CHECK OUThow the differentsurfaces FEEL aswell as look.

LOOK AT how very differentmaterials go together to create abeautiful and GREEN home.

IMAGINE what materials andcolors you’d pick if you were anarchitect designing a home.

Make a list of materialsin your home that are

and aren’t GREEN.Talk to your parents

about using some of the GREEN materials you sawtoday for a healthier home and planet.Remember, GREEN materials:n are produced without harming the environmentn come from nearbyn don’t harm people or animals living inside the housen can be recycled and might be made from recycled or used materialsn help reduce energy use

green on the inside

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Once you start living green, help your friends andneighbors go green too! Show them simple ways toconserve natural resources and make sustainablechoices every day.

Can’t picture why south-facing houses get the most outof the sun? MOVE the heliodon handle and watch where

sunlight hits the house at different timesof the year.

See how south-facing walls get full sun inwinter and easily block sun in summer.

WATCH how the sun hits your homeat different times of the year.

Could you add or removewindow shades to keep

your home warmer inwinter or cooler in

summer?

Do a GREEN CHECK of YOUR HOME. Use this check list to find waysto save energy and water.n any energy (air, wind) leaks around windows, doors, chimney flues?n anyone throwing out things that can be recycled?n any water leaks from faucets and toilets?n thermostat a degree too high in winter or a degree too low in summer?

A super greenchoice is to usematerials thatcome from yourlocal area so thatenergy isn’t wastedbringing materialsfrom far away.

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Nowadays, many architects don’t want to design just beautiful homes… They want to design GREEN

and beautiful homes!

The treasure in these homes isn’t secret treasure – it’s the valuable GREEN features you can find in the

roofs, walls, windows, floors, and gardens of the green houses shown in this gallery. Get ready for a

GREEN TREASURE HUNT!

a house made out of old things. Hint – This house looks NOTHING like the area around it.

THINK ABOUT IT Why is it GREEN to use old things?

a house with a “dry” garden. Hint – This house has a bright red outer wall.

THINK ABOUT IT Why is a “dry” garden a GREEN choice for this house but not for a

house built in the woods?

a house with a roof that looks upside-down. Hint – This house is designed to

blend into the desert.

THINK ABOUT IT How do its “rammed-earth” walls keep the house comfy on hot

desert days and cold desert nights?

FIND

FIND

FIND

green home sweet home

hello, helio!

TRY it!

TRY it!

green videos

Heliodon

Green Houses

Green Materials

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There are all kinds of amazing natural and recycled materials thatyou can use for the floors, walls, counters, and ceilings in your home.

MEET the architect who designed the Glidehouse™, and get a tour of her very ownGlidehouse™.SEE how nature’s beauty is one of Earth’s most important natural resources.

Welcome to THE GREEN HOUSE, where you canlearn how to turn your house GREEN.

GREEN describes anyone or anything that helps to conserve theEarth’s resources. Conserving resources means protecting things

like land, water, oil, and trees.Green houses are designed to be sustainable. That means the resources used tobuild them and run them won’t be damaged forever – or disappear forever.

Start your visit in the Glidehouse™ and don’t be polite – poke in, around, andthrough the Glidehouse™ to see why it’s GREEN!

Ever notice that in winter the sun is lower in the sky? That low angle can help heat and powerhouses! In the northern hemisphere (the Earth’s top half, where the U.S. is located), heat fromlow winter sunlight streams through south-facing windows. In summer, when the sun is higheroverhead, roof overhangs and trees block the sun’s heat. All year round, up on the roof, south-facing solar panels catch the sun’s power.

In the southern hemisphere, windows and roofs must face north to catch the sun’s light. Can youfigure out why?

The sun’s energy – SOLAR POWER – is a RENEWABLE power source – it won’t run out for bil-lions of years, and using it doesn’t create pollution. Gas, coal and other FOSSIL FUELS will runout, and they create pollution when burned for fuel. Solar power is a SUSTAINABLE choice forheat and power.

Using pencil and paper,

design a GREEN HOME for your envi-

ronment – city or suburb, mountain,

desert or seaside. Draw pictures of the

house from each side and from above.

Include the right trees and plants in the

right places.

FIND the Walla WombaGuest House. What fea-tures keep this house “off-the-grid”?

CHOOSE THE WEATHER around

the Walla Womba Guest Housemodel. See how changing weather

affects the amount of power andwater you can gather – and use!

Art and Education Direction: Paisley Gregg & Lisa Grossman, Tangent PicturesGraphic Design: Amanda Kavanagh, Ark DesignIllustration: Josh NeufeldThanks to: Evelyn Polesny

Off-the-grid build-ings don’t needpower, water, orsewer lines – theygenerate power,collect water and treat wasteon their own!

TRY it!

FamilyGuide

FamilyGuideTHe

green HouseNEW DIRECTIONS IN SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN

3Heliodon

2GreenIdeas

4Green

Houses

5Green

Materials

6Video

Can you bring home any ideas you saw in the Glidehouse™?

You can start by replacing one light bulb with

a compact fluorescent light bulb… It lasts 10

times longer and saves 66% more energy!

PEEK inside the Glidehouse’s™

walls and floors to see how they’re green from the inside out!

UNCOVERthe REAL cost of everythingfrom toilets to refrigerators on the BRIGHT GREEN TAGS.

DISCOVER in the TV’s animation how much

energy people all over the worlduse – and find out who’s the

world’s biggest energy hog!

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Glidehouse™be nosey and get away with it

TRY it!TURN ONthe lights just by walking into the bathroom!

The Glidehouse™ letsin lots of air andlight in all the rightplaces – and lessenergy is needed tobuild and powersmall houses. That’sGREEN THINKING!

© National Building Museum 2006

gimme five

All five of the BIG GREEN IDEAS are at work in the Glidehouse™. Check out the BIGIDEA explanations in this gallery. Then flip open this guide and match each GREENpart of the house to the BIG IDEA that makes it GREEN.

Green Ideas

53

46

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FIBER OPTIC & LED TECHNOLOGIES

Supportersn The American Institute of Architectsn National Association of Home Buildersn Smith & Fong Plyboo®n U.S. Green Building Council

Contributorsn 3form, Inc.n Andersen Corporationn Brighton Cabinetry, Inc.n Hardwood Manufacturers Associationn Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates PCn MBCIn NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®n Pelli Clarke Pelli Architectsn The Tower Companies

Lead Sponsors

Presenting Sponsor

Major Sponsors

Patrons

THE NATHAN

CUMMINGS FOUNDATION

ENTER

EXIT

1Glidehouse™

© National Building Museum 2006 © National Building Museum 2006

May 20, 2006 – June 3, 2007

NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM401 F Street, NWWashington, DC 20001202.272.2448 / www.NBM.org

“Helio comesfrom ancientGreek – itmeans SUN.”

2

This house might look ordinary – but it’s so GREEN, it’sextraordinary!The left side shows how this house stays green in the summer; the right side shows how it stays green all winter.Match each Big Idea below to one or more of the GREENfeatures highlighted in this drawing. (Hint: Some GREENfeatures match more than one Big Idea.) Write the letters ofyour answers next to the matching Big Idea, then check theanswer key below to see if you're thinking GREEN!"

Big IdeasBig Ideas

Smaller homes,including apart-

ments and townhouses,use fewer of the Earth’sresources – both to buildand run.

Use insulation to keep heated orair-conditioned air from escaping

through your home’s walls and roof.

Leafy trees planted on the south and west

sides of the house keep hot summer sun off thebuilding. That means lessair-conditioning! Leaves fall in cold weather, lettingthe sun’s heat back in.

Ovens, stoves, heating units,and other materials – even

kitchen cabinet doors – can releaseunhealthy gases. Use vents to pullfresh air into your home and to pushunhealthy air out.

Don’t flush it away!Water-efficient

faucets and low-flow toi-lets really save water. Ifevery toilet in the U.S. werea low-flow model, we’dsave almost 2 TRILLION gallons of water a year.

A

G

C

E

F

© National Building Museum 2006 © National Building Museum 2006

Make Your Home GREENOutside, solar panels collect thesun’s energy, turning it into

electricity. Inside, electricity fromsolar energy powers everything fromrefrigerators to video games.

D

1Use the sun’s energy as much as possible for a home’s heat and power.1

© National Building Museum 2006

543

Use native plants in yourgarden. Plants that grow

naturally in your area won’tneed a lot of chemicals orextra water. They’ll alsoattract wildlife to your yard.

J

Heavy materials like con-crete, brick and earth

absorb heat, keeping yourhome comfortable in sum-mer. In winter, these samematerials store the heat fromthe sun and release it atnight, helping to keep yourhome warm.

I

Avoid packageditems and recycle any

packaging you do use.Recycled materials, such asrubber, aluminum and glass,can be used to make every-thing from countertops topavers for your driveway.

H

2Make sure the air inside ahome is healthy and clean.

Use the land on which a home isbuilt for the most comfort withthe smallest resource use.3

Build homes that stay cozy anddry without wasting energy.4

Be smart about using as few of theEarth’s resources as you can – andin the least damaging way.5

ANSWER KEY1– B, D, E, I 2– G3– B, E, F, J4– C5– A, H, J

Plant evergreens on yourhome’s north side to block

cold north winds during winterand create shade during summer.

B