At Trilogy we believe strongly in sustainable or green building practices, as you can see from our earlier post this week about our Net-Zero Energy home in Breckenridge. That is why we wanted to share with you the Town of Breckenridge’s Christmas Tree Recycling Program. Through January 31, 2011 you can bring your live Christmas trees to 710 Wellington Road near the Breckenridge Equestrian Center to be recycled. Please make sure you remove all your ornaments, tinsel, lights and tree stand before taking your tree to the recycling site.

The Town of Breckenridge will be repurposing the trees into mulch to be used around the Breckenridge area. From more information please visit townofbreckenridge.com.

Happy Holidays from Trilogy!

Trilogy Partners is pleased to report the completion of the first net-zero energy home in Breckenridge.

Designed and built under the direct supervision of Trilogy Partners, the home is located in the prestigious Timber Trails neighborhood where it enjoys ski in and out access to the Breckenridge ski area. The home uses advanced insulating technologies, geothermal wells, photovoltaic panels, and advanced energy management systems to obtain its Zero-Net designation. In the winter months the home relies on geothermal technology for heating and draws power from the local electrical grid as needed. During the summer the home utilizes geothermal for cooling and delivers unused electricity generated by the solar panels back to the grid, effectively causing the electric meter to run “backward.” This is the first of hopefully many Breckenridge homes to utilize fully sustainable energy conservation and generation technologies.

Stay tuned as we plan more articles to cover the technologies and techniques that went into making this home not only beautiful, but an energy marvel. We’ll focus on construction technologies, geothermal, solar panels, and energy management systems.

The most debated tax bill that was set to expire on December 31^st of this year has just received a reprieve from President Obama and Congress. This bill will also give an extension to the green energy credits providing a boost to the wind and solar industries as well as for those who choose to take public transit.

President Obama Signing the Tax Bill. Courtesy of Inhabitat

Denise Bode, the head of the American Wind Energy Association, told the New York Times that it was “a great holiday present for the 85,000 American workers in the wind energy industry, tens of thousands of whom will now be able to get back to work.’’

What do you think of the extension?

There was a lot of talk earlier this year when Apple secured a 98-acre plot that was formerly owned by their rival Hewlett-Packard in Cupertino, California and with good reason. Co-founder of Apple, Steve Wozniak worked at that Hewlett-Packard location over 40 years ago when he and Steve Jobs first built the Apple-1. It looks like Apple has come full circle and are building themselves a city within a city in Silicon Valley, more precise an “Apple City”.

Renowned British architect Norman Foster looks to be taking the reigns on the project for the new environmentally friendly campus for Apple, which is right up his alley with his recent Masdar project in Abu Dhabi.

Masdar City in Abu Dhabi

Foster won the Pritzker Prize in 1999 and has designed his fair share of recognizable structures such as the Gherkin in London and the Beijing Airport.

Archdaily.com reports that the new Apple headquarters will “utilize Foster’s innovative vision for sustainability, ability to perfect a building for its users down to the finest detail, and ideas to maximize efficiency in the workplace.” There has been talk of an underground transportation system linking the two campuses together so staff can move between the buildings without the use of a car.

We can’t wait to see the early designs coming out of Foster + Partners.

For most homes a living room needs to be a very versatile space. It needs to serve as a place where one can kick back and relax after a long day at the office or a place where one can host a large number of people. Either way a living room should reflect your style and taste as well as be comfortable.

To get inspired Architectural Digest has featured some of Hollywood’s biggest stars’ private quarters. Take a look below.

Architectural Digest- Demi Moore & Ashton Kutcher.

“I didn’t want a living room that looked off-limits,” says Moore. “I wanted rooms that were elegant but inviting—for kids, dogs, and everyone.”

Architectural Digest- Jennifer Aniston

“The making of the house was as significant to me as the living in it,” says Jennifer Aniston.

Architectural Digest- Gerard Butler

Trilogy Partner's home for Trey Parker

What do you look for in a living room?

Ornichleel "Leel" Ulysse, a Haiti earthquake survivor, learning how to ski at The Hartford Ski Spectacular. (Photo: Business Wire)

The Hartford Ski Spectacular is a week long event here in Breckenridge, from December 5^th – 12^th, that teaches 800 men, women and children with physical disabilities how to ski and snowboard. The Hartford Ski Spectacular, in its 17^th year, will be held at the Beaver Run Resort & Conference Center and Breckenridge Ski Resort.

This year 11-year old Ornichleel (“Leel”) Ulysse, a below-the-knee amputee who was injured in the January earthquake that struck her home in Haiti, is one of the many children who are learning how to ski at The Hartford Ski Spectacular. Ron Gendreau, executive vice president of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc, said “We are so excited to have Leel as our special guest at The Hartford Ski Spectacular. Her strength and courage have inspired us. We hope that by learning new skills, she’ll build confidence and take key steps on the road to recovery. Leel and the other men, women and children here embody our Ability Philosophy – that success is possible when you focus on abilities, not limitations.”

To learn more about how to help young Haitian children who suffered in the January earthquake please visit The Haiti Orphan Rescue Program (HORP).

This Wednesday, December 8^th is the start of the first annual Sports Film Festival “The Summit” and is taking place in Breckenridge. “The Summit” will showcase talented filmmakers from around the world as well as top athletes, live music, photography exhibits and screenings of some of this years best ski and snowboard films. The film festival will be a four-day event, December 8^th -11^th, and kicks off at noon on Wednesday at Brooklyn’s Tavern with a meet and greet with athletes and filmmakers.

The Summit Action Sports Film Festival supports both amateur and professional filmmakers. Around 10 films will be shown each day with a price of $5 per screening (or $5 for the day if you stay inside the venue). The award ceremony will be held at 7pm at the Riverwalk Amphitheater in downtown Breckenridge on Saturday, December 11^th.

Jon Roderick, the mastermind behind the event says “There’s an insane amount of support already.” His dream became a reality with the help of Snow Boarder magazine, Nike 6.0, Vitamin Water and Breckenridge Ski Resort.

Courtesy of The Summit Film Festival

For more information about the event, visit www.thesummitfilmfestival.com or the film festival information tent in the Riverwalk Square in Breckenridge.

At Trilogy Partners we build energy efficient homes that use utilize a number of different products and engineering such as a hybrid heating system. Hybrid technology has been around for awhile now, but with the demand for higher efficiency they have become more popular. Like hybrid vehicles, a hybrid heating systems uses a combination of fossil fuel and electricity. The furnace is used with an electric heat pump to heat and cool your home efficiently. When the temperature drops below a certain level the furnace kicks in.

There are many benefits of installing a hybrid heating system. They have the ability to reduce one’s heating bills, reduce green house gas emissions and help preserve our natural resource.  There are also some utility rebates offered for home that use a hybrid heating system.

The Museum of Modern Art’s (MoMA) exhibit Small Scale, Big Change: New Architectures of Social Engagement showcases 11 projects on five continents that offer practical solutions to underdeveloped communities through architecture. The MoMA states that, “Together, these undertakings not only offer practical solutions to known needs, but also aim to have a broader effect on the communities in which they work, using design as a tool.”

Metro Cable in Caracas, Venezuela. Designed by Urban-Think Tank

We have seen first hand through our work with The Haiti Orphan Rescue Program (HORP) how we can make a difference in the lives of so many people by providing them with the proper tools and means to live their lives.

The exhibit is currently at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City  until January 3, 2011. For more information please visit MoMA.org.

If you are like most of us living in Breckenridge chances are you’ll be doing a lot of skiing and snowboarding this Holiday Season. And we found the perfect stocking stuffer for those of you who love the powder, Touchscreen-Friendly Gloves. If you own a touchscreen phone like the iPhone than you probably have noticed how difficult it can be to use your phone or iPod outdoors. The last thing you want to do on the lift is take off your gloves to text or change the music for your epic ride down the mountain. Check out these Touchscreen-Friendly Gloves from Agloves.

Developed by a Jennifer Spencer, a Boulder inventor, the Agloves are made with yam that contains silver, hence the Ag. According to New West Blog, “The silver fibers weave in conductive properties throughout the glove, rather than on a couple of spots or on the fingertips.”

For only $18 these gloves will be the hottest things on the slopes!

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