With the help of Carver + Schickentanz Architects, Jason and Melissa Burnett were able to push their Carmel, California home's renovation from LEED Silver status to LEED Platinum-certified. With eco-friendly innovations like a retractable skylight for natural ventilation, double-pane windows to keep in air and heat, and sustainable landscaping with native vegetation, it's no wonder this mid-century-modern redesign is one of our green favorites. Click here to see the home's interior.

Adrian wanted to bring a theatrical glow to the loft without using recessed lights or cluttering up the space with lamps. He consulted lighting designer and friend Paul Whitaker and found that linear LED covelights could provide low-wattage illumination with little maintenance.

Blair McCary addresses the crowd at SXSW Eco. Bill Reed and Paula Vaughan are seated.

Harry Bertoia’s iconic Bertoia side chair is surrounded by custom railings. A yucca plant grows nearby, its palm-like leaves celebrating the short but intense summer months in Wisconsin.

Nestled in the cozy study, Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair and Ottoman sit atop a Spinneybeck cowhide rug from Design Within Reach.

The main entryway is flanked by the dining room and a glazed vestibule, which gives way to the kitchen and living room. Sliding glass doors lead to a sizable terrace, allowing the communal area to expand into the outdoors during warmer months.

Janssen oversaw the December 2007 passing of a resolution requiring all publicly funded buildings, like the new K–12 school, be built to LEED Platinum standards.

A compact custom desk and shelving system makes the most of the available space.

The three pavilions were placed along the lot's two natural north-south and east-west axes, delineated here by the concrete pavers. These axes helped both the homeowners and architects layout the pavilions, lap pool, and landscape elements. At night, the house shows off its nearly 100 percent LED lighting scheme.

Custom cabinets and a faucet from Kohler’s Purist collection are complemented by Luciano Bertoncini’s Min table and Spoleto chairs by Knoll. A Paulistano armchair, designed by Paulo Mendes da Rocha, sits nearby.

Guest Bedroom that opens to jack and jill bath and Shaded East and South Facing Light

Residents, too, have taken the opportunity of rebuilding to embrace experimentation.

A custom eight-inch-deep rain screen system was designed to reflect solar radiation, and allows moisture to escape with the flow of air from behind the facade’s suspended concrete panels. “As a result, the underlying thermal envelope is protected from direct solar exposure and moisture, preventing water from being trapped in the walls and improving the comfort of the residents inside,” Schmaling says.

High-efficiency glazing and permeable surfaces on the driveway, entry path, and terrace that facilitate stormwater runoff contributed to the home’s LEED Platinum status. Solar panels produce 80 percent of the power the residence requires.

The cheery geometric facade of the 1,900-square-foot OS House makes a statement in a historic Wisconsin neighborhood. “Our project reflects today’s state of technology and architectural syntax,” says architect Sebastian Schmaling. “Its diversity of form and expression adds to the vitality and livability of a contemporary urban neighborhood.”

Like most Northern California homes built in the 1960s, the Burnett residence originally acted like a sieve, letting air and heat easily pass through its uninsulated walls and single-pane windows. The design team replaced all of the windows with double-pane glass, which works wonders to hold in the heat.

A concrete and glass dressing were employed in DIGSAU’s LEED Gold certified Iroko building. Philadelphia Naval Yard, 2012. Photo by Todd Mason/Halkin Mason Photography.

A third-floor study projects over the edge of the house, providing breathtaking views of the nearby lake.

Livestrong Foundation (Austin, Texas: 2009) Lance Armstrong’s charity can certainly get behind cycling as a way to reduce energy usage. But when the organization made the move into a larger space, it earned its environment bonafides with a LEED Gold-certified renovation of an old paper mill that earns a yellow jersey for smart renovation. Lake|Flato Architects reused 88% of the existing building, installing features like skylights and a rainwater collection system that reduced energy consumption by nearly 40% and water usage by 67%. Photo by Frank Ooms

Sustainable Attainable Home (MV Properties & Construction) Owner Bill Benton adapted the design of a LEED-certified home to create this affordable green residence in Wicker Park, one that ended up being cheaper than comparable new construction in the neighborhood. By utilizing material substitution (bamboo flooring instead of cherrywood, tile instead of quartz around the fireplace) and incorporating a massive oval lightwell and solar paneled-garage, this home, in Benton’s words, aims to become a template for others seeking to build green in Chicago.

Kitchen with large, walk-in pantry, polished concrete counter tops, two level bar, plant shelf, built in ovens.

Steve Glenn of Living Homes, Bill Haney of Blu Homes, and Whitney Sander of Sander Architects will come together onstage to discuss why prefab is the key to building in the future. In a separate presentation, architects Jared Levy and Gordon Stott of Connect:Homes in Los Angeles will discuss the prefab home they built for a client’s octogenarian mother, featured in the June issue of Dwell.

Apogee Stadium (Denton, Texas: 2011) It’s fitting that a team called the Mean Green (which originated with famous alum Mean Joe Greene) would eventually play on a LEED Platinum certified field, the first in the nation. Designed by HKS, who know a thing or two about football stadiums after building one for the Dallas Cowboys, Apogee Stadium earns its green credentials from a series of windmills, permeable paving surfaces, and regionally obtained building materials. Photo by University of North Texas

The LEED Gold project features "teaming areas" (shown here) for group collaboration.

Interior view of 654 Minnesota UCSF Facilities Department view of open office and wood clad private offices

Durham, North Carolina Maxwell Chair from Elijah Leed, $2,700. In his Bull City studio, Elijah Leed crafts handmade furniture from Appalachian wood. This lounge combines walnut and oiled leather.

The house is LEED certified, creating a new chapter not just for the owners, but for the building itself.

Cantilevered discs provide shade and protection from the desert sun. The museum meets LEED Gold standards.

Inside the former biplane hanger, the House of Air is filled with trampolines. It's expected to achieve LEED certification.

The flat roof of the Nakhshabs’ energy-efficient home is topped with photo-voltaic panels. It is the first single-family LEED Gold–certified residence in San Diego.

The barn-like forms make a stark, simple silhouette against the landscape. Rooftop solar panels helped the project earn LEED platinum certification.

In the land of large mountain lodge wannabes, two California natives tuck Utah’s first LEED for Homes–rated house onto the side of Emigration Canyon. Photo by Dustin Aksland

The hall is a mix of old and new. The original building was created in 1911 and the renovations are expected to bring it up to LEED Silver certification.

The Burchfield Penney Art Center was certified LEED silver by the USGBC after its completion, making it the first LEED art museum in New York state. Visit burchfieldpenney.org for a list of events and exhibitions and click over to our Three Buildings: Buffalo, New York to weigh in on your favorite structure in the city. Don't miss a word of Dwell! Download our FREE app from iTunes, friend us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter!

On a site adjacent to a greenbelt, architects Yen Ong and Paul Merrill of 5G Studio envisioned “a solid black mass within an enclosed garden,” says Ong. A geothermal heat pump, solar panels, and rainwater harvesting helped the project achieve LEED Platinum status.

The U.S. Green Building Council, which created the LEED program, was given the Corporate and Institutional Achievement Award. Shown here is the Gish Apartments in San Jose, California, a LEED Gold-certified project designed by OJK Architecture and Planning. Photo by Andre Bernard Photography.