Florida House Learning Center in Sarasota, Florida Will Get Update

I admit that I've never been inside the Florida House Learning Center. But I've wanted to. For those of you who don't know, the Florida House is an educational experience that was built in the 1980's to display environmentally friendly ways to build or remodel your home and landscape, especially in relation to water conservation. The methods used in the home and yard are intended to be low cost and sustainable. Up until recently, this house stood adjacent to the Sarasota County Technical Institute. It closed in June in order that it could be relocated about 1000 feet away and closer to Beneva Road, which gives it much greater visibility. It also allows for a planned expansion of the technical center.

Back in March of this year, the specifications guide for the home listed some wonderful environmental aspects. One of these is the use of cisterns. The home sported two 2,500 gallon cisterns, one on the east and one on the west side of the house. The east cistern was constructed of sprayed lightweight concrete (similar to swimming pools) with a fiberglass-coated liner and a metal roof. The west cistern was constructed of concrete block reinforced with poured cores with a liner of flexible, waterproof, acrylic coating and a metal roof. They even re-used the cistern water in the clothes washer. The house also made use of passive and active solar energy, along with aggressive energy saving appliances and devices.

Once the home is permanently affixed in its new location, a renovation project is planned to upgrade the green systems in the home to bring them current with today's technologies and standards. The builder chosen to assist with these renovations is, not surprisingly, MyGreenBuildings, who have shown a commitment to providing unique, quality, sustainable homes using socially responsible construction practices that offer buyers the opportunity to have the quality finished product they want, without sacrificing the environment to get it. They specialize in retrofitting existing structures to current green standards. This year they were awarded the prestigious Grand Aurora Award, along with two other Aurora's at the South East Builders Conference for their green custom retrofit and rebuild of a 1946 west-of-trail home at 1876 Goldenrod Street in Sarasota. The company is an Energy Star partner builder, and member of the Florida Green Building Coalition.

I eagerly await the opening of the "new and improved" Florida House. Floridians benefit as a whole from each person's efforts to conserve water and energy.