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 barrels.
From its recycled plastic deck to its solar-paneled roof, everything in and about the 2,500-square-foot home on exhibit outside the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry has been designed to show people 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 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," she said.
In fact, green housing is growing even while the overall housing market is suffering, said Nate Kredich, vice president for residential market development for the U.S. Green Building Council.
This year, green building is expected to represent 6% of the residential construction industry, according to a survey conducted by McGraw-Hill Construction Research & Analytics for the council. That's up from just 2% in 2005.
"It is happening. But the industry needs to do a better job of getting information into people's hands when they're looking for it," Kredich said.
The goal of the Chicago exhibit, which runs through January, is to show visitors that saving energy and conserving resources are within reach of everyone -- whether it's an entire house or a single feature, museum staffers said.
The modular home, which Kaufmann said used less than half the energy and a third of the water of traditional homes, includes a kitchen with a countertop composter and a sink made from concrete and fly ash -- a byproduct of burning coal.
Water from the bathroom sink is diverted to the toilet, where it is used for flushing. A bicycle in the children's bedroom must be pedaled for 30 minutes to charge a battery to power video games.
Visitors receive a resource guide that tells about the function of each feature, how they're assembled and where they can be purchased. The bicycle system, for example, was homemade from parts bought on an electronics website.
Jasmine Davis, 23, of Park Forest, Ill., who visited the home with her mother, said the exhibit gave her tips for her own apartment.
