VISION House Mariposa Meadows

The VISION House at Mariposa Meadows is Green Builder Media’s first off-grid, self-sufficient, resilient, and carbon neutral demonstration project.

Surrounded by millions of acres of national forest in the San Juan mountains of Colorado near Telluride, the VISION House at Mariposa Meadows unites extraordinary design, extreme performance, innovative products and intelligent technology.

The VISION House at Mariposa Meadows features a wide spectrum of sustainable solutions, from high performance building envelope systems to renewables to enabling technologies, extending into areas such as wildfire risk mitigation, intelligent water, waste reduction, clean mobility solutions, onsite food production, and ecosystem protection.

While our vision for Mariposa Meadows is big, our footprint is small. Like with every good building project, we’re doing our best to respect the privacy and solitude of our neighbors—namely, the moose, elk, and beaver. Our master plan is efficient—you won’t see any McMansions or oversized structures on Mariposa Meadows, and everything that we’ve built to date has been so precise that we are net zero-waste (nary a dumpster on the jobsite!)

The 11 Tenets

Here are the eco-landmarks we navigate by as we create this sustainable enclave.

Energy Efficiency Off-the-grid living demands the ultimate in energy-efficient products. Here’s what we picked.

Renewables Dependence on petroleum is dead; instead, we use these easy-on-the-environment technologies.

Water and Resource Conservation Natural resources are finite. Here are the techniques and products we use to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Indoor Air Quality Healthy buildings mean healthy people. We spec’d products that make the indoors as fresh as the meadow air surrounding us.

Smart Technology We harness smart tech that will make life simpler and help us be more sustainable.

Durability See which building science practices and green products hold up to the harsh realities of high-altitude living.

Resilient Housing Disaster can strike anywhere. Techniques and products can help buffer buildings from these assaults.

Multifunctional Living Spaces We designed spaces that morph and accommodate more than one function.

Onsite Food Production Fresh food grown on site is the healthiest and most green way to go (not to mention tastiest!) Here are some notes from the high-altitude larder.

Indoor/Outdoor Living New products and design conceits blur the lines between shelter and the soul-healing outdoors.

Wildlife Protection Wildlife conservation means protecting all plant and animal species and their habitats so nature will be around for future generations to enjoy. Here’s how we address this important concept.