January and February Update

This year has started off with a bang! We have been hired to design a green remodel in Sawyer along with three new LEED for Homes certified projects in Glenn, Delton and Tustin. Adam Bearup of Hybrid Homes, LLC will soon start construction on two LEED for Homes registered projects we designed in Paw Paw and Grand Rapids these homes will raise the standard for what is green building.

Our Spring Parade of Homes house is coming along great, this will be a must see home built by Scott Bronkema Builders. Also if you get a chance check out the award winning home we design and Scott Bronkema Builders built that's featured in the Early Winter 2008 edition of Cosmopolitan Home Grand Rapids magazine and the award winning Onekama home we designed and Hybrid Homes built will be featured in the March issue of Concrete Homes magazine. Besides the magazine article check out this web article on Concrete Homes web-site about the Onekama project (Click here to read the article).

Last be not least come see us at the Hybrid Homes Booth and the LEED for Homes Booth at the 29th Annual West Michigan Home and Garden Show at DeVos Place February 28th -March 2nd. Hope to see you their!

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Team Hybrid Wins GLREA Award for Exemplary Project 2007

This Saturday Adam Bearup of Hybrid Homes (TM) and I went down to Ann Arbor for the annual GLREA (Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association) membership meeting. Where Team Hybrid won the GLREA 2007 Exemplary Project Award for the Onekama Hybrid Show House!

The GLREA handed us 17 plaques for each of the Team Hybrid Members who were vital to the project's success. It is important to remember, that there were several projects nominated from the Great Lakes Region.

The award reads:

"In recognition of the Onekama Hybrid Home, demonstrating the most innovative and practical use of renewable energy technologies and methods"

We are more than thrilled to win this award as a Team!

The members recognized were:

Hybrid Homes, LLC
Image Design, LLC
The Homeowners
Bauer Power
Sky Stream (wind generator)
Schucco (Solar Hot Water System)
Galaxy Electric
H and H plumbing and heating
Andersen Windows
Shaw Flooring
CertainTeed (Cement Board Siding)
R-Value Concrete Structures
Team Elmers (Concrete Supplier)
Onekama Building Supply
Standale Lumber
Alliance for Environmental Sustainability
Wall Tech Products (ICF Supplier)

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Update for September and October

It seem like summer went bye very fast, I hope you all enjoyed the summer and are enjoying the fall colors. We have be fortunate to be staying busy in this ever changing economy. I believe this is do to the current demand for green building here in Michigan. I strongly believe green building will be the future of building here in Michigan. I just wanted to give you a update on whats been going on here since August. Our project in Lamont Farms in Coopersville has been put on hold unfortunately. But on the brighter side the projects in Paw Paw and here in Grand Rapids have approved the preliminary designs and are in the pricing phase with Hybrid Homes (TM). The Onekama project with Hybrid Homes (TM) is nearing completion (Check-out the updated photos on there web-site) and is getting ready for final third party testing for LEED for Homes certification thru AES (Alliance for Environment sustainability). Our Dix Farms project with Scott Bronkema Builders is under construction now and we are anxious to see it go up. We have also been working with some new builders on several potential projects here in west Michigan. And we also have been interviewing for several more job all over the state and even one in a different country.

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Image Design August Update

I hope you all had a good Labor Day! To give you and update for the month of August we are progressing along on the preliminary designs for the prairie style project which will be going in Lamont Farms in Cooperville. We have been commissioned for two new project, both of them will be sustainable, ICF and Passive solar, lifetime designed homes that will be built by Adam Bearup of Hybrid Homes (TM). The first one will be in Paw Paw Michigan (pictured above). This project will be built next to a vinyard of concord grapes and will include wind generation, solar hot water, radiant heat, photovoltaic and maybe even geothermal. The second project will be here in Grand Rapids and will be a 1,400 sq. ft. home with solar hot water, radiant heat and pre-wired for future photovoltaic.
I have been nominated the chair for the West Michigan Chapter of the USGBC LEED for Homes Committee. This committee will be working on educating the public about LEED for Homes program and its benefit over other green building programs here in Michigan. If you or you builder would like to find out more on this program please give me a call.

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Review of the 2007 Michigan Energy Fair

It started off with the VIP party at our show house which had a great turn out! And the debut of the new Team Hybrid trailer. The Trailer was so cool Adam decided to take it down to his booth at the energy fair. The trailer drew people over to the Hybrid Row which was a row of vendors including myself that were involved with the Hybrid show home. We also were published in the Ludington, Manistee and Traverse City newspapers and mentioned on TV and radio. We meet congressmen, senators, state and local officials along with a lot of great people interested in green building what more could we ask for. Our booths were continuously packed with people interested in the processes of the show house and our individual companies Image Design and Adam Bearup's company Hybrid Homes (TM). Adam and I also gave a seminar on building a Hybrid Home(TM) from start to finish. We were excited to see all 70 seat's full and people standing at every opening to hear what we were saying. Afterward people kept asking us if or when we were speaking again. And to top that we were invited to speak at several colleges and organizations. I have spent the last few days emailing and calling all the different people and contact's we made during the Energy Fair. What a great event I can't wait until next year. I want to thank Adam Bearup and all of team hybrid for making it a wonderful experience. I also want to give my wife Christy, a special thank you for being there and working so hard to promote our business along with Hybrid Homes (TM), and Team Hybrid (TM).

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Show House Update!

The last two week I have been working as a laborer for Adam at Hybrid Homes (TM) as the 2007 Michigan Energy Fair show house that we designed goes up. I had the privilege of working with Adam and John (Adams right hand man) and Jake and his crew from R Value Concrete Structures (ICF subcontractor to Hybrid Homes). I consider them the leader in ICF construction in West Michigan. Thanks to both of them I have gained in depth knowledge of ICF construction and new found respect for there trade, which I hope will set Image Design apart from the rest in the sustainable design field. Check out Adams web-site for updated picture of this project. As I left Thursday Adam and Jake guys were getting ready to pour the Lite-Deck floors and setting the main floor ICF walls. Stay tuned for more information.

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Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association

Yesterday Image Design became a business member of the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association. We traveled with Adam Bearup of West Mighigan Hyrid Homes to there annual membership meeting in Ann Arbor at Leopold Brothers Brewery an organic brewery. The Renewable Energy Association (GLREA) is a non-profit organization that educates, advocates, promotes, and publicly demonstrates renewable energy technologies. We are proud to be member of this association along with our friends at West Michigan Hybrid Homes and Bauer Power. Please if you get a chance check out their web-site.

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Kelsey Wood Spec House

The Spec House for Kelsey Wood in Ionia is about to start! We are really excited about this project. We are building on Unit #13, it has a beautiful view of the 3rd hole green and the 4th hole tee on Shadow Ridge golf course. This is a really must see spec house for Ionia. There is a awsome team of people involved with this project. Adam Bearup from West Michigan Hybrid Homes is one of the leading Green Builders in the State and he will be the Builder of this home. We are also trying to use as many local subs from Ionia as we can for this project to help the local economy there.

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