Solar for Rent?

A few years back I was thinking of putting solar panels on my house. That was until I started doing the research and saw the price tag. 10’s of thousands of dollars? Youch. But check this out, there is something new on the street! Solar panels for rent! Holla! Nice problem solving, money making solution. Solar City is a Silicon Valley start up - renting solar panel systems to homeowners. They are currently doing business in California, Oregon and Arizona but have their sites set on the East Coast. They’re looking to New York because of all of the yummy energy subsidies for solar up that way, but hey we aren’t green chopped liver here in Philly! Come on little solar company! We have A LOT of flat roofs! We got sunshine! Bring on the solar!

You can read more about this awesome little company and what they’re doing here:

Cool Events this weekend in Northern Liberties!

Come one, come all! Get yourselves in meeting mode and head on over to the NLNA General Meeting Tonight at 7PM at 3rd and Fairmount! Terry Gillen will be speaking on casinos; local, state, and federal candidates; NLNA Board nominations; recycling containers; and more! Yee haw!

Friends of Rodriguez Library Flea Market & Book Sale - is happening on the 25th! Head on over to the Rodriguez Library Branch at 6th and Girard from 1-4PM. Come on book lovers! Book sales, and flea market — fun fun fun! Seller registration fees benefit our local branch of the Free Library. And who wouldn’t want that? Info/Registration: 215-686-1768.

After you get your readin’ on on Saturday check out what is going on on Sunday! NoLibs Halloween and Fall Festival - Sun Oct 26! This sounds like the most fun - Hayrides, Moon Bounce, games, kids in costume, bake sale, firetrucks, hot cider, and more. Yes! I said MOON BOUNCE! Volunteer because you know you love Halloween and you know you love Fall — get on the move! Contact jenifertrachtman@yahoo.com

And since you are out an about - why not check out the Open House at Thin Flats? Located at 145-151 Laurel Street - these are unbelievable, enviro living spaces. This is the kind of place you pass on the street and want to go knock on the door and ask to see it! Take the chance now to see the future of real estate - head on over there on Sunday between hayrides - from 1-3PM.

Sounds like a great weekend in NoLibs to me!

Modular Homes - the Future!

So I went up to the Museum of Modern Art this past weekend to check out their brilliant exhibit “Home Delivery, Fabricating the Modern Dwelling.” For all of you who haven’t seen it - get on up to 54th Street in Manhattan, it closes on October 20th.

This exhibition is basically a short (but very thorough) investigation of the history of prefabricated architecture - and then is culminated in the commissioning of 5 contemporary prefabricated houses on the lot next to the museum. The houses are pretty amazing, and you can go into or poke your head into all of them. I enjoy functionality you can walk around in - seeing this exhibition was like a giant open house for the future possibilites of the modular home. It is amazing to think how the idea of prefabrication can not only be viewed in several different ways, but also executed with using a variety of processes and a incredibly differing materials. It was hard to pick a favorite - I think the Cellophane House was my favorite, with it’s modernism and entire exterior wall of solar paneling, but I also found Burst intriguing. Who doesn’t want bleachers attached to their house? I admit a bit of clausterphobia with the Micro Compact Home, this makes dorm living seem luxurious… and System 3 - talk about lux mobile home. Sign me up!

Check out the photos I took and check out the great interactive website at the Moma:

System3

Burst

Cellophane House

System 3

stairs to System 3 roof

Micro Compact Home

Housing for New Orleans

closeup New Orleans

Solar on Cellophane House

Overview shot

Housing for New Orleans

Top deck Cellophane House

Solar Cellophane House

Cellophane House

Philadelphia Real Estate for the “New Urban Mom?”

We at Remax City Space are proud to be joining forces with some of Philadelphia’s most innovative developers of “Green Housing.”

As such we’re always looking for equally interesting and innovative places to promote these projects. While browsing for a few places to plug “High Street,” Home(scale)’s exciting new project, we stumbled upon NewUrbanMom.com.

The site describes “New Urban Moms” as likely to choose

“

• To live in a community that supports employment close to home or entrepreneurship.
• To live a “Green Lifestyle” and appreciate a community that makes living “Green” possible.
• To live in a community that celebrates culture, social interaction and activities that build and enhance family and community life. “

We got the sense that High Street might be well suited to the lifestyle of the “New Urban Mom” and therefore chose to shamelessly plug both entities here.

High Street is about as Green as Philadelphia Real Estate comes and the Jinogi (Just North of Girard) location works nicely as one of the many current launchpads of Philadelphia’s own “New Urban” movement….

If you have a minute, please check out “New Urban Mom,” and if you haven’t had a taste of High Street yet, you’re in for a pleasant surprise. You can get floorplans and see the awesome renderings of the project at PhiladelphiaGreenHomes.com.