried elsewhere, perhaps it’s actually beer that is the answer to building “green” houses all over the world.

In the end the new offices redesigned with the materials from the old house look stunning, and demonstrate how simple material recycling can go along way toward making housing more sustainable. Read post in Dwell blog.

The Solar Decathlon on the national mall is the highlight event for college students showing off the latest environmentally efficient housing methods and materials, and the Virginia Tech entry is already getting noticed for their inventive house, Lumenhaus.

The gee wiz feature of Lumenhaus (not to be confused with Luminhaus) is its Eclipsis System – a kind of solar “moon roof” that opens and closes automatically dependent on current weather. Comprised of two layers, one metal and the other a translucent insulating panel, the Eclipsis System can allow you to enjoy the outdoors while still technically being indoors.

There are other environmentally efficient features of Lumenhaus such as rainwater collection for gray water recycling, LED lighting and sustainable materials, but these are almost becoming “standard fare” for modern green houses, so given the wizardry of the Eclipsis System few will probably notice.

At a cost of more than $350,000 to build the one bedroom prototype house production needs to be economized before we see this house as a viable solution, but no doubt the Virginia Tech Solar Decathlon entry will raise the bar for this years event. Read post in Inhabitat.

Built as “a super efficient demonstration house,” the Sage Residence is even more green than the house built by LEED co-founder David Gottfried.

As the highest scoring LEED house you might expect a long list of green efficiencies built into the house, and the Sage House doesn’t disappoint.

This house by Arbor South Architecture includes solar photovoltaic systems in the roof, a high-efficient electrical heat pump, Energy Star appliances, specially calibrated water efficient faucets and toilets, FSC-certified wood cabinets, recycled paper counter tops, recycled cork flooring, reclaimed lumber, foam insulation, and high-efficiency windows to help make those dark days in Eugene a little brighter.

Now if they could just come up with a window that could make it appear not to be raining all the time in Eugene. Read post in archdaily.

Novacem, with financial backing by significant groups says concrete doesn’t have to be a carbon creating hazard, but in fact can be the opposite. A recent Rushlight Award panel was in agreement.

According to Novacem, this “new generation of green cement” omits limestone and calcium carbonate, and relies instead on the non-carbon emitting magnesium oxide, making the product carbon neutral. Further, during hardening, the formula actually absorbs CO2 making it “carbon negative.” Read post in Inhabitat.

Likewise, Johnsen Schmaling Architects have designed Camouflage House in Green Lake, Wisonsin to mimic its surroundings. In the heavily wooded location the house almost disappears from a distance.

While the bucolic setting lends itself to a more rustic house, the Camouflage house is modern in style, material use, and energy efficiency.

The narrow footprint minimizes the house’s volume, and takes advantage of cross-ventilation and natural lighting eliminating the need for mechanical cooling or electric lighting during the day. Johnsen Schmaling also reduced the number of windows to reduce energy loss by placing them strategically as the best view required.

The rainscreen, system skin, and flat roof that when snow builds up acts as a thermal insulator add to the house’s efficiency during the typical Wisconsin winter. Read post in archdaily.

The Maurer Residence by Allen+Maurer Architects is our latest example of using “green building” techniques. Allen+Maurer refer to this though as “form-follows-physics.”

As the GLiving post tells us, this means simple roofs, no roof intersections, large overhangs, good ventilation; and finishes that are durable and appropriate to the climate such as tile flooring, metal cladding, and Low-E glazing. In this British Columbia house it all ads up to eliminating the need for air-conditioning.

MHM has recently featured a number of houses that consider the local environment. It seems that architects increasingly want to build a house that “stands-in” rather than “stands-out,” and that is a most welcome trend. Read post in GLiving.