CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- The bathroom tiles are recycled wine bottles. The hardwood floors are sustainable bamboo. And the sprawling garden gets sprinkled with rainwater collected in 300-gallon (1,135-liter) barrels.
Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry displays a rooftop garden, drainage system and solar-paneled roof.
From its recycled plastic deck to its solar-paneled roof, everything in and about the 2,500-square-foot (232 sq. meter) home on exhibit just outside of the Museum of Science and Industry has been designed to show the public how easy it can be to incorporate environmental sustainability into their own abodes.
"We tried to look for ideas in every choice that we make in our homes ... hoping that everyone who goes through it will be inspired to make some change on some level," said Michelle Kaufmann, the Oakland, California-based architect who designed the SmartHome. "Some people will walk away and want to do an entire new home or some people will think when they go for their towels next and go for organic linens."
In fact, green housing is growing even while the overall housing market is suffering, said Nate Kredich, the council's vice president for residential market development.
This year, green building is expected to represent 6 percent of the residential construction industry, according to a survey conducted by McGraw-Hill Construction Research & Analytics for the U.S. Green Building Council. That's up from just 2 percent in 2005.
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