My Two Cents

Nov 19 2009 11:10AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (3) |
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By Susan Bady

The American Sustainability Initiative (AmeriSus for short) recently announced that beginning in January 2010, it will place 12,000 affordable, sustainable homes in 15 states over the next two years -- and Whirlpool Corp. plans to be right there with its energy-efficient appliances. 

According to the Whirlpool press release, Philadelphia-based AmeriSus is "a consortium of design and development professionals focused on providing creative designs and materials for energy-efficient homes that are within the price range of the average American home buyer." One of the ways AmeriSus is making the homes affordable is by utilizing the kit-home concept popularized by Sears about 100 years ago. I'm guessing that this will involve modular housing or a combination of factory techniques. A complete package will be offered to
builders that includes everything from fasteners to appliances and finishes. The selection of floor plans will grow over time.

I had never heard of AmeriSus until this morning. I will be very interested to see if it meets its goals, which are certainly laudable given the current state of the housing market. Apparently there is no government involvement, federal or otherwise; the project is being funded by a national bank (not named). So stay tuned for updates.

Last but not least, I'd like to congratulate the winners of the 2009 Custom Builder Design Challenge (read the feature here). The designs are cutting-edge, yet very livable. I also want to thank everyone who entered for committing so much time and effort; I was very impressed with the quality of the entries. Kudos!