FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 7, 2007
Build It Green! Tour of Homes & Information Fair
Saturday, Sept. 15, 2007
21 tour stops throughout the Portland metro area highlight sustainable urban living, capturing solar power and stormwater, and innovative, earth-friendly remodeling and building techniques
PORTLAND, ORE— Now in its sixth year, the Build It Green! Tour of Homes and Information Fair, presented by the City of Portland Office of Sustainable Development and Metro, is back on Saturday, Sept. 15, 2007 from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Eighteen remodels and new homes, two high-rise residential condominiums and one cohousing development are featured on the tour, showcasing a variety of ways homeowners are conserving energy and other natural resources while creating beautiful, unique and healthy homes. An accompanying Information Fair is open from 4:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.
“If you are planning to remodel or build a house, the Build It Green! Tour of Homes offers a not-to-be-missed opportunity to see green features and talk to homeowners about their experience,” says Mike O’Brien, Green Building Specialist for the City of Portland. “Whatever your interest in green building, chances are you will find it among the 21 houses whose owners will welcome your questions.”
Build It Green! Tour Themes
This year’s tour highlights how homeowners conserve natural resources and reduce their footprint without sacrificing livability:
Carbon Neutral Homes
- A new, low-energy home that will use no fossil fuels for energy.
- A floating home that captures stormwater and sunlight.
LEED for Homes
- A home designed to take advantage of the many tax credits and incentives for efficiency measures.
- Two row houses use advanced framing, passive solar and hydronic heating to maximize efficiency.
- A home still under construction offers a view of green building practices in action.
Shared Space
- A new cohousing development with four homes on one city lot.
- New backyard cottage uses solar energy, salvaged materials, and wood from well-managed forests.
- Overhead doors open to connect living spaces to adjacent outdoor gardens.
Natural Building
- A remodel that combines salvaged and reused materials with cob, straw and clay.
- A small house focused on preserving the trees and stream on the building site in Southwest.
- A cob addition, solar arrays, rainwater catchment and “green building” educational studio.
Innovative Structures
- A small, functional, fully accessible home inspired by “The Not So Big House.”
- A house designed to fit within the existing trees on a wooded lot.
High-Density Urban Homes
- New development project with easy access to amenities, stunning views and energy-efficient living.
- Condominiums use fresh air ventilation and low-toxicity interior materials to create a healthy home.
Total Renovation
- A dilapidated single family home is converted into a triplex.
- An 1899 Victorian home severely damaged by fire is given a new life.
- A house purchased for $1 was moved to an infill site in Southeast and renovated.
Living Lightly
- A small house with a backyard food forest has little impact on the environment.
Additional Event Details
Tickets for the Build It Green! Tour of Homes are $15/person; $10 for people who plan to bike or use transit on the tour, and $10 for students and seniors. Children under 14 are free. Tour goers also receive a free copy of Oregon Home’s Green Living magazine. Additional event information, including photos of tour homes, is available at
www.portlandonline.com/osd or call 503-823-7202.
Tour hours are 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. The tour is followed by an Information Fair, held at Environmental Building Supplies, 819 SE Taylor in Portland, from 4:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. Contractors, designers, non-profit organizations, and product/service vendors will be on hand to talk about their projects and answer questions about materials, costs, successes and challenges. Free refreshments and entertainment will be available.
Volunteers are needed to help out at tour homes and at the information fair. Volunteers receive a complimentary tour ticket and t-shirt. Visit the Build It Green! event page at
www.portlandonline.com/OSD and click on the Volunteer link, or call 503-823-7202.
The Build It Green! Tour of Homes is part of the 2007 Oregon Green and Solar Tours (
www.solaroregon.org), coordinated by Solar Oregon, and the National Solar Tour (
www.nationalsolartour.org), sponsored by the American Solar Energy Society.
About Portland’s Green Building Program
The Portland Office of Sustainable Development’s Green Building Program helps homeowners and contractors learn about new technologies, ideas for creative use of space and materials, financial incentives, educational opportunities and other helpful resources.
About Metro
Metro serves the three counties and the 24 cities in the Portland metropolitan area. Working with the region’s building industry, Metro helps increase deconstruction, salvage and recycling of construction debris, and reuse of materials. Visit
www.metro-region.org and type “construction toolkit” into search box to use the online toolkit.
Additional tour sponsors
The Build It Green! Tour of Homes is also made possible by support from Energy Trust of Oregon, Solar Oregon, Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, Portland Water Bureau, Portland Bureau of Development Services, and Oregon Home’s Green Living magazine.
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