Trusted sources for sustainable building.
Newport Homes is an independent reference for sustainable building materials, methods, software and the people who use them. Every organization, standard and product is traced to a named source you can check. We do not sell anything, we do not take a cut, and we are not anyone’s sales channel.
What are you trying to do?
Most people arrive with a problem rather than a research topic. Pick the one that sounds like you and we will point you at organizations that can actually help. None of them pay us.
- My energy bills are too high
- I need affordable housing
- I am a veteran, or I help veterans
- I am planning for aging in place
- I want a tiny home
- I want to go off grid
- I am building or renovating
- I need real data on a product
- I have material to keep out of a landfill
- I make a sustainable product
- I am a student, or I teach
- I work in post conflict rebuilding
- I want to find people near me
If it uses less and lasts longer, it belongs here.
From tiny homes and off grid cabins to affordable housing, veterans housing and retirement communities.
The 2027 Design and Build Xperience Competition
Categories, criteria and deadlines are announced that day. Open to builders, architects and designers, university students and students under 18, anywhere in the world.
Mainefactured wins with Casa Francesca.
The competition was launched at The Environmental Xperience at EarthX to put real, buildable sustainable design in front of the industry. Mainefactured of Nevada, Texas took the Grand Prize for Casa Francesca, an A frame luxury tiny home with panoramic glass and a rooftop deck, built in a factory and certified to last. Anabella Mainetti, CEO and co founder, accepted the award.
mainefactured.comRebuild Ukraine Green
Reconstruction is the largest building opportunity and the largest building risk on earth. Rebuild a country the way it was and you lock in another sixty years of waste. Rebuild it well and it leapfrogs a generation of infrastructure. Rubble becomes brick, river plastic becomes construction board, and the crews trained to do it stay long after the aid does.
Circular reconstruction
What was destroyed becomes what replaces it.
Clean water and land
Cleaning rivers, lakes and contaminated areas.
Reforestation
Habitat restoration to reverse biodiversity loss.
Green urban space
Space for communities to recover together.
Local workforce
Leadership and training that stays in the country.
Clearing the ground
Landmine removal with Rotary, plus a prosthetic hand program for injured civilians.
New products worth knowing about
Materials already in production and already in buildings. No renderings, no vaporware, no fee to be listed.
PolyAl roofing from recycled beverage cartons
The polyethylene and aluminum layer in cartons is pressed into roof tiles and sheets that are light, waterproof, rust proof and measurably cooler underneath than cement or galvanized sheet.
RiverRecycle boards from river plastic
Floating plastic pulled from some of the most polluted rivers on earth, pressed into construction boards. Seven countries, millions of kilograms recovered, local crews paid to do it.
riverrecycle.comPanels and finishes made from food waste
Rice hulls, spent grain, nut shells, coffee chaff and straw pressed into panels, tiles, countertops and acoustic board. The supply is enormous and local to almost every city.
Browse waste streams on loopway.orgThe WELL Building Standard
The International WELL Building Institute asks what a building is doing to the person inside it.
WELL is evidence based and performance verified: someone tests the finished building rather than reading the drawings. If you only adopt one framework from this site, and your building has people in it, make it this one.
wellcertified.com- Air and waterMeasured and verified, not assumed.
- Light and thermal comfortDaylight, glare and temperature as health inputs.
- Movement and nourishmentLayouts that make the healthy choice the easy one.
- SoundAcoustics as a measurable wellbeing factor.
- MaterialsWhat the building is made of and what it off gasses.
- Mind and communityDesign that supports mental health and connection.
The people who built the rulebook
U.S. Green Building Council
Founded in 1993 by Rick Fedrizzi, David Gottfried and Mike Italiano, USGBC created LEED, used on tens of thousands of projects in more than 165 countries. LEED v5 raises the bar again.
usgbc.orgInternational WELL Building Institute
Air, water, light, movement, thermal comfort, sound and mind, all measured and verified.
wellcertified.comLoopway
Our companion project: a free directory keeping reusable material out of landfills in all fifty states and beyond.
loopway.orgWe also lean on Building Science Corporation, the Carbon Leadership Forum, Building Transparency, NREL, DOE Building America and PHIUS. Every claim here names its source.
Twenty reference sections
Organized the way a project actually unfolds, from structure to suppliers.
- 01
Structure and framing
Mass timber, cold formed steel, ICF, SIPs, adobe, rammed earth, straw bale, 3D printed walls.
- 02
Insulation and envelope
Cellulose, mineral wool, hempcrete, wood fiber, cork, sheep wool, air sealing.
- 03
Roofing
Recycled polyAl, metal, cool roofs, living roofs, solar shingles.
- 04
Recycled and upcycled
Food waste composites, river plastic boards, reclaimed lumber, recycled glass.
- 05
Windows and glazing
Triple glazing, thermally broken frames, orientation and shading.
- 06
Floors and finishes
Low VOC coatings, natural plasters, linoleum, cork, bamboo, salvaged tile.
- 07
Water
Rainwater harvesting, greywater reuse, low flow fixtures, drought landscaping.
- 08
Energy and solar
PV, batteries, heat pumps, geothermal, net positive design, microgrids.
- 09
Passive design
Earth sheltered homes, thermal mass, natural ventilation, Passive House.
- 10
Off grid living
Water, power, waste and communications with no utility.
- 11
Tiny homes
Park models, ADUs, NOAH certified units, towable homes, zoning.
- 12
Affordable housing
Cost per square foot that pencils, modular delivery, land trusts.
- 13
Veterans housing
Supportive housing models, accessibility and funding pathways.
- 14
Senior communities
Aging in place, universal design, shared hydroponic food areas.
- 15
Architects and designers
Practices with real sustainable portfolios, by region.
- 16
Builders and contractors
Who has actually delivered a high performance home.
- 17
Software and tools
Energy modeling, life cycle assessment, embodied carbon, BIM, solar siting.
- 18
Certification and standards
LEED, WELL, Passive House, Living Building Challenge, EPDs, HPDs.
- 19
Suppliers and distributors
Who stocks it, who ships it, and real lead times.
- 20
Education and training
Courses, trade programs, student competitions and classroom resources.
Connected
Sister projects and organizations we work alongside.
- Loopway
- EarthX
- The Environmental Xperience
- RiverRecycle
- The Alluvium Project
- Rebuild Ukraine Green
Organizations listed here are independent of Newport Homes and have not endorsed this site. Information only. We sell nothing and accept no payment for placement.
Submit your product for the library
Send specifications, a photo and any testing or certification. We read everything and say plainly when something is still early.
info@newporthomes.us
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