Venice Home Wins “Greenest House” in the US Award

A remodeled 1912 Craftsman’s cottage on Brooks Street will be awarded on Thursday for most “Outstanding Single Family Project” at an international green building conference.

The home is 52 percent more efficient than the average California home and collects 800 gallons of rainwater with two cisterns. Many materials were recycled from the old structure, like the original 2x4s in the walls that were used to build an open bookshelf and staircase. 

The Venice house, located at 539 Brooks St. achieved LEED Platinum, the highest rating in green building. The approximately 2,000-square-foot house features a storm water collection system, a native drought-tolerant garden and solar panels. Isabelle Duvivier is the home’s owner and architect.

Other winners include the Place of the Hidden Waters Community Longhouse, a housing project on the Puyallup Indian Reservation in the Pacific Northwest that incorporates native designs with sustainable features. 

The U.S. Green Building Council, the organization that developed LEED certification, a green-rating system, will bestow the prizes on seven winners at its international conference held in San Francisco this week.