A new free mobile app will enable real estate professionals to view and analyze Energy Star scores while on the go.

This first-of-its-kind Energy App from New York City-based consulting firm CodeGreen Solutions enables easy search and comparison for thousands of buildings throughout the country. New Energy Star disclosure requirements in cities such as New York, Seattle, and San Francisco have increased the importance of keeping track of efficiency scores, says CodeGreen director Patricia Lee.

Read the rest of the article at Eco-Structure.com

The sound of gunshots has been transformed into the sound of music in Mexico's Ciudad Juárez, where artist Pedro Reyes turned 6,700 confiscated weapons into a complete orchestra of fully playable musical instruments.

Reyes, who is based in Mexico City, worked with a group of six musicians to turn revolvers, shotguns, and machine guns into 50 wind, percussion, and string instruments, a project he calls "Imagine."

Read the rest of the article at TreeHugger.com

St. André Lang Architectes won the Archi<20 design competition on a budget of less than the equivalent of $10,000 with its “circular form that allows for panoramic views of the surrounding landscape” in Muttersholtz, France (Mok).

The layout of interior of the house was designed to take advantage of the sun’s movement: “For instance, the entrance and bedroom is found at the structure's northern, low-hanging and more "night-like" section. The eastern section hosts the work area. On the other hand, the social area is designated at the southern end, where the roof slopes more openly upward to shelter daytime activities” (Mok).

See more pictures and read Kimberley Mok’s full article.

When five Pennsylvanian Roman Catholic parishes were consolidated, three were closed. The Steeples Project sought to conserve and find sustainable reuses for the former churches and the buildings were acquired by 1901 Church Inc., a Jennerstown-based nonprofit organization.

The effort was recognized by Preservation Pennsylvania, a private statewide nonprofit organization, which awarded the Steeples Project the “William Penn’s Legacy: Religious and Spiritual Diversity.” Read more.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has created a message and a movement: "This Place Matters." The campaign began with a few pictures people sent in to memorialize their favorite historic places. It has since become "a tool that can be used to advocate on behalf of historic places in your community, a way to gather and educate people about the importance of preservation, or a fun way to commemorate moments and continually celebrate the places that make a place special." Learn more.

San Francisco–based residential architect Andrew Mann took a 1945 small, single-story office building with “a rather plain, institutional brick façade, set unceremoniously on an unkempt plot” and created an energy efficient and airy environment that “integrated indoor and outdoor spaces” for Dostart Development Company (Ikenson).

This LEED Gold-certified renovation is more than a breath of fresh air. It is a place where Steve Dostart finds an ideal workplace: “I intend to spend the rest of my career here, so I wanted it to be a place that I really enjoyed spending most of my waking hours,” he says.

For more information on this project, read Ben Ikenson’s full article.

"Named for the man who, in 1883, made it the first commercial structure illuminated by electricity, The Hotel Edison was converted over time to support a mix of uses and had been in a state of decline for years. Though they lacked any experience with historic preservation, Meghan Beck and her business partner, Bradley Niemiec, both 36, bought it anyway."

The partners have restored the hotel and made it a big success with apartments, hotel rooms, a restaurant, a bar, and banquet areas. Further renovations are planned. Read David Robert Weible's full article.

"Fire Station No. 6 is a beacon for historic adaptation done right," writes David Garber. Tom Hair, founder of communications and marketing firm Axiom, found the fire station perfect for housing his growing company; it "reflected Axiom's creativity and energy." Check out additional pictures of the 1903 fire house's restoration and Garber's full article.

Enjoy historic sites and historic hotels before your summer fun comes to an end. Read Elizabeth McNamara's article about her stay at the Colony Hotel in Kennebunkport or read about other Historic Hotels of America where you can get away!