Builders will break ground on Greensburg’s Silo Eco-Home on Thursday. This begins the Eco-Homes Project, an eco-tourism initiative in the Kansas town that was wiped out by a tornado in May 2007.
Greensburg Greentown
, the organization that owns and has been leading the green construction of the home, plans to complete the project in May 2009, in time for the two-year anniversary of the tornado.
The Silo Eco-Home uses methods and materials that traditional silos use. It will have concrete walls and a cylindrical shape, which gives it strength to support very intense winds, up to 200 mph, according to Greensburg Greentown
In addition, the Silo Eco-Home will have a passive ventilation system, as well as a vegetable garden on the roof, solar-powered electricity and water-saving features.
Ogden Publications
, publisher of Natural Home magazine, is one of the anchor sponsors for the home.
The Silo Eco-Home is the first of 12 eco-tourism homes to be built in Greensburg; it will serve as a museum during the day and tourist lodging at night, where travelers can experience living in a green home. The Eco-Homes Project will also include a straw-bale home as well as the winner of the 2005
Solar Decathlon
, built by a
University of Colorado, Boulder team
. This home was donated to Greensburg for the Eco-Homes Project.
Since the tornado on May 4, 2007, Greensburg has tried to reconstruct the rural Kansas town in a more eco-friendly manner. Greensburg Greentown expects to receive tourists from around the world to see and experience life in a green town.
More about green building
• Check out Greenburg's progress as of May 2009!
• See how far we've come in green building since 1999.
• Have Boulder, Colorado, BuildSmart standards been taken too far? See why home builders are complaining.