Burh Becc at Beacon Springs, outside Ann Arbor, is just the second home in the world to meet the Living Building Challenge. A new farmhouse in southeast Michigan has recently been certified as one of the world?s most green, sustainable structures.
Named Burh Becc at Beacon Springs, the roughly 5,000-square-foot home and garage, set on 15 acres of depleted farmland outside of Ann Arbor, showcases one of the most efficient, sustainable examples of residential construction in the world.
?I liken this to a moonshot for residential design,? says architect Michael Klement, a partner in the local firm Architectural Resource. ?This is possible, this is doable, and it?s extremely healthy.?
The name comes from the Old English origin of owners Tom and Marti Burbeck?s family name, which means ?dwelling by a creek.? They hope their passion project can exemplify how altering building strategies can change how people relate to their environment. Built with conservation in mind, their home and farm not only showcase cutting-edge energy sufficiency, but also promote a more natural method of farming, with the goal of providing healthy produce for local markets.
?I liken this to a moonshot for residential design.?

The Burh Becc home is just the second such residential building in the world to meet the Living Building Challenge, a strict benchmark for sustainability that not only requires energy savings, but energy generation. To get the seal of approval, oversee...