LCLT’s most recent housing neighborhood Common Ground was awarded first prize in the “new construction” category by the National Association of State Community Services Programs (NASCSP) in Washington, DC, on February 24, 2010. Common Ground, completed in 2009, is a sustainable net zero energy project and received its award in part due to LCLT’s publication of the manual Land, Water, Energy, Resource Use: A System’s Approach. Features include straw bale construction with earthen plaster, rainwater catchment, solar hot water and a grid-tied solar electric system. This is a mixed-income development of 11 homes and 2 rental units along with an office/resource center.

The Seattle architecture firm, Mithun, designed the houses in LCLT’s Common Ground neighborhood shown here.