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New Mexico's Artistic Homes has taken a long journey to become a green builder.
LAST YEAR WAS THE IOTH ANNIVERsary of Artistic Homes' decision to turn itself into a builder of energyefficient homes. The culmination of that decision (so far) can be found in Rio Rancho, N.M., where last fall Artistic, which is based in Albuquerque, completed its first net-zero-energy house.
Along the way, Artistic's owners have learned- sometimes painfully- that green building requires constant training and supervision of personnel, subs, and suppliers, because the danger of slipups is ever present. (It even happened on its zero-energy house, where one of its long-time contractors made some mistakes.) "It's a top-to-bottom process, and we're still in that process," says Tom Wade, one of Artistic's principals.
Life was simpler when Artistic was an entry-level builder whose main concern was holding down costs as it put up 800 units annually. In 1998, though, its owners met with Building America, the Department of Energy's program that promotes energyefficient construction. Something clicked, recalls Wade. "What they were saying made sense to us."
The builder's metamorphosis, though, was another matter. "It was like a lobotomy," laughs Wade. Getting subs on board meant almost daily in-field training. Going green also necessitated "a tremendous change" in building products. Back then, HVAC units in Albuquerque homes were mostly evaporative swamp coolers, "and overnight, we're changing to refrigerated air," says Wade. Artistic's green homes...