A Practical Approach to Sustainable Design

Greater Minnesota Housing Fund's Building Better Neighborhoods program promotes natural resource conservation and sustainable design in the creation of affordable housing. In 2001, GMHF expanded these principles to see if environmentally sustainable "green building” techniques could make homeownership in Greater Minnesota more affordable to families by reducing their monthly utility bills.

Our thought was that the local and global benefits of green construction, which include reducing the use of limited natural resources, lessening our dependence on foreign oil, limiting the amount and type of material that ends up in landfills and reducing the risk of global warming, could help homeowners “green” the insides of their wallets. This was our theory, our vision and our hope.

To explore these ideas, GMHF partnered with the community-based developer, Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership, and with an academic research team comprised of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Sustainable Building Research and the nonprofit Community Eco-Design Network, which focuses on sustainable technologies for the built environment.

Balancing Sustainable Design with Affordability

Throughout the course of working with the design and development team, GMHF noticed that a tension exists between sustainable design strategies and affordability - the most energy efficient, resourceful and healthy building components are often more expensive than standard materials. In general, there are three areas of home construction to focus on when considering how best to build an affordable, sustainable and healthy green home: Energy efficiency, green products and indoor air quality.

The St. Peter Green Home Demonstration Project is designed to demonstrate the most practical green building materials, and the most cost effective energy conservation techniques for the affordable single family starter home market. Learn how this pilot project balances concerns for affordability with sustainable design. <GO>

The Rolling Meadows development in Hutchinson, Minnesota features a central parkway that provides open space and acts as a natural rainwater management system. By filtering rainwater through the surface, this swale takes the place of expensive and inefficient underground pipes.

Cost-Effective Strategies to Improve the Energy Efficiency of a Home

An Energy-Efficient Home incorporates the use of materials and methods which increases and improves the home’s energy-efficiency. Attention is paid to:

The home’s equipment and systems, such as appliances, heating and cooling, ventilation and electrical;

The construction assembly and materials, such as how the house is framed, what materials are used, insulation, air sealing, and windows and doors; and

The site selection and design, which considers how natural elements, such as climate, wind direction, sun, rain and snow, humidity and soil conditions, will impact the home’s energy efficiency.

A Healthy Home uses materials and construction techniques that best protect the health of the home's inhabitants. People with chemical sensitivity, for instance, must pay special attention to indoor air quality or they can become ill.

“Sick buildings,” or those with poor indoor air quality due to a lack of proper ventilation, malfunctioning or inadequate heating and cooling systems, mold or carbon monoxide issues, have been found to have a range of negative impacts on human health and are responsible for increased illness.

A Green Home is built with concern and consideration for the impacts that the materials chosen and construction methods employed have or will have on natural resources and the environment.

The use of sustainable resources is important in this kind of home. The primary goal is to minimize the use of non-renewable and polluting materials.