Sustainability

Good for all living things.

Redefining Home

  • Close-up of a modern house with solar panels on the roof and trees in the background.

    Solar = Lifetime Savings

    For sale units are designed with solar to supply as much or more energy than you’ll use in your home. Potential savings of $188,782 in energy and eligible incentives.*

    *Savings over 30/yr mortgage inflation adjusted compared to energy spending for conventional homes

  • A man holding two children, a boy and a girl, in an embrace, smiling indoors near a large white appliance with a blue logo.

    Battery Storage

    A compact home Sonnen battery that reduces your reliance on the grid by storing your solar energy for use when the sun isn’t shining. You can add additional units to your home to further lower your carbon footprint and to prepare your home for power outages.

  • Diagram showing temperature differences in seasons and underground. Summer 95°F at surface, 52°F underground, comfort at 72°F. Winter 17°F at surface, 52°F underground.

    Bosch Geothermal Heating & Cooling

    The ultimate in comfort and energy-efficiency. Veridian will feature advanced heat pump technologies to keep you cozy, happy and healthy in all weather.

  • Induction cooktop zero fossil fuels

    Healthy Appliances & Freedom From Fossil Fuels

    Veridian is 100% clean, all-electric with no gas lines or combustion appliances of any kind. Now or ever. This means cleaner and healthier indoor air quality, lower fire risk, and no carbon monoxide. All Veridian homes include premium Bosch appliances. Watch this video on Bosch induction technology

  • Close-up of a car's charging port with an electric charging cable plugged in, on a red vehicle.

    Electric Vehicle Charging

    Veridian is designed for the end of the burning of fossil fuels. There are over 93 car chargers planned, including a charger in every garage and carport as well as abundant public chargers.

  • White bicycle with black tires, labeled "Priority" and "Veridian at County Farm"

    Bike Share

    Bike share gives access to bikes for residents and their guests and make it possible to pick up groceries, a large plant or many things that would typically require a car trip. E-bikes and Cargo bikes are expensive and most people don’t need them every day. Bike share is convenient way to bring bikes to all.

  • A vegetable garden with leafy greens, lettuce, and plants growing in a raised bed with a background of trees and a fence.

    Food & Gardens

    Veridian will have fruit trees and food gardens intended to re-establish a tie between humans and their nourishment, and reconnect communities to the land, since no truly sustainable community can rely on globally sourced food production.

  • Digital rendering of a city street with a landscaped sidewalk featuring various plants, a pedestrian walking, two cyclists riding, and cars parked nearby.

    Native Landscape & Butterfly Gardens

    Veridian at County Farm landscape design seeks to: emulate the functionality of indigenous ecosystems, provide avian and wildlife habitat, use native and naturalized plants, and integrate urban agriculture on minimum 20% of total land parcel.

  • A white toilet against a gray wall in a bathroom with natural light.

    Water Sense

    A partnership program sponsored by EPA, seeking to protect the future of our nation's water supply by promoting water efficiency and enhancing the market for water-efficient products.

  • Two ecobee smart thermostats displaying a temperature of 72 degrees Fahrenheit with a 45% humidity level, set to 72 degrees, on a blurred wooden surface background with an ENERGY STAR logo in the top right.

    Comfort & Control

    All thermostats are thoughtfully designed with features that bring you comfort at home and control from anywhere. Live in balance with smart thermostats that harmonize energy savings and home comfort.

  • Gray water heater with digital display, outlet vent, and energy savings label showing up to $480 per year.

    Heat Pump Water Heating

    Heat pump water heaters can be 4X more efficient than a standard electric tank and use less energy to operate than a classic 100-Watt incandescent light bulb.

  • Diagram of an air purifier showing fresh air from outside entering, passing through filters and a heat exchanger, then flowing out as stale air, with fans and exhaust.

    Healthy Indoor Air

    Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) negatively impacts our health and well-being in our homes. Ventilating with a cost-effective and energy-efficient ERV is the first step to better IAQ for you and the ones you love.

  • A product declaration label with the title 'Declare'. The label includes sections for product name, manufacturer, assembly details, ingredients, environmental impact, and certification info. Text is black on a white background with orange and light orange highlights for specific notes and certifications.

    Healthy Materials & Products

    Veridian aims to eliminate toxic building materials and products by favoring products with the transparency of the Declare label and avoid toxic Red List products. Learn More about DECLARE.

  • Three blue barstools at a counter with a white subway tile backsplash.

    Reclaimed, Salvaged, and Local

    When sourcing materials, we ask first whether we can find it already made or restored. If it must be bought new, can we find it locally?

  • A white heron flying low over a marshy area with tall grasses.

    Habitat Preservation

    Thrive and the Living Community Challenge envision a moratorium on the seemingly never-ending growth outward, and a focus instead on compact, connected communities with healthy rather than inhumane levels of density—inherently conserving the natural resources that support human health and the farmlands that feed us, while also inviting natural systems back into the daily fabric of our lives. For each hectare of THRIVE development, THRIVE will purchase an equal amount of conservation land in Washtenaw Co. to be set aside in perpetuity through a local Land Trust.

Imagine communities that function like a forest ecosystem.

Diagram illustrating the balance between negative and positive environmental impacts of a living building challenge, with sections labeled accordingly.

What is the Living Community Challenge?

We are creating Veridian using the framework of the Living Community Challenge. We ask “How do we create communities that are good for everyone?”

The Living Community Challenge is a framework for master planning, design, and construction. It is a tool to create a symbiotic relationship between people and all aspects of the built environment.

The program is a call to action to governments, campuses, planners, developers and neighborhood groups to create communities that are as connected and beautiful as a forest.

The ILFI Zero Energy Standard is:

One hundred percent of the building’s energy needs on a net annual basis must be supplied by on-site renewable energy. No combustion is allowed.

Certification is based on actual, not modeled, performance.

Learn More

 

Logo of the International Living Future Institute featuring a stylized dandelion with seeds blowing in the wind, accompanied by the organization name.

Living Future.

The Living Building Challenge is considered the world’s most rigorous green building standard. Veridian at County Farm hopes to be a model for communities that are:

  • Healthy for all elements of life

  • Nurturing and generous places that promote healthy lifestyles for everyone

  • Net Positive with respect energy. (Note: Full Living Communities generate their own energy and capture and treat all the water they need)

  • Designed using multipurpose elements. Nothing has only a single purpose; everything has multiple benefits to the community and environment

  • Regenerative spaces for people and natural ecosystems

  • Places that are walkable, bike-able, and have affordable public transportation.

PERFORMANCE AREAS (PETALs & IMPERATIVES)

The Living Community Challenge is organized into seven performance areas (Petals). Each performance area has a number of more detailed requirements (Imperatives).

PLACE PETAL
Restoring a healthy interrelationship with nature.

WATER PETAL
Creating developments that operate within the water balance of a given place and climate.

ENERGY PETAL
Relying only on current solar income.

HEALTH & HAPPINESS PETAL
Creating environments that optimize physical and psychological health and well being.

MATERIALS PETAL
Endorsing products that are safe for all species through time.

EQUITY PETAL
Supporting a just and equitable world.

BEAUTY PETAL
Celebrating plans that purpose transformative change.