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Green Building Techniques Focus of Upcoming NAHB Conference in Atlanta

The nation’s home builders will be pursuing their commitment to meeting consumer demand for resource-efficient, environmentally sensitive and cost-effective housing at the 2005 National Green Building Conference on March 13-15 in Atlanta.

“To thrive as a green builder, you have got to be environmentally friendly while keeping in mind your customers’ pocketbooks,” said Ray Tonjes, chairman of the NAHB Green Building Subcommittee and a home builder from Austin, Texas. “This conference shines a spotlight on successful green building techniques and concepts as they move further into mainstream home building.”

A special learning track at the conference will provide comprehensive information on NAHB’s voluntary Model Green Home Building Guidelines, which were recently developed to help builders incorporate affordable environmental practices into every phase of the home building process.

In educational sessions such as “Building America’s Houses That Work,” “Why Green Development Makes Cents” and “New Approaches to Great Communities,” the “Greening the American Dream” 2005 conference will provide industry professionals with the information they need to respond to a rising consumer demand for green-built homes.

The educational sessions will take place March 14-15 at the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel.

On March 13, conference attendees can take a bus tour of successful green-built residential and commercial properties in the Atlanta area. On the itinerary are:

• Brookhaven Solar EarthCraft House, an energy-efficient home that uses impressive water conservation methods
• Elegant side-by-side infill houses by McConnell Homes
• The Energy Star®-certified Southface Energy and Environmental Research Center
• Magnolia Circle, an affordable multifamily housing development for seniors
• Glenwood Park, a mixed-use development built on a reclaimed brownfield

“This conference is really about two things — highlighting current green building successes, like the properties featured on the tour, and bringing green building to more builders and consumers,” said Tonjes. “If homes built today are 100% more energy efficient than those built 30 years ago, then continued advances in energy and resource efficiency will help make homes of the future even more efficient and more affordable for Americans.”

For more information on the National Green Building Conference, click here. To learn more about NAHB’s Model Green Home Building Guidelines, click here.

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