Anyone that thinks that their house will sell simply because “it’s green” will be disappointed, but greenness is a valuable attribute that may tip the balance when selling.

Here are our top five recommendations to “green-up” your property

1. First Impressions: Even before a potential buyer enters the house, what’s known as the “curb appeal” of a property can make or break a sale. A neat and tidy garden is desirable at any time, but it certainly helps assert a property’s “greenness” from the outset. Wonderful green lawns look wonderful, but just be aware that they often require excessive resources to maintain (unless of course you are fortunate to have access to bore water, in which case you should make sure this is clearly displayed). Think about using native grasses, shrubs and vines that are easy to maintain and don’t require excessive chemicals or water to keep looking great. Composting bins, rainwater tanks etc are also positive assets.

2. Highlight The Green Attributes: Don’t be afraid to spell out the green features of your property. Provide a list (itself made from recycled/sustainable material, such as paper or bamboo) which could mention such assets as energy-ratings, energy-efficient appliances, recycled materials (such as flooring), solar panels and non-toxic decorating materials (eg. paint). You may also want to include as a package the official leaflets of products from the supplier outlining their sustainable-attributes.

3. What’s Inside: Many buyers like to look inside cupboards and wardrobes, so whilst some property owner’s often feel this to be a somewhat invasion of privacy it can be turned into an advantage. Make sure what’s seen inside those cupboards are green and organic products, as this will speak volumes when combined with the other attributes of the property.

4. Clean is Green: A strange or pungent smell is never welcome, but it can especially dispel notions of being environmentally friendly. Make sure that the property smells fresh and clean, and do so with natural products, odor free or as neutral as possible rather than ones that are clearly chemical.

5. Environmental Accreditation: There are an increasing number of official bodies that will conduct an environmental audit of your property. Research online to find the best organization for you.

Simon Turner

Article originally published on Marquette Turner Luxury Homes

Highlight the Green Credentials of Your Property When Selling

Well, the name must be en vogue, as another Strata tower – equally amazing – but this time gracing the skyline of London and with some notable differences.

Costing $172 million USD, Strata at London stands at 147 metres tall, with 43 levels and 408 apartments.

Additionally, and this is the true uniqueness, the building has some serious environmentally sustainable credentials, as it will be powered by wind turbines which will supply approximately 8 per cent of the tower’s electricity requirements, such as three express lifts and automated window-cleaning rigs as well as the lighting, heating and ventilation of its public spaces that house an underground car and cycle park.

Simon Turner

Article originally published on Marquette Turner Luxury Homes

The World’s First Skyscraper with Wind Turbines

An environmentally-friendly and visually attractive addition to any room, the Evening Breeze Canopi is a stand-alone canopy that can be used to cool any bed and provide you with a cool sleeping experience.

Featuring an integrated ventilation system that ingeniously and quietly directs cooled air over any bed, the Canopi’s climate system uses the environmentally friendly R-410A refrigerant. In addition, it also uses at least 60% less energy than traditional air conditioning systems.

Currently it is only available to consumers via select retailers in the Netherlands Antilles, Belgium and the Netherlands.

It is priced at EUR 3,599, including installation. Find out more at the Evening Breeze website.

Simon Turner

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Article originally published on Marquette Turner Luxury Homes

Cool Your Bed with the Evening Breeze Canopi

Whilst being Queensland-based, Noel’s career has taken him to many parts of the world, working extensively throughout Australasia, the Middle East, South East Asia, Japan, Korea, USA and Europe.

Some of his renowned works include the Queensland Police Headquarters, Brisbane Airport Hotel, Noosa Blue Resort, Golden Casket Headquarters, Sir Charles Kingsford Smith Memorial and the Information and Communication Technology Building/Art Gallery, University of Sunshine Coast and the list goes on. He is currently working on the design of the $120 million Sohar University in the Sultanate of Oman.

As well as highly accomplished, he is also highly recognized, including being nominated in 2009 for Queenslander of the Year, as well as being the recipient of numerous architectural awards, including BHP’s Architect of the Decade and a Centenary Medal for Services to Architects (Australian Honours). His works are widely published in international architectural magazines, journals and newspapers.

Most recently, Noel had the luxury of creating his own private sanctuary in his apartment in the iconic Riparian Plaza, Brisbane from an empty shell.

The Riparian Plaza is one of Brisbane’s most renowned mixed-use, commercial and residential high-rise developments and was designed by the late Harry Seidler, Australian icon.  It was because of Seidler’s genius and Noel’s respect for him, that prompted Noel to purchase the apartment off the plan and engage Harry Seidler himself, for the first time, to become involved with the look and feel of Noel’s apartment.

Noel, we salute you for your great contribution to Australian architecture.

MORE:

You can see the magnificent apartment at Riparian Plaza here

Read more on Noel Robinson’s website here

Christine Watson on +61 414 352 680

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Article originally published on Marquette Turner Luxury Homes

The Work of Queensland-based Architect Noel Robinson

Who could imagine 40 years ago that the idea of Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson’s “environmental teach-in” had it’s beginning in a few key communities, including the Bay Area. After decades of focusing our world’s awareness about environmental issues that ALL of us experience each day, has now created a modern 21st century world that understands how we treat our environment is not a dress rehearsal.

An example of how the Bay Area has lead the way from the very beginning of this movement is Save The Bay. Save The Bay was founded in 1961, as “Save San Francisco Bay Association” by three East Bay women who were watching the Bay disappear before their eyes. Kay Kerr, Sylvia McLaughlin and Esther Gulick set out to stop the City of Berkeley’s plan to double in size by filling in the shallow Bay off-shore. They mobilized thousands of members to stop the project, and their resounding victory was repeated on Bay fill projects around the region.

This first modern grassroots environmental movement in the Bay Area won a revolutionary change – tens of thousands of Save The Bay members forced the State of California to acknowledge that the Bay belonged to the public. Save The Bay won a legislative moratorium against placing fill in the Bay in 1965, the McAteer-Petris Act. The Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) was established by the State to plan protection of the Bay, regulate shoreline development, and ensure public access, which at the time was almost non-existent. (Check out the State Of The Planet report from the United Nations to get an even better awareness of the importance of Earth Day.)

In the East Bay there are two groups that walk the talk of the principles of Earth Day. Sustainable Lafayette is a network of residents and organizations located in Lafayette, California, about 20 miles east of San Francisco, who are actively sharing ideas and solutions for how to make their homes, businesses, and community more sustainable. Many cities, towns, and counties across the country have created citizen groups to pursue sustainability. Lafayette’s approach is unique–to grow a “network” of residents who are focused on sharing real world success stories and best practices that will contribute to our community’s sustainability.

“Sustainable” means to live in a way that can be continued indefinitely without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The essence of this is a stable relationship between human activities and the natural world, which does not diminish the prospects for our children and their children to enjoy a quality of life at least as good as our own. This requires that we take no more from the environment then it can replenish, and give no more then it can absorb. In other words, adopting lifestyles that respect and work within the earth’s natural limits and maintain the health of the eco-system that we all depend on.

In Danville two sisters with successful first careers decided to get into the environmental space of fashion – A Lot To Say! PLEASE check out what they have created! Their thought was that for people to spread the eco word with apparel, there had to be something that was hip, interesting, fashionable and wearable.

They came up with a concept for a green t-shirt line that utilized the power of the written word. The message on the apparel was informative and empowered people to do more, even if it were only one small thing a day. They believed this kind of “in me, on me , around me” approach would be successful in educating people on the green space to embrace a new awareness about sustainability and responsibility to the planet. It was an immediate hit and snagged placement in the gift bags at the Grammys, Sundance and The Image Awards.

They have evolved into the pioneers of the ultimate sustainable, environmental shirt that is an amazingly comfortable fabric made entirely of RECYCLED BOTTLES. They next discovered a sustainable alternative method of dying other than using water based dyes – these methods is AirDye® technology from Colorep®, a forward thinking company that pioneered this technology that uses NO WATER in the application of color to fabric. That meant almost no water would need to be destroyed in coloring our shirts, thus helping to preserve precious water supplies. ALL of their shirts are made in the USA as part of their mission to keep people in our country working. All of us can make a difference in our homes, communities and the world. It just takes a commitment to DO IT!  Jim Walberg

Thanks Jim!

You can follow Jim’s real estate adventures at his blog

You can read the eco-friendly articles on MarquetteTurner.com here

Check out our sister-site, Clear The Air

Article originally published on Marquette Turner Luxury Homes

Earth Day 40th Anniversary – A San Francisco Bay Area Perspective

Started in Sydney in 2007 when 2.2 million people switched their lights off in support of the campaign against climate change, in 2008 the number of people around the world involved jumped to 50 million, and last year hundreds of millions of people in 4000 cities in 88 countries took part in the third Earth Hour.

It’s a simple and fun event (whether your a supporter or a skeptic), that has taken on many guises, whether it be enjoying picnics by candlelight (our favourite) to a glass of wine or two around a bonfire.

Additionally, this year, 812 landmarks around the world will be turning off their lights including:

Eiffel Tower, Paris
Grand Palace, Bangkok
Sky Tower, Auckland
London Eye, London
Piccadilly Circus, London
Brandenburg Gate, Berlin
Empire State Building, New York
Burj Al Arab, Dubai
Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro
El Ángel, Mexico City
Trevi Fountain, Italy
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Forbidden City, Beijing
Red Fort, Delhi
Leaning Tower of Pisa, Pisa
Big Ben, London
Sydney Opera House, Sydney

Check out the 2010 campaign video:

You can also visit the official Earth Hour website here

Simon Turner

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Article originally published on Marquette Turner Luxury Homes

Earth Hour 2010 – Lights Out on 27 March at 8.30pm

W+W is a single, L-shaped unit in which the sink and toilet are integrated entirely.

Wastewater from the sink is used to fill the toilet’s cistern, thus saving as much as 25 percent of the water that would normally be used. An automatic cleaning system prevents bad odors and bacteria, while a specialized tap controls the water’s temperature and flow for maximum energy savings.

Developed by the Roca Innovation Lab and designed by Gabriele and Oscar Buratti, the W+W costsEUR 2,731.

Simon Turner

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Article originally published on Marquette Turner Luxury Homes

The Stylish Eco-Toilet

The design was felt the one that best met the briefing criteria, being modern, welcoming, timeless, safe and an energy efficient embassy for the 21st century.

The big glass cube reflects modernist tastes, but the surrounding water and walkway into the building seem to be a nod to earlier British architectural style – the castle.

The new building will be on the south bank of the Thames, sitting between Battersea Power Station and the MI6 building.

Simon Turner

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Article originally published on Marquette Turner Luxury Homes

The New American Embassy in London

With a total living area of 3400 m2, it is 58 metre’s long and 38 metre’s wide. There are three decks connected by both stairs and an elevator, a 25 metre pool, a spa, helipad, a sauna, gym and massage room, a 130 metre promenade, a music room, a reading room, a dining room, a cinema, sun-decks galore, terraces, lounges, and much more.

The main bedroom suite is 200 square metres, and features a 25 metre deck and terrace. There’s also five guest suites.

It is also a “green” yacht with 900 m2 of solar panels producing a daily output of 500 kW. This amounts to 20- 30% fuel savings and 40 – 50% electricity consumption on board.

Luxury doesn’t get much better than this.

Simon Turner

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Article originally published on Marquette Turner Luxury Homes

The Wally et Hermès Super Yacht

Well, with luxurious eco-products, there doesn’t have to be the excess of guilt.

Direct from Arkema comes the solar-powered shower. The fitting features a contemporary curved tower on top, and you can position the showerhead as suits you and the thermostat can be set at 30/38° C just to be safe.

And if you’ve been out on the beach, there’s a foot wash that runs cool water at the base.

The product is available in varied shades and can be installed indoors or outside, making it perfect next to the swimming pool.

Simon Turner

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Article originally published on Marquette Turner Luxury Homes

The Solar Powered Shower for the Modernist