SANTA MONICA, Calif. — LivingHomes®, a leading developer of modern prefab homes, has received the highest rating from the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC’s) new pilot LEED® for Homes rating system, making it the first residential project in the country to attain a Platinum rating. According to LivingHomes, the model home is a “Zero Energy, Zero Water, Zero Waste, Zero Carbon, Zero Emissions residence.”

“While the residential market is a new area for LEED and USGBC, the LEED for Homes pilot program moves us closer towards our ultimate goal of transforming the built environment on all levels," said Rick Fedrizzi, USGBC president, CEO, and founding chair. “The LivingHomes’ model home is expected to demonstrate that incorporating sustainable design into the construction process will help to lower operating costs, increase home value, reduce maintenance issues, and improve indoor environmental quality in the long-term. With fewer than 20 LEED Platinum-certified commercial buildings nationwide, achieving Platinum certification is by no means a simple endeavor. LivingHomes demonstrates an unwavering commitment to sustainable design and will be pivotal in building awareness for the program.”

LivingHomes is the first company to make LEED certified, prefab homes available to consumers nationwide. The first line of homes, designed by Ray Kappe, is available for purchase now. The second line of homes, designed by David Hertz, is currently under development.

“We are honored to achieve LEED Platinum certification,” said Steve Glenn, LivingHomes founder and CEO. “As a company, we’re committed to building some of the healthiest, most ecologically considered production homes available and we will use LEED for Homes both to clarify what we’re doing and why — and to help our customers understand what’s different and important vis-à-vis other production homes. The LEED Platinum certification is an appropriate, and much-appreciated acknowledgement, of our efforts.”

The USGBC, a nonprofit organization, developed the LEED green building rating system as a set of voluntary, consensus-based national standards for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. LEED for Homes, which is scheduled for a full public launch early in 2007, is a voluntary initiative that promotes the transformation of mainstream home building towards more sustainable practices. The program is meant to provide national consistency in defining the features of a green home and to enable builders anywhere in the country to obtain a ‘green’ rating on their homes. According to USGBC, builders of LEED certified homes will be able to differentiate their homes as the best homes in their markets, using a recognized national brand. Launched in 2005, the pilot program to date includes 125 builders and 725 units.

Similar to the LEED program for new commercial construction, the LEED for Homes pilot is based on a four-tiered rating system (Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum) that awards points to projects based on their efficient use of energy resources, water resources, building construction resources, land resources, and consideration of enhanced indoor environmental quality.

For more information about LivingHomes, visit www.livinghomes.us. For more information on the LEED for Homes program, visit www.usgbc.org.

Publication date: 09/11/2006