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Just Do It

Green Homes Tour


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Published: Nov 19, 2008

Sat., Nov. 22, 8:30 a.m., $48, registration required, White Dog Café, 3420 Sansom St., 215-386-9224, whitedogcafe.com

Going green around the home doesn't necessarily mean surrendering creature comforts. This Saturday, Laura Blau, co-founder of environmentally savvy architecture and design firm BluPath Design, is teaming up with White Dog Café for a tour of the city's most sustainable abodes.

Kicking things off with muffins and coffee, the tour will begin at White Dog with a presentation by Blau on topics such as green building terms, technologies and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.

The tour will then head out to visit three of Philly's leading green homes, including renovated and newly constructed spaces. First stop will be Blau's Italian Market residence, a Civil War-era three-story row home featuring roof-mounted solar collectors, a rubber membrane roof and a water catch system. Next up is South Street's Bancroft Green, one of Philly's newer eco-friendly properties that includes geothermal heating and cooling, bamboo flooring and dual-flush toilets that reduce water waste.

Before heading back for lunch at White Dog, the tour will stop by NoLibs' Thin Flats. One of the country's first LEED Platinum Certified multifamily projects, the property features low-flow faucets and rainwater harvesting cisterns. Which is about as far from roughing it as we could hope for.