On my most recent trip through the North Cascades, I asked the local brewer for recommendations for one night’s accommodation. He tossed out a few ideas for fairly pricey hotels, and based on my unvoiced response, he redirected his pitch and suggested “the tepee up the road.” I was out the door with my backpack before he could invite me back for a pint.

I was thrilled to learn that this small canvas dwelling was all mine for just $30 per night.  Granted, I shared bath facilities with the , but hey – this little 100-square-foot tepee came fully equipped with Wi-Fi. Loaded up with work, I lifted the laptop screen, poured a glass of local cider and began to work on a project 400 miles away.

Then I got to thinking. As we fall (fast) into the terabyte age, the shrinking life in the wireless “cloud” could play a role in our overall home size. Here I am in what I believe to be one of America’s original housing forms (juiced up with a little 21^st century flare); I was comfortable, connected and complete. would have been proud.

In addition to our tech-ready lifestyles, I also know it to be true that demographics are changing, and fast. Married couples without children (including empty nesters) are the fastest-growing household types in North America.  Households are getting smaller, yet our interest in staying socially connected will become increasingly important.

If you’re following me on this, then you know I’m not talking about a revolution of web developers and graphic designers blogging from yurts in central Mongolia (though that has the makings for a web-based reality show). I’m writing about a housing revolution that is taking place, one that will be virtually connected and one that is happening literally in your backyard.

Your chance to learn more about how our fastest growing households are financing, designing, adapting and living comfortably in accessory dwelling units is approaching Portland this month. The will toss what you think you know about housing out the window. It will challenge the good ol’ boy mentality with some of the Northwest’s hippest designers and most successful developers. This housing summit will be the first of its kind but certainly not the last. Portland is at the forefront of this housing revolution; be sure that you are too.

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You might recall an years ago about “tiny houses” where a confidant owner decided to move himself and his girlfriend into a 70sqft home. I remember having a good laugh when the owner calls out the “challenges” he and his ex-girlfriend encountered. Seventy square feet!

While not realistic for the modern American family, the concept of size is worth examining as homes under 1,000sqft seem to be gaining renewed popularity. Smart developers from San Francisco to Vancouver, BC are proving that small homes can be big business. With the era of sprawling development and supersized houses passing, in-fill models of development on urban lots present major opportunities for the future. There is an unstoppable demographic shift toward smaller households that demands a new product – one that is efficient, affordable, and flexible. That demographic shift is proving that in the last 50 years, the average size of a single family home has more than doubled while the size of the average American family has decreased. In addition, the US Census also indicates that households without children has grown from 55% (1970), to 67% (2000) and anticipates 73% of all households in 2030 will be homes without children.

“Smaller” in this case isn’t just about meeting demographic trends and planning for complete and connected neighborhoods, it’s also about affordability and energy independence (I’ll elaborate in a future post). For a look at a few Oregon projects that align with these targets, see , and . It might surprise you, but Portland is at the forefront of this housing shift, and all eyes are on Rose City for the premier space efficient housing summit of the year: .

This one-day housing summit will challenge architects, developers, builders, remodelers, urban designers, policy makers and real estate professionals to craft strategies for this growing housing market. Participants will learn about successfully built projects, financing, space-efficient design, incentives and policy initiatives. This is a great time to explore the leading edge of the housing movement– where design, cost, and care for the environment intersect with the needs of today’s families. For more information on Build Small | Live Large, visit

The next housing trend is quickly arriving – will you be ready?

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The General Service Administration (the landlord of federal buildings in the U.S.) will vote next week whether to continue using LEED in standard practice for energy-efficiency measurement in buildings. The GSA is required to update and review this practice every five years. That review is July 24.

Why should you care? You care because millions of tax dollars are at stake. We’re talking serious savings from energy retrofits for you, me and all taxpayers. And the GSA needs Oregon’s help.

A little background

Since 2006, LEED has been the preferred building rating system for the federal government – local agencies all over the U.S. implement LEED practices for state-funded projects, and LEED is the leading performance evaluation tool in the private sector as well. A recent found that LEED meets 96 percent of federal government performance requirements and concluded that LEED is the best system for retrofitting existing buildings and saving taxpayers’ money in operations and maintenance. The GSA is considering other rating systems, but none that have as much public approval or private market support.

Your motive to vote

LEED saves U.S. taxpayers . In fact, the federal government is the largest consumer of energy in the United States, and as much as 30 percent of the energy it consumes is wasted through buildings that are inefficient. The White House’s budget office recently noted that investments in energy efficiency over the past four years are expected to save as much as $18 billion in life-cycle energy costs. On top of that, the recently achieved a LEED gold rating after its extensive retrofit, which implemented energy and water conservation measures that are saving taxpayers $3.5 million each year.

How YOU and Oregon can help

This is your chance to put Oregon on the map – literally. The U.S. Green Building Council is aiming for 1,000 companies to sign an online petition for the GSA to continue its use of LEED. It’s also developing an interactive map to show where LEED supporters reside. Want to see Oregon leading that charge?  You can in one of two ways:

1. Sign the online petition .
2. Send Matt Pierce at USGBC an email (mpearce@usgbc.org) that says: “ I support the GSA sustainability goals and in support of continued use of the LEED rating system.”

Oregon’s support is something I plan to bet on.

Nicholas Hartrich is the advocacy and outreach manager for the Cascadia Green Building Council. Contact him at nicholas.hartrich@cascadiagbc.org.

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Three weeks ago I purchased what rock climbers refer to as a “slackline”. Slacklining is art of balancing on a fat nylon band you typically see tied between two trees with beginners (myself) struggling to stay upright. For a snap shot of where this sport is headed, check out “” and try to hold on to your lunch.

While aiming to keep balance, I can’t help but think how difficult it is to get from one end to the other.  Now, imagine yourself 500 feet in the air. I can think of a significant parallel for achieving the world’s most advanced measure of sustainability in the built environment: the . The Living Building Challenge provides a framework for design, construction and the symbiotic relationship between people and all aspects of the built environment.

Challenging? Yes. Impossible? No. Getting there takes practice, patience and a heck of a lot of perseverance. In fact, to achieve this challenge, you need to be one of the most innovative designers and toughest contractors on the planet.

Luckily for Oregon, we have such firms buttoning up their first few projects. Take , a Portland-based contractor currently completing its first residential Living Building and breaking ground on a second. Ask JRA what its biggest obstacle is and owner James Ray Arnold will smile and tell you this is simply the next incarnation of building.

“Currently, we build Living Buildings for the same price as the status quo, yet we have greatly avoided internalized costs for the future,” he says.

One other residential builder, James Fagan of Bend’s , is integrating innovative strategies to complete what will be one of the most sustainable residential projects in North America.  is challenging policy makers to rewrite code and inspiring local subs to reexamine material use to meet the rigorous red list.

My job is to climb steep pitches in the periphery of green building, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned in 10 years hacking away at green building, it’s that the world is paying attention to Oregon.  I’ve realized I can’t get frustrated with the learning curve of Living Building. The challenge is to jump on, attempt to get upright, keep learning and ultimately you’ll find your balance.

Nicholas Hartrich is the advocacy and outreach manager for the Cascadia Green Building Council. Contact him at nicholas.hartrich@cascadiagbc.org.

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