GREEN HOUSE IN GEORGIA

In the American South, a region that tends to laud its heritage, modern can be a hard sell. A residential client often hears neighborhood fears that a new modern dwelling will look "chilly" and won't fit in.

RainShine House by architect Robert M. Cain answers those concerns. Built near downtown Decatur, Georgia, part of metro Atlanta, the LEED Platinum-certified home is bright, welcoming, treads lightly on its site, and respects its neighbors.

FSC VERSUS SFI

When the Forest Stewardship Council rolled out the world's first "green" wood certification label in 1993, the organization quickly rallied big-box retailers like Home Depot to the cause. The largest do-it-yourself home improvement chain in the United States became a founding member of the FSC and publicly announced that it would soon ensure all of its products came from certified sources.

POSTCARD FROM MAPLE GROVE

Dear ArchitectureWeek,

Inside and outside, this building comes across initially as nice, but seemingly a bit buttoned down, handsome yet perhaps a bit conventional in affect.

MAKING BUILDINGS GOOD

The days of making the business case for sustainable design, or even explaining what LEED means and why it is important, have passed. Today's green building challenges have moved to more complicated areas of policy — permitting and politics — and the motivating sense of competition to be "the greenest."

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