Tucson Innovative Home Tour 2011

Review of Homes:  What You Can See on the Tour This Year

Practical Sustainability in Action™

This year’s tour has a wonderful variety of great homes and new innovations, most of which have never been open to the public before. There are many highly acclaimed and award-winning homes and many waiting to be discovered, with the emphasis, as ever, on the practical and cost-effective. As usual, there are more homes new on the tour than homes reappearing from last year. There are 20 homes and 4 other special features at 18 locations this year, 18 are open Saturday and 8 very good ones are open again on Sunday (1, 10, and 13 -18).

On this year's tour, visitors will be able to be among the first to see many of the top-rated homes in the region. On both days, you will have a very special opportunity to see new and renovated homes that are among the most advanced homes in the Southwest.

But this is just a start. Every home on the tour this year is among the most remarkable homes in the state. No matter what your interests or the size of your pocketbook, there are lots of great new ideas waiting for you, with opportunities to speak with the people who put them to good use. You'll get to meet some very interesting, knowledgeable, accomplished, and nice people. The Tucson Innovative Home Tour has one of the largest selections of houses of this kind that you can find on such a public tour anywhere.

You can use this page to plan your day. Numbers below correspond to the numbers on the tour guide, so you can select the homes here you would like to visit and easily find them when you get the guide. The tour this year is on Saturday and Sunday, November 5 and 6, from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm.

The following locations are rated, or are in the process of being rated, by green building programs: 1, 3, 4, 9, 15
These locations are reported to be accessible for wheelchairs: 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 13, 15
The following homes are for sale: 1, 7, 18
These homes are in various stages of construction: 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 14, 17
These homes were on the tour last year while under construction: 1, 3, 10, 17
These homes were also on the tour last year: 2, 4, 13, 15, 16, 18
These homes have significant do-it-yourself aspects: 2, 3, 5, 10, 11, 14, 16, 17

Remember, there are more houses on the tour than can be meaningfully seen in one day. Choose from five to seven homes among the ones that most interest you. Take your time and take advantage of the opportunity to talk with the owners, designers, builders and others. Enjoy your day and help others enjoy it too.

Please be good guests and be very nice to the homeowners. Visit only during tour hours 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. They volunteer their time to share their knowledge and experience with you.

Tour Guide 2011 - Review of Homes

Saturday & Sunday, November 5 & 6: 11:00 am - 5:00 pm
 All locations are open Saturday.
 The following locations are also open Sunday: 1, 10, and 13 -18.

(1) Super Energy Efficient
On last year's tour when it was still under construction, this innovative new 1900 sq ft house was designed for a high level of energy efficiency and healthy indoor environment. Since then, it has been completed and has won a number of prestigeous national awards. This year, you can see, and feel, the results. It features an innovative first-of-its-kind radiant floor heating and cooling system and, with solar power, will be a net-zero-energy house on a cost-effective basis. It is anticipated to become one of the first homes in Tucson to receive the City of Tucson's top Green Building rating (Emerald). The design focused on making it the most energy efficient home possible in a cost effective way. Other features include high insulation using Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs), whole house ERV (energy recovery fresh air ventilation), whole-roof rainwater collection, whole house water filtration, and all Energy Star rated appliances and fixtures. With the installation of solar water heating and solar pv electric power, the home will achieve net-zero-energy. Here you can speak with the innovative builder who designed and built it. Featured in the Tucson Weekly's feature article on the Tucson Innovative Home Tour this year, as well as the Arizona Daily Star.

(2) Energy efficient central Tucson condo makeover
This is the first and only time the Tucson Innovative Home Tour has had a condo which provides some good lessons in energy efficiency, conservation and production. The owner of this home, an energy management specialist, has been successfully engaged in do-it-yourself energy projects for some time now. He reports that his efforts have resulted in a 50% reduction in annual electricity and natural gas consumption. Recently he has also started pursued his own generation of energy with a solar water heater, which he installed himself, and he is now planning to install his own solar photovoltaic power system next. He also has a nifty new energy monitoring system and a solar oven. Situated in a nice central location, this home is a great example of how significant a factor the interest of the homeowner can be in reducing utility bills. Come visit and see how he did it.

(3) Major green renovation scores big
This 1350 sq ft 1955 brick residence was reduced to a shell, the interior reconfigured and the roof retrofitted for energy and water efficiency and other measures. Seen last year under reconstruction, it can now been seen in its beautiful completed form. Features include ...
* Adding a south porch to shade the south side of the house,
* Adding roof and wall insulation and other measures to better insulate and seal the building envelope,
* Adding a metal roof for durability, low maintenance & rainwater collection,
* Reconfiguring the interior floor plan to maximize spatial efficiency, thus minimizing additional building area,
* Centrally relocating plumbing to minimize piping,
* Minimizing construction trash by reusing and recycling building materials.
* Refinishing the concrete foundation as an exposed concrete floor.
* Primarily using reclaimed wood for interior framing.
In addition, the home has a solar photovoltaic power system that supplies more than the energy consumed, thereby making this one of the first more-than-net-zero energy homes in Tucson. It is expected to be certified LEED Platinum, the highest levle of the national rating system.

(4) Gorgeous midtown renovation
This major renovation of a nice 2500 sq ft 1967 adobe home in a fine neighborhood by an architect owner was the first such project completed under permit by the City of Tucson under its new Regional Green Building Program (Gold Level). You can speak with the architect who did it and learn how he did it. Features include improved building envelope through high-efficiency windows and doors, and high-R ceiling insulation; high-efficiency heat pumps with ducts located inside the conditioned envelope; clerestory windows and opening skylight for stack-effect ventilation; reuse of materials salvaged from demolition; high-efficiency appliances, exhaust fans, and plumbing fixtures; use of "environmentally preferred products" (paint, ceramic tile, counters, sealants); cabinets constructed of formaldehyde-free materials; :"cool" roof; water harvesting through cisterns and rainwater basin; and drought-tolerant trees for shading. Visitors can learn simple strategies that can dramatically improve energy efficiency, indoor air quality and natural lighting; how to compensate for uninsulated adobe exterior walls by improving other parts of the building envelope; how a "green" remodeling can focus on architectural quality too.

(5) Simple historic adobe renovation
The continuing renovation of a small 1921 adobe by a sculptor embodies years of low cost DIY, small is beautiful, simple living, low technology, low maintenance, recycling, low energy and water use, conservation and aesthetics. This will especially interest do-it-yourselfers who are interested in renovating older adobe or historical homes on a low budget. In the artist's words, "My home incorporates ... aesthetic values as well as R-values. Because a home is first and foremost a home, it must be a sanctuary and a place of peace, refuge and regeneration." Features include a tapered ceiling exiting into a vented cupola that draws heat up and out, 12 inch thick adobe walls that moderate day and night temperature swings, south facing windows to collect winter sun, louvers and sun cloth on the exterior of western windows, a northern porch shaded on the sides by trees.

(6-9) Modern urban living, Tucson style
A unique upscale residential community that draws from traditional southwest Sonoran and Spanish Colonial streetscapes and architecture - with beautiful pedestrian-friendly narrow bending streets, wide sidewalks, small plazas, masonry buildings and native landscaping- plus environmentally friendly sustainable design and new urbanist elements.
  You will be able to get a special look at a new home under construction and speak with four top innovative builders about other homes nearby.
  You will also be able to see Mercado San Agustín, a 14,000 sq.ft. shopping center that combines the traditional concepts of public marketplace with one of the most advanced green buildings of its kind in Tucson. Seen previously on the tour under construction, you can now see how it turned out. Even better, it now has shops and a restaurant, so you will be able to enjoy the results. It uses Rastra, an insulated concrete form (ICF) building system that combines high insulation and high thermal mass for exterior walls. Features will include solar electric power, solar water heating, solar exterior lighting, solar tubes, other energy and water efficiency measures, zero VOC paint, rainwater harvesting, a passive subsurface irrigation system and much more. You won't want to miss this one.

(10) Earthship ready for takeoff
The first Earthship home to be built in the Tucson region has now been completed. Seen previously on the tour while it was under construction, you can now see the remarkable results. Made famous as the kind of home chosen by environmentally conscious actor, Dennis Weaver, it makes extensive use of passive solar design, high insulation, high thermal mass and recycled materials. The basic Earthship concept is that the houses heat themselves, cool themselves, generate their own power, collect and store their own water and digest their own sewage. This is the first Earthship home to be built in compliance with local building codes in the state of Arizona - another big first for Pima County.

(11) Sustaining home on the range
A bit of a drive but well worth it. In the foothills of the Santa Rita Mountains on the way to Sonoita, this very modern new home on the range has lots of interesting and useful features, including passive solar design, high insulation and high thermal mass using an ICF, energy and water efficiency, 4.7 kW flush-mounted solar pv system for net zero energy, solar water heating that also supplies a hydronic heating system in the floor, rainwater harvesting and graywater. Still undergoing finishing touches, the brand new house is located at 5,000 ft elevation in the Santa Rita foothills. It is comprised of a main house, detached guest house and garage (approx. 3,500 sq.ft. of living area). The core building principles are high insulated thermal mass (Integra block exterior/sand-filled CMU interior) and aggressive ventilation. It is a passive/active design, featuring careful solar orientation and shading, substantial berming of north and west walls. Other features include solar water heating, 100% LED/CFL indoor lighting, and redundant heating and cooling systems, including earthtubes, whole-house exhaust fan, high-efficiency woodstoves, solar hydronic radiant concrete floors, a rainwater harvesting system and a graywater system.

(12) Best Planned Community in Arizona Award
First Place Award for Best Planned Community in Arizona from Arizona Planners Association. It is the largest adobe construction project in the State of Arizona. There are a lot of interesting and unique things to see. Two homes will also be open. Grounds wheelchair accessible. Seen previously on the tour, this year you can also see nine new solar photovoltaic power systems, the maturing wetlands project, extensive organic gardens and get a guided tour.
  Co-Housing is an intentional community where people join together to buy land, plan the development, own their own house but share in the ownership of land, common buildings and equipment. It makes possible a community experience that has been lost over time in much of America. Also, through joint ownership and sharing, members can have much greater resources than they might by themselves. The members of this particular community share a strong environmental interest and commitment. They are seeking to create “a community in balance with nature.” They have built a residential development of 28 townhouses clustered on 8 acres in a parcel of 43 acres in the Tucson Mountain foothills. It has a pedestrian core with peripheral parking. Features include passive solar design with thermal mass construction using pressed adobe, plus solar water heating. A very special wetlands system treats and recycles all wastewater. Landscape design follows permaculture principles and practices, leaving most of the land in its natural state, roof rainwater catchment flowing into cisterns, vegetated basins and organic gardens, paving of all roads and parking with a permeable surface and many other environmentally sound practices. It also has a 3400 sq ft common house, pool, playgrounds, meditation area and nature trails.

(13) Artist's home nestled in the desert
Inspired by the Tucson Innovative Home Tour, this artist collaborated with a builder on a beautiful desert-adapted home that fits in well with its environment. The owner is now planning a new solar photovoltaic covered carport. The home also inclludes the artist's studio, so you will also be able to see some wonderful art work.
  Natural, non-toxic and recycled materials, healthy home, energy and water efficient, xeriscape and native landscaping, and solid geometry. In fact, the geometry is unique: imagine a triangular center with circles at each corner. This is a fascinating example of how to build using dome principal and strong triangular structure in an unobtrusive and practical way. They authored a book about their experience, House as Teacher: Building the Future Now. There is a very pleasant bonus to this one: you will also have a chance to see some nice art. This home is about heart and spirit, creativity and art. Featured in the Arizona Daily Star.
  Note: The final mile or so is over a dirt road.

(14) Self sufficient straw bale under construction
Another special treat this year is this straw bale house now under construction by its owner. With the building envelope up this is a great opportunity to see how it is constructed and talk with the man who is doing it. Located on the NW corner of Saguaro National Park West, it was designed to fit in well and unobtrusively with its desert surroundings. Features include complete independence of utility connections, minimum footprint, low impact, passive solar, high insulation and high thermal mass, energy and water efficiency, water supplied 100% by rainwater harvesting, solar water heating and electricity, healthy home materials, ceiling insulation made from recycled newspaper, high thermal mass adobe partition walls, earthen plaster, and minimum disturbance to the natural landscape and much more.
  Note: Two miles of dirt roads. Caution: active construction site.

(15) First LEED Silver retail project in Arizona
Oro Valley Marketplace. Open both days
The new Oro Valley Marketplace earned a Silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, marking the first retail project in the state to earn the designation, and one of the first in the Southwest. It is also on its way to becoming one of the biggest malls in the Tucson region. The developer and manager, Vestar Development Co., also worked with the U.S. Green Building Council to extend the LEED rating system to large commercial developments for the first time - and this project, opened just last year, was one of the first in the region to be LEED certified. Vestar is also one of the first major corporations of its kind in the region to commit to sustainable development as the basis for its future development practices. www.vestar.com
  This means that the project includes energy, water and resource efficiency and conservation, indoor air quality and transportation measures. Features include a huge water harvesting system that will conserve an average of four million gallons of water per year, incorporation of regional transportation routes and preferred parking for hybrid vehicles. The project also involved restoration of an adjacent 70-acre riparian area into a publically accessible natural area, eight acres of open space within the project, and new pedestrian trails linking the open space and the riparian preserve to the existing Pima County trails system.
  Note: There is no host or exhibit at this location. The mall is open for business. Drop in and visit whenever you wish.

(16) Huge garden tops "best" lists
The owners of this B&B not only restored a large area of bladed land around their home but turned it into a wonderful garden using mostly native plants. It is reputed by experts to be one of the finest of native species, wildlife habitat, butterflies, hummingbirds and other birds in the Tucson area. Some plants were seriously damaged by last winter's deep frost, so you can also learn a lot from the owners about choosing plants that are frost tolerant.
  It was an enormous job that started from scratch: bladed ground formerly devoted to parking and driveways was terraformed for rainwater retention. Invasive grass species were dug out and replaced with native bunch grasses. A wide palette of native plants were installed to create a lush oasis in the desert. This is a great place to learn how to remake your yard into native habitat and attract birds, butterflies, bugs and wildlife to your own home. The owner is also a terrific photographer whose photographs from his yard are just simply amazing. This year, the Tucson Innovative Home tour coincides with an art tour, so you will be able to see a special exhibition of his stunning photographics.Note: The final mile or so is over a dirt road in poor condition: drive carefully.

(17) Earth, water and sun sustenance
The home of one of the pioneers and top experts of rammed earth construction is nearing completion. Many professionals from around the world paid over $1,000 in conference and tour fees to see at the nation's biggest annual green building conference last year - and it was the first tour that was fully booked. This is a very special opportunity to see something very special and learn how it was done.
  This remarkable new super-sustaining home brings together a long, thoughtful and practical list of sustainability features, including passive solar design, lots of energy and water efficiency features, and large scale rainwater harvesting with lots of storage capacity. The concept is taken even farther into the realm of food production, with an orchard, vegetable garden, chickens and turkey. He makes wonderfully innovative use of recycled materials too. You will find all kinds of interesting innovations and practical features. This is farther from Tucson, but well worth your time in getting there. You can meet a master at his craft and see how he does it.   Caution: there is still some active construction.

(18) Grace on the river
A nice new 2700 sq ft modern home on 15 acres, this is located amidst a nature preserve along the San Pedro River, about a 55-mile drive from Tucson. Starting with Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) (Rastra) construction, the house incorporates many energy and water efficiency measures. Features include very high insulation in the ceiling (R-60), tight weatherproofing,a 19-SEER 2-stage heat pump, tankless water heater, Energy Star rated appliances, artesian well, water filtration, dual flush toilets, and graywater system. The house is wired for solar power, plumbed for solar water heating, and the roof designed for water harvesting, but systems have not been installed yet. Here you can speak with the couple who designed and built it.

Please help pass the word ... and bring your family and friends. We look forward to seeing you.

Have fun! See you there!

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