“Healthy, high performing residential projects don’t have to cost more, and that is evidenced in many of this year’s winning projects” said Nate Kredich, Vice President, Residential Market Development, U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in reference to the 2011 LEED for Homes Awards recipients.

The 2011 Project of the Year award was given to The GO Home in Belfast, Maine (above), built by GO Logic. With a small but smart footprint of 1,500 square feet, the three-bedroom LEED Platinum residence uses minimal energy and was built at construction costs comparable to a building a standard home. As a net zero and passive house, The GO Home was designed to bring design and energy performance in line with affordability, and is designed to slash energy usage by 90 percent. The project will be replicated across a 36-home community in Maine. 

Power Haus, built by Josh Wynne Construction, received the award for Outstanding Single Family Project. Passive ventilation, cooling and lighting, coupled with innovative use of cutting-edge technologies earned the Sarasota, Fla. home the lowest Home Energy Rating System (HERS) score on record in the U.S. The high-design, high-performing home actually produces more energy than it consumes.

KB Home's Primera Terra residential community located in Playa Vista, Calif. was recognized in the Multi-Family category. Special attention was given to optimizing the 52-unit building's envelope in order to maximize performance. KB Home controlled costs by performing cost/value reviews and proved that a LEED Platinum project can be designed and built without a significant increase in construction costs.

ActiveWest Builders was recognized in the Production Builder category for its Meadow Ranch Development in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. As a LEED for Neighborhood Development project, Meadow Ranch embodies the ideals of livable, healthy and efficient community design. ActiveWest Builders designed the project with an aging population in mind, as it was developed to meet the changing needs of active adults looking to downsize but maintain homeownership.

The LEED Platinum Juneberry Lane project, developed by Clackamas Community Land Trust, received the Outstanding Affordable Housing Project award.  The project, built on a high density infill property, consists of 12 subdivisions of six duplexes, and provided permanently affordable homes for families with modest incomes in Oregon City, Ore. Buyers are required to invest sweat equity towards landscaping and home maintenance projects, helping to sustain its aesthetics while building a cohesive community.

Affordable housing developer New Hope Housing of Houston, Texas was recognized for developing safe and affordable single room occupancy (SRO) housing for adults with limited incomes. Since their founding in 1993, New Hope Housing has developed 634 SRO units in the local area, each improving the local community aesthetically, enhancing the health and safety of an often marginalized population, and spurring additional development. In 2010, New Hope Housing made a commitment to pursuing LEED certification for all of its housing projects, and earned LEED Platinum for its 2424 Sakowitz community - the first LEED-certified affordable multifamily housing project in Texas.

The award for Outstanding Program Commitment was given to the Habitat for Humanity of Kent County. The Grand Rapids, Michigan-based branch of the housing organization committed to LEED certification for all of its new and gut-rehab projects. Since 2007, that has meant LEED certification of 70 projects, with an additional 90 in the pipeline as registered projects. Through partnerships with local high school, college and universities, numerous LEED-certified homes have been built and used as learning laboratories, enabling the next generation of designers and builders to learn how to build a simple, decent, affordable and very sustainable home.

This year's independent panel of judges included: Les Blueston, President of Blue Sea Development and 2010 LEED for Homes Award winner, Affordable Housing Project; Daniel Clark, Director of Facilities and Safety, Bastyr University, 2010 LEED for Homes Award winner, Multifamily Project; Jay DeChesere, Architect and 2010 LEED for Homes Award winner, Single Family Project; Wendy Koch, USA TODAY reporter and editor, and "Green House" blog writer; Chad Ludeman, President of Postgreen Homes and winner of 2010 LEED for Homes Project of the Year; Tom Wade, owner of Artistic Homes and 2010 LEED for Homes Award winner, Production Builder; Dan Wilson, Director of Construction, Habitat for Humanity Sacramento and 2010 LEED for Homes Award winner, Program Commitment.

The awards were presented during the Residential Summit on Thursday, Oct. 6, during the 2011 Greenbuild International Conference & Expo held in Toronto.