When the US Green Building Council’s LEED® rating system became the standard for green building in the US a few years ago, it provided a way for builders and homeowners alike to have an immediate and measurable impact on the environment. Though certified buildings are increasingly common in commercial design, few platinum-certified homes exist in the US. Now, one of the most environmentally-friendly homes in California will be open to the public.

The brainchild of builder/developer Tom Schey, the Venice home at 710 Milwood Avenue – dubbed project7ten – was built to educate and raise awareness of better, healthier choices that we can all make, every single day. It has been certified Platinum by LEED®, the highest level that can be achieved.

Inspired by An Inconvenient Truth and the installation of solar panels on the roof of actor Ian McKellen’s home (in notoriously grey-skied London, no less), Schey realized that he had to do something to help educate people. As Schey was active in the real estate business, that seemed like a logical place to start. By partnering with environmentalist and philanthropist Kelly Meyer, and architect Melinda Gray of GrayMatter Architecture, project7ten was born.

The new project7ten home was designed to emphasize the symbiotic relationship between a home, its inhabitants, and the land. It incorporates many elements of green building. For example, the house will not emit harmful gases either inside or out. With rooftop solar panels that double as shade-producing overhangs (a very cool idea), the house will create its own energy. Of course, Forest Stewardship Council-certified lumber was used throughout. It sports systems for irrigation through captured rainwater and recycled greywater. The home’s slab was made from 30% recycled fly ash, the floors from fast-growing bamboo, and the insulation from post-industrial denim waste (that’s blue jeans to you and me). The list goes on and on…

But green building doesn’t always begin with the first nail – it often starts with demolition of an existing structure. In this case, the old home’s concrete slab was recycled, and all useable wood from the existing building was sent to Guadalajara to be used in building homes for low-income families.

The house will be open Thursdays through Sundays from October 11th through October 28th. There is a $20 fee for touring the house, but all proceeds will be donated to Healthy Child Healthy World, a non-profit dedicated to protecting children from harmful environmental exposures. There will also be drawings each weekend for eco-friendly prizes such as Shaklee Get Clean Starter Kits, a Naturpedic organic baby mattress, and Going Green Consultations.