Contest Background
ABOUT GREENSBURG GREENTOWN:
Ever since Greensburg’s landmark commitment to rebuild as a model green community was made, Greensburg GreenTown -- a grassroots community-based organization -- has worked side-by-side with city and county officials, business owners and local residents to incorporate sustainable principles into their rebuilding process. We serve as an educational resource for the community, a conduit through which donations can be distributed, and a representative to those outside the community who are interested in the Green Initiative.
ABOUT GREENTOWN’S PARTNERSHIP WITH FREEGREEN:
Greensburg GreenTown has partnered with FreeGreen.com because we share a common goal: to make green design accessible to all. To do this, FreeGreen.com provides full sets of green house plans for everyone to download from their website. In line with this open-source model, we want to make the winning house plans available to the world. Even more, we want to build the winning designs in Greensburg, Kansas. Doing this would allow eco-tourists visiting Greensburg to stay in an Eco-Home before downloading, adapting, and building it in their own town. Greensburg had over 40,000 visitors annually before the tornado; now that the community is “going green”, the potential for eco-tourism is off the charts. Visitors and media representatives from around the globe are flocking to see this model green community on the prairie. Add to this the more than 25,000 house plan downloads per year on FreeGreen.com, and you see how your design has the potential to change the residential housing industry.
ABOUT THE CHAIN OF ECO-HOMES:
Again, the Chain of Eco-Homes is a 12-home project located in Greensburg, Kansas. The purpose of this residential development is to create “Living Laboratories” featuring a variety of building techniques, sizes, prices, energy efficiency features, and green living products and services. Each home will be unique, and each will be available both as an informational center and as eco-lodging where people can experience green living first hand. This will be the first such project in the nation, and will be key to developing eco-tourism in Greensburg, Kansas.
We envision each home telling a unique story. Two Eco-Homes are currently in process. The first is called the Silo Eco-Home. This Eco-Home is inspired by the strength and use of a grain silo. As such, it stands for durability, and it will also demonstrate sustainable food production by way of its extensive green roof for vegetable gardening. The Second Eco-Home has been donated by the University of Colorado and was the winner of the 2005 Solar Decathlon competition. We’ve dubbed it the Solar Eco-Home.
Visit GreenTown’s website to learn more about The Chain of Eco-Homes!
