By now, you may have heard about Greensburg, Kansas, a close-knit, not-so-green community that was virtually wiped off the map when an EF5 tornado leveled 95 percent of the town and killed 11 residents. Over two years later, Greensburg is emerging from the rubble as “Greentown,” a hotbed of eco-optimism, community spirit, and LEED building practices.

 

There are plenty of awesome projects in the works for this “model green town for the future” and one of the most intriguing is the Chain of EcoHomes Competition. The competition, part of a partnership between Greensburg Greentown and Freegreen.com, invites an international roster of architects to submit green home plans that they’d like to see be built as part of a 12-home rebuilding project. The public can vote, via the Chain of EcoHomes website, on the designs that they like the best. After the votes are tallied up, a jury — including green building luminaries like Michelle Kaufmann — deliberate on the winning designs. Three winners are chosen; all receive cash prizes and the top three will be built in Greensburg as part of the Chain of EcoHomes project.

 

Summarizes the Chain of EcoHomes website:

Go ahead and check out the hundreds of submissions in the running (a few random ones that caught my eye are pictured above and below) and vote for your favorite. I'm still looking them all over. Which green house design strikes your fancy?