Bamboo woven wood shades fit in with eco-friendly home construction

A big turnout at this year's tour of eco-friendly homes in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia showed tour organizers that consumers' interest in sustainable construction is growing.


The Norfolk Virginian-Pilot reported that about 270 people attended the home solar tour sponsored by the Hampton Roads Green Building Council, which is hoping to encourage other homeowners and builders to incorporate eco-friendly features to their homes.


Some of those features are extensive, such as the triple-insulated windows and the 20 solar roof panels at one brick ranch home on the tour. Other eco-friendly initiatives are far simpler, including the installation of bamboo woven wood shades. As a natural material with unique color and textures, bamboo shades offer style and sustainability at the same time.


Rebekah Burke, a structural engineer who chairs the Hampton Roads Green Building Council, told the newspaper she is encouraged by the federal government's mandate to build all new federal buildings over a certain size to environmentally-sensitive specifications. In the Hampton Roads area, which includes a number of U.S. Navy installations, Burke said the military is a leader in green construction and architecture.