GREEN HOMEBUILDING TAKES CENTER STAGE AT GREENBUILD

publication date: Nov 17, 2008

BOSTON (Nov. 17, 2008) - In a sign of the growing interest in and accessibility of healthy, affordable, efficient homes, this year's Greenbuild International Conference & Expo will feature the first-ever Green Homebuilder's Day.

Green Homebuilder's Day, the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) first-ever residentially focused program, will be Thurs., Nov. 20, during Greenbuild 2008 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. It will include a panel session from 2:30 to 4 p.m., moderated by Kevin O'Connor, the Emmy-nominated host of PBS' This Old House television series. The panel speakers will be Tedd Benson, founder of Bensonwood (http://www.bensonwood.com/), a woodworking company specializing in timberframe structures and prefabrication; and Steve Kieran, founder of KieranTimberlake Associates LLP (http://kierantimberlake.com/home/index.html), an award-winning architecture firm noted for its research and innovative design. The panel will address the changing housing market and will discuss what will need to change over the next 50 years to ensure homes are sustainable and healthy for those who live in them.

Green Homebuilder's Day will also feature an educational session track targeted specifically at the residential market. Sessions will discuss such topics as green affordable housing, ways to address the aging housing stock, the costs of going green, and high-performance renovations. A complete list of Green Homebuilder's Day sessions and more information are available at www.greenbuildexpo.org/Program/green_homebuilders.html.

Green Homebuilder's Day will be capped off with a closing reception, at which seven outstanding projects and builders will receive awards. Also, attendees will have the opportunity to meet with a LEED for Homes provider from their area. They'll be able to talk to the providers about how close they are to building to the LEED benchmark, and what their next steps should be for getting more involved in green homebuilding.

Anyone interested in attending Green Homebuilder's Day can register for the one-day event for $200 and have access to the 12 sessions, plus the Kevin O'Connor session, a breakfast, a closing reception and full access to the exhibit hall. A Greenbuild attendee with a full-conference registration can sign up for any of the 12 sessions, including the Kevin O'Connor session, but not including the breakfast or the reception. Visit www.greenbuildexpo.org/Register/.

The U.S. Green Building Council, which has hosted Greenbuild yearly since November 2002, recently expanded its LEED Green Building Rating System to include a LEED for Homes certification program. Some 10,250 homes participated in the LEED for Homes pilot program, and since the rating system officially launched in January 2008, nearly 3,500 more have registered and more than 1,000 have been certified.