FreeGreen Launches Open Source

Posted February 6, 2009 01:52 by David

Tags: open source

Today we are proud to bring you FreeGreen Open Source.  This is a brand new program in which FreeGreen allows Architects and Designers around the world to post their own Green House Plans, and name their own price (from free to fee).  Think of it as the Apple Apps. Store for Green Design.    

Through this new platform we are creating a single place for consumers to find affordable (and often free) green design ideas, and energy saving house plans.  At the same time we are providing great Architects and Designers with a new way to enter the house plan space, gaining exposure and a new way to make money.  In a time when all of us are looking for ways to save money, and keep our firms alive, we hope that Open Source will provide a solution for the green home design market. 

To better explain this new FreeGreen idea we thought a mini Q&A session would work best.  See below for session details, as well as some images of current FreeGreen Open Source designs.  As always we welcome your comments, ideas, and criticisms.  Please feel free to contact us at, opensource@freegreen.com.  We look forward to the evolution and growth of this platform. 

Thanks, Dave Wax, CEO FreeGreen       

Why Was Open Source Created?

FreeGreen's Open Source Program was created as a direct reaction to our users and their desire to have an infinite array of green house plans.  At FreeGreen, we will always create our free house plans as fast as possible, but with 1000's of hours going into each design, we have limitations.  To overcome this we wanted to encourage other Architects and Designers to post their own green house plan to our site.  After interviews with many Architects, FreeGreen Open Source and its "name your own price" became the obvious solution.  We believe that Open Source will allow us to create a truly"efficient market" for green design. 

Will There Still Be Free House Plans?

Yes.  All Official FreeGreen House Plans will continue to be available for free, and we will continue to produce more free house plans each month.  The new mantra for the FreeGreen site is:  "Download Official FreeGreen House Plans for free; if you don't seen anything you like, Shop FreeGreen Open Source". 

I'm an Architect or Designer, What do I Need to Know About Open Source?

1)  Unlike other House Plan sites, we want the user to know, and learn about you the designer.  To do this, we allow each Open Source Architect to create their own profile which is design every design that you post and vice versa, making it easy for your fans to discover you, your design philosophy, and your plans. 

2)  You need to be an Architect or Designer member of FreeGreen to post plans to Open Source.  It costs $50 per house plan that you post, and all plan posts are reviewed by FreeGreen to ensure they are ready to be sold or downloaded. 

3)  FreeGreen takes a 20% commission (you get 80%) on all house plan sales.  You can check other house plan sites, but they all charge about 60% commission.  FreeGreen has lowered our commission because we too are designers and know how hard you work.  We believe you should have a majority of the money that is made from your creations.  Also we hope that by giving you a greater share, you’ll be willing and able to price your plans low enough to make them accessible to all FreeGreen users.   

4)  All content on the FreeGreen Open Source site is generated by you.  You can update any of this content (except for approved construction documents) at anytime.  This includes the price of your designs.  Through your dashboard you can also track the popularity and sales of your plans. 

5)  All customization leads, questions about your designs, etc. are directed to you.  FreeGreen is not in the business of taking leads, and only you know your designs best.  We even connect you with plan purchasers (post sale) so that you can establish and maintain that customer relationship. 

I'm a House Plan Downloader, What do I Need to Know About Open Source?

1)  Each Open Source house plan has an Architect or Designer profile attached.  We encourage you to look at these profiles, and even contact these Architects or Designers.  Remember, this is not a house plan sales site; it is a community to connect sellers and buyers of great design. 

2)  Open Source has a unique navigation method.  We have created a way to smoothly surf through our designs, as opposed to rigid text search methods.  You can think of Open Source as an online magazine for great design. 

3)  Prices are generated by the Architect or Designer of the plans and can change.  This means you will see a huge range in price (from fee to free).  This is what creates our "efficient market" for design.  With your views, and dollars, you decide what is popular, and how plans end up being priced.  Also, we are developing technology for the 2nd Quarter of 2009 that will allow you to get house plan sale updates from your favorite Architects and Designers. 

4)  FreeGreen conducts a cursory review on each house plan post to assure that everything advertised, is included in the actual house plans.

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