The Built Green Colorado program

Built Green Colorado is a voluntary program, which is believed to be the largest green building program in the United States. It promotes the use of building technologies, products, and practices that provide greater energy efficiency, reduce pollution, provide healthier indoor air, reduce water use, preserve natural resources, and improve building durability.

As vast quantities of resources are consumed in residential construction the Built Green Colorado program tackles the challenge of reducing the environmental costs of such construction by providing encouragement, training, technical support, and certification to builders who want to improve the environmental performance of the houses they build. To celebrate particularly successful projects and practices, and to raise public awareness of the group's work, the Built Green Colorado Awards Program honors outstanding work in several categories.

"We believe that the informed homebuyer will recognize the value of the greater energy efficiency, healthier indoor air, reduced water usage, improved comfort and durability, and reduced maintenance of a home built to Built Green standards," says Kim Calomino, director of the program. "But perhaps most importantly, the homebuyer will know that a Built Green home represents their commitment to the environment and to improving the way we live."

This year Tierra Concrete Homes won "Built Green Home of the Year over $500,000" for a house built using their patented precast concrete panel system (Fig. 4.11). Lennar Homes won "Built Green Home of the Year under $500,000" for model 8027 in their Destiny Collection housing series.

Figure 4.11 - The south facade of the Built Green award-winning house from Tierra Concrete Homes, Inc