Kingsley project receives LEED for Homes "Gold" Certification

It's official we just received LEED for Homes "Gold" Certification for the "Granite Hill" project in Kingsley, Michigan. This is the second highest honor you can receive from the USGBC. To our knowledge this is the first LEED certified home in Grand Traverse county. Congratulation goes out to Frontier Construction this is their first LEED for Homes project they have completed, hopefully we can help them with many more. We want to thank the member of the Granite Hill project team for project well done. Thanks goes out to Frontier Construction LLC, Image Design LLC, Andersen Window Corporation, BuildBlock, Brown Lumber, Odem Re-use Co. and Sustainable Environmental Services for awesome job! We would also like to thank the Homeowner for allowing us all to be apart of the special project!

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"Granite Hill" Project Wins Two National Awards

Today we found out the "Granite Hill" in Kingsley , Michigan won two national awards from the ICFA (Insulating Concrete Form Association). The 2009 ICFA Excellence Award is the premier industry recognition for the most innovative and noteworthy ICF projects of the year. We are proud that BuildBlock our ICF supplier believed in our project so much that they entered us it these prestigious awards. Buildblock sweep the awards with there projects. We are proud to have won the following two awards.

ICFA Small Residential Project Gold Award: Is awarded to the nations top ICF residential project less than 3,000 square feet.

ICFA Sustainability Project Bronze Award: Is awarded to the nations top
Residential or Commercial ICF project which maximizes the energy
performance and minimizes the environmental footprint of a building.

Congratulation to the Homeowners and Frontier Construction (Builder), Dave Russell of Wall Tech Products, LLC (Distributor), ourselves Image Design, LLC (Designer) and BuildBlock (Supplier) for winning these prestigious awards. Also a big thank goes out to all the behind the seen people who worked on this project, we could not of done it without all of you.

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"Vineyard" Project Wins Two National Awards

Today we found out the "Vineyard Project" in Paw Paw , Michigan won two national awards from the ICFA (Insulating Concrete Form Association). The 2009 ICFA Excellence Award is the premier industry recognition for the most innovative and noteworthy ICF projects of the year. We are proud that BuildBlock our ICF supplier believed in our project so much that they entered us it these prestigious awards. Buildblock sweep the awards with there projects. We are proud to have won the following two awards.

ICFA Large Residential Project Gold Award: Is awarded to the nations top ICF residential project over 3,000 square feet.

ICFA Sustainability Project Silver Award: Is awarded to the nations top
Residential or Commercial ICF project which maximizes the energy
performance and minimizes the environmental footprint of a building.

Congratulation to the Homeowners and "Team Hybrid" members Adam Bearup of Hybrid Homes, LLC (Builder), Dave Russell of Wall Tech Products, LLC (Distributor), ourselves Image Design, LLC (Designer), R-Value Concrete Structures (Installer) and BuildBlock (Supplier) for winning these prestigious awards. Also a big thank goes out to all the behind the seen people who worked on this project, we could not of done it without all of you.

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Grand Traverse Green 2010

If you get a chance I will be speaking at Grand Traverse Green 2010 Conference in Traverse City Michigan on Saturday February 6th from 10:00am to 11:30am at the Hagerty Center. We were invite by the Grand Traverse Home Builders Association to speak at this conference. Traverse City  Home Builders Association (HBAGTA) and Traverse Area Association of Realtors (TAAR) are both Pioneers in the Green Building movement  TAAR, with the with the technological support from the HBAGTA Green Build Grand Traverse Committee, has developed additions to its MLS (Green MLS). These additions allow sellers to list homes, commercial buildings and developments that have been certified or rated by one or more of the major Green Building Programs, including LEED, NAHB Green, Energy Star, and HERs.  HBAGTA was the first in Michigan to have a nationally recognized local Green Building Certification Program which was recently retired in May, 2009 to partner with the NAHB Green Build Program. We are excited to be speaking in one of the Pioneering Green Communities in our State.

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December Update

Can't believe its the end of the year already! This past year flew bye. We have been blessed this last year by receiving several national awards and by being published is several national & local magazines and had a lot of coverage through the internet. Since our last update we found out that I was elected to the Board of Directory at the Alliance for Environmental Sustainability (AES). I consider this a great honor and look forward to working with the rest of the Board members their, the AES has mentored myself and Image Design, LLC over the last 4 years and we would not be where we are today without them.

Our projected LEED for Home "Platinum" Glenn Retreat project is now under construction and the homeowners are writing a web-log about it. You can follow the progress of this project by clicking on the project's name above. Our projected LEED for Homes "Platinum" Turtles Hope project should be nearing completion some after the first of the year. We have several interesting project in design one of them is a sustainable remodel to a 1890's old farm house (see the picture above) built in in Dowling, Michigan the homeowners call the project Uncle Shane's. You can also follow the progress of this project by clicking on its project name too. This project will ultimatly be turning into a off the Grid Orgainic Farm. We are working on commercial LEED certified project called Northwoods by Nature that will be a non-profit Training Center for Green Building and Wind Tower Safety in LeRoy, Michigan. This project is exciting to me because it will give us a place up north to train and speak about Green Building and the LEED for Homes program to Builders, Sub-contractors, Building officials, Realtors and Homeowners in Northern Michigan. Some of the other project's we have in design will be built-in Howard City, Traverse City, Benzonia, Beulah, Dexter, Glenn, Ionia, Friutport, Newaygo, LeRoy, West Branch and Grand Rapids.

We are also anxiously awaiting final LEED for Homes certification on two of our projects the national award winning Vineyard Project which is projected to be "Platinum" and th Granite Hill which is projected to be "Gold". I am also in the process of working on my LEED AP + Homes Professional Credentials this is a two part process, first I will go for my LEED Green Associate certification then take a exam then if I pass it, I go take the LEED AP + Homes exam. This certification is worth one point on any of my projects that are going for LEED certification. So its important to have these Professional Credentials and it will also sets me apart from my competition. Also I will need it for a new venture I will be starting in 2010 (More about that next year)

2009 was a challenging, yet transformative year. Looking forward to the opportunities opening in 2010. Hope you all have a Happy New Year!

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The "Glenn Retreat" Project is Under Construction

Here is a sneak peak of the new "Glenn Retreat" project which is projected to be a LEED for Homes "Platinum" project. This Passive Solar designed Farm House Style cottage will be built by Doug Wierenga of Lake Home Builders. The perspective above is a southeast 3d perspective created with Google SketchUp software. By double clicking on this perspective you are able to see an enlarged view that shows the 2'-6" overhangs and the passive solar awnings that shade the sun from coming it to the home during the summer keeping this cottage naturally cool for summer enjoyment. There was an old existing cottage on this site that was beyond repair so the homeowners decided to re-use as much of the material as possible in there new cottage. You'll enjoy how these re-used material are worked into the interior design of this new cottage. This new cottage will use Advanced Framing methods (24" o.c. framing) w/Agra Based Open Cell Foam insulation and Geo-thermal heating and cooling to achieve the highest in energy efficiency. The home uses Lifetime design and Not So Big House design principle through-out the home making it the ultimate Retreat for family and friends of all ages to visit. Every material going into this home has been studied and research to make sure it is the greenest most sustainable choice for this home. The exterior landscaping was designed by Landscape Design Services, Inc. to meet the stringent LEED for Homes requirement and still be beautiful throughout the season. To follow this project through construction please follow the home owner web-log by clicking on "Glenn Retreat" at the beginning of this article.

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"Vineyard Project" Wins GreenBuilder Magazine's "2009 Green Home of the Year Award"

We are very excited annouce that we just found out that our projected LEED for Homes "Platinum "Vineyard Project" in Paw Paw, Michigan just won the GreenBuilder Magazine's "2009 Green Home of the Year Award" this is a very prestigious national award from one of the industries most respect green building magazines. Congratulation should go out to all of "Team Hybrid" for all of the hard work they are doing to be the leaders and pioneer's in the Green Building field in the State of Michigan.

I would like to thank the team members Hybrid Homes LLC, Image Design LLC, Andersen Window Corporation, BuildBlock ICF Company and R-Value Concrete Structures LLC for another awesome job! We would also like to thank the Homeowner for allowing us all to be apart of the special project!

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Team Hybrid asked to share our Team Approach with Andersen Windows Central Division Sales Team

Team Hybrid (Image Design, LLC and Hybrid Homes, LLC ) spent the last two day's sharing our Team Approach of Designing and Building cutting edge sustainable homes with Andersen Window Companies Central Division Sales team. We were asked to speak and participate in their Success Fair (We were the only clients invite), showing their sales team how Andersen Windows companies commitment to working with Team Hybrid has paid off over the last 3 years and showing them what is instore for the near future.

Team Hybrid would like to thank Andersen Windows Company and there entire Central Division Sales Team for inviting us to this event and empracing the team concept approach to marketing. We are honored to have you all as members of our Team.

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Pentwater project receives LEED for Homes "Platinum" Certification

It's official we just received LEED for Homes "PLATINUM" Certification for the "Watercress Project" in Pentwater, Michigan. This is the highest honor you can receive from the USGBC. To our knowledge this is the first LEED "Platinum" Log Home in the nation. Congratulation goes out to Team Hybrid again this is the second LEED for Homes "Platinum" project from the team. We want to thank the member of the team for another project well done. Thanks goes out to Hybrid Homes LLC, Image Design LLC, Andersen Window Corporation, Homestead Timbers, Porter Sips and R-Value Concrete Structures LLC for another awesome job! We would also like to thank the Homeowner for allowing us all to be apart of the special project!

Check out the article's on the PrairieMod, Jetson Green, Materialicious and Mother Nature Network web-log's on the "Watercress Project".

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Team Hybrid in Andersen Window Company Newsletter

LEEDing the Way: A inside look at Team Hybrid. Adam Bearup of Hybrid Homes, LLC and Eric Hughes of Image Design, LLC are the leaders of Team Hybrid Michigan's leading sustainable Design/Build team. Featured in the Andersen Window Companies internal newsletter which goes out to all of its employees Andersen is getting the word out about Team Hybrid. Andersen Window Company has partnered with Team Hybrid to help them stay the leading Sustainable/Green Design/Build team in Michigan.

Please read the article written in the Andersen Window Companies newsletter by double clicking the pictures below. Team Hybrid would like to thank Andersen Window Company for believing in what we do and for having the same passion for a sustainable future for all of to share.

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Future Proofing Garages for Electric Cars

Just got quoted in a great article by Katy Tomasulo of EcoHome Magazine called Future-Proofing Garages for Electric Cars. She talks about how single-family and multifamily builders should be thinking about how their homes will accommodate charging requirements for electric cars. Please read this great article.

"I always say plan for the future today, you won't regret it tomorrow"

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Frank Lloyd Wright Meyer May House Symposium

The Frank Lloyd Wright Meyer May House turns 100 years old. The birthday celebration this week features a symposium with big-name architects and designers coming to town and special tours featuring the home and others in Michigan. The symposium will be held on Thursday, September 10, 2009 form 1-5 PM . They will also be having tours of the Meyer May House
on the day of and the day after the Symposium. For those of you that know me, you know I wouldn't miss it. For those of you the don't know me, I am a big Frank Lloyd Wright fan. Hope to see some of you there!

Update
The symposium was awesome!!! And we also finally where able to meet our friends from our favorite web-log PrairieMod in person at the symposium.

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Michigan Blue Magazine Fall Issue

If you get a chance please check-out the new fall issue of Michigan Blue magazine there is a great article written by Lisa Jensen the editor of the magazine about "River Living". One of our first green homes we designed back in 2003 was featured in this article. The home was called "Modern Cottage" and was built on the Thornapple River in Ada, Michigan. The home is a site specific home that was designed for a narrow lot that was really close to their neighbors on each side of them. Every room in the house has a view of the river from the moment you step through the front Door. The home was designed to direct your view to the River not the neighbors. This home was a experiment with green and unique building products and was ahead of its time.

Green Feature

• Metal Roofing.
• Concrete counter-tops
• Stained Concrete Floors
• Hand made Concrete Tiled fireplace.
• Recycled Barn Beams
• Radiant Heat Floors
• CertainTEED Cement Board Siding
• Andersen 400 Series Windows
• Use of the "Not So Big House" principles.

Unique Feature

• Precast Plank for a Garage below the Garage.
• Alder w/matte charcoal finish kitchen cabinets.
• Honed granite counter top with glass tile backsplash.
• Brazilian cherry flooring.
• Catwalk connects masters suite w/childrens rooms.
• Open stairs.
• Connecting loft "secret room" in clildrens rooms w/rock climbing holds to access loft.
• Bunk room designed for weekend visits and sleepovers.
• Bedrooms all have decks and patios.
• Mylar sink.
• Built in sand box.

I would like to thank Lisa Jensen and Michigan Blue magazine for featuring one of our projects in one of its articles. Their magazine is one of my favorite magazine here in Michigan because of how it features unique homes and activites along our Lakes and Waterways.

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Northern Home & Cottage Magazine Green Issue

If you get a chance please check out the last issue of one of my favorite Michigan magazines Northern Home & Cottage magazine it is also inside of this month's Traverse magazine too. This months issue it is dedicated to Green Building, they have a several great article in it. The Cool, Green House article on the LEED for Homes "Gold" project designed by Architect Danny Foster that was built in Omena, Michigan is a very interesting article and project worth reading about. There is a article on 20 Great Green Products which three of them were recommended by me (Eric Hughes of Image Design, LLC ) and one from our friend Adam Bearup of Hybrid Homes, LLC all of which were use on our LEED for Homes "Platinum" project in Onekama, Michigan. We were also mentioned as Green Building pioneer's in the Editor's Note article called Sexy Green which mentioned our Onekama LEED "Platinum" project. This magazine is dedicated to covering some of the most interesting and inspiring homes & cottage in northern Michigan every issue is worth reading! They also have a great online community on their MyNorth.com web-site where I created a group called Up North Green Living please check it out and become a member.

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Image Design Web-log's 3rd Anniversary

Tomorrow is the 3 year anniversary (July 31, 2006 to July 31, 2009) of our Image Design Web-log. We hope you have found this web-log to be interesting and informative. I really enjoy writing it and have received allot of positive response to having it. Since I put a counter on my web-log about a year and a half ago we have had 22,200 people visit our site. I am currently working on a new web-site beside having this web-log. Our new web-site will be able to show more of our past, present and future projects along with being able to purchase some of our most popular plans online. I would like to thank those of you how visit this site often and hope you keep visiting this site. A great way to stay in touch with this site is to click on the follow button on the right side of the web-log and become a Follower on this site!. Thanks to those of you that are already Follower on this site.

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Tulikivi Masonry Unit Heater (Fireplace)

Some of you were able to tour our 2009 Michigan Energy Fair Show Home in Kingsley Michigan this last weekend, for those of you that were not. One of the favorite feature of this home was the Tulikivi Masonry Unit Heater Fireplace from Positive Chimney & Fire Place Located in Cadillac, Michigan. TULIKIVI (TWO-lee-KEE-vee). In Finnish, it literally means "fire stone". In English, it translates into one of the world's most beautiful and efficient ways to heat your house.

Fireplaces are important in every home especially to those who are located in cold places like Michigan. However, burning wood inside your home is not eco friendly enough and not an efficient way to save fuel. To address this issue, Finnish company Tulikivi has created the soapstone fireplace that is truly beautiful and fuel-efficient that produces some of the cleanest, most energy-efficient wood-burning fireplaces in the world. Adding to the “green” appeal of a Tulikivi fireplace is its healthy radiant heat output and use of a local, renewable, carbon neutral fuel – wood. These soapstone fireplaces are a traditional heating method in Finland, but are now winning converts here at a time when prices for oil and natural gas continue to soar. Typical wood-burning fireplaces send the majority of their heat up the chimney; not so with a Tulikivi. The soapstone soaks up the fire’s heat as it burns, stores it and then gently and steadily releases it after the fire is out. Tulikivi is recognized by the Finnish Allergy and Asthma Federation as a heating option for those households where asthma or allergies are a key concern, due to the extremely low particle emission of its latest collection of fireplaces (introduced in North America earlier this year). Tulikivi fireplaces supersede the strictest air quality standards in the world and help's our "Granite Hill Project" earn points towards its projected LEED for Homes "Gold" certification. It’s nice to know that you can now have a fireplace that is not only fashionable and elegant, but also an earth friendly one.

Several people that attended this years Energy Fair told me it was worth the trip to this home just to check out his Tulikivi soapstone fireplace.

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May & June Update!

Many thing have happened since our last update. You can read the articles I wrote below about our trip to the Andersen Window factory, our "Watercress Project" completion or our 2009 Michigan Energy Fair show house and the exciting news about the "Vineyard Project" HERS score and it becoming a projected LEED for Homes "Platinum" project just to name a few thing since our last update!

As of this month we are happy to have 15 active projects in our office for design. The picture in this article is from the site of the latest project under design which will be built on Long Lake in Traverse City, Michigan. We have just completed the designs for a interesting projected LEED for Homes "Gold" project called the "The Hybrid II Project" in Pittsford, Michigan that Adam Bearup of Hybrid Homes will be building along with the projected LEED for Homes "Platinum" "Turtle's Hope Project" that he has currently under construction. These projects should be fun to watch as Adam turns our designs in to reality. At the end of May we were hired for a new Zero Energy Home (ZEH) project in Beulah, Michigan and are currently interviewing for several other interesting projects throughout the state. Thats all for now.

Hope to see some of you at the 2009 Michigan Energy Fair were in Booth #8.

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A HERS Score of 34!!!

Exciting news from Mike Holcomb of AES (Our LEED for Homes rater) and Adam Bearup of Hybrid Homes our "Vineyard Project" just received a HERS score of 34. This is the lowest score Mike Holcomb has every tested as a rater and possibly the lowest score in the State of Michigan. This extremely low HERS score means that our "Vineyard Project" is now projected at the "Platinum" Level under the LEED for Homes program. Both Adam and I are very excited about this news.

What is a HERS, or Home Energy Rating System score? Well it is basically a rating of how energy efficient a home is based on a number of things, including a blower door test, the HVAC system, energy usage, and so on. The HERS rating is what is used to qualify a home for the Energy Star Rating. The rating is based off of a standard new home built to code that was rated originally tested and used as the test case with the score of 100. A typical older home has a HERS index of 125-150. Most homes that qualify for Energy Star homes must have a HERS rating of 85. That means that those homes are 15% more energy efficient than the test house. This is really good and a step in the right direction. Most of our homes have been scoring in the 50's, which is where we would expect the to fall. That HERS score would qualifies our homes as 5 star+ in the Energy Star rating system. The "Vineyard Project" came in at 34 (lower the better) making it 66% more efficient than a new home built to code.

Based on their Home Energy Rating System (HERS) scores, the average home certified under LEED for Homes since its launch in February 2008 is predicted to use an estimated 30-60% less energy than a comparable home built to International Energy Conservation Code. Based on the average HERS ratings for each level of LEED certification, these homes could potentially see energy reductions of:

• Certified: Up to 30%.


• Silver: Approximately 30%.


• Gold: Approximately 48%.


• Platinum: 50-60%.

As many know, Adam and I are firm believer in Kaizan ( A Japanese philosophy Adam introduced me too), or continuous improvement. We are continually studying the design & construction of our homes to make improvements to them so they are as energy efficient as possible within their budgets. So even though a HERS rating of 34 is the best we have achieved so far our goal are to continually improve upon that score with the ultimate goal of a HERS score of 0. You can read Adam's take on it at his blog.

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Happy 142nd Birthday, Frank LLoyd Wright

Today is the birthday of Frank LLoyd Wright. Widely regarded as America's most influential architect, Frank Lloyd Wright left behind a rich legacy of homes and buildings, and created a distinctly American style of architecture that continues to influence architects to this day. He was born June 8, 1867 and pasted a way in April 9, 1959. His work has influence my life since I was a young teenager. I have been and still am inspire by his work. Some of my favorite works of his are Fallingwater, Meyer May House and all the Prairie Style and Usonian houses . Wright's philosophy in architecture promoted harmony between the building, its inhabitants and nature. His homes became part of their surroundings. He minimized their presence and maximized their practicality. He revolutionized modern architecture with the essentials of ecological design and green building. Also today was the birthday of another organic architect pioneer Bruce Goff who would of been 105rd. Today we should all honor both of these pioneers of the green movement. Other birthday this month are, mine Eric Hughes (June 9Th), My Son Joshua (June 29Th) a future pioneer in green movement.

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2009 Michigan Energy Fair

Its time again for the Michigan Energy Fair! Come visit the fair June 26th - 28th in Onekama, Michigan and see the latest in green building technologies. We are proud to have our projected LEED for Homes "Gold" project called the "Granite Hill Project" in Kingsley Michigan (Just outside of Traverse City) Be the 2009 Michigan Energy Fair Show House its also the first LEED for Homes project in Grand Traverse County. Many of you toured our 2007 & 2008 Energy Fair Show House in Onekama which was West Michigan's first LEED for Homes "Platinum" project and won numerous local and national awards.

Stop by our booth (booth #8) and see what we have be up to since last year and get a look at some our latest projects. We are able to show multiple projects using the latest in Sustainable/Green building technologies such as ICF's (Insulated Concrete Form), SIP Panel (Structural Insulated Panels), Advanced Framing, Straw Clay Construction, Passive Solar Design, Solar Hot, Photovoltaic, Wind Generation, Geo-Thermal, Zero-Energy Homes (ZEH) along with the use of the Lifetime Design ( Aging-in-place or Barrier Free Design) and the Not So Big House Design Principles.

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