Oscar winners may have had their day, but the builders of The New American Home 2008 think they've got a winner too.

A feature of this year's International Building Show co-sponsored by The National Council of the Building Industry Leading Suppliers and BUILDER Magazine, this 6,725 square foot Gulf-Coast inspired example of the building industry's futuristic and finest was recently debuted in Orlando, Florida.

The New American Home 2008 is all about the industry's approach to a changing market, in preparation for a picked up pace.

Now in it's 25th year as a peek at things to come in residential design and products, the house provides real solutions to issues on the minds of many homebuilders and serves as a test ground for the most innovative new home products.

It combines market-savvy aesthetics with space planning, eco-friendliness and active, multigenerational lifestyles.

Homebuyers may not rave about the solar-power-induced $150 a month savings on electricity or the high-power construction methods used to reduce energy usage by a whopping 42 percent, but they will certainly take note of the unique design of this plantation-style stunner.

Most notable is the main level, where designers went well beyond good looks and functionality. Through a wall of sliding glass, the home's main kitchen overlooks a lake through an adjacent leisure room, a deep-covered lanai and outdoor dining area (which, by the way, contains its OWN kitchen). This level also houses a clubroom with a home theater space, a wet bar, a game area and a magnificent fireplace.

The home itself is a living laboratory, where National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) players tout green building standards, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, safety, market value, and the idea that "housing performance" can be incorporated into the most simple or most complex home, equal in importance to aesthetics.

Now that the building event is over, the New American Home demonstration project, located on Orlando's Lake Nona, is open for public tours with a $10 entry fee.

All of the money collected will go to a nonprofit fund to restore a historic home in Mississippi that was damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Published: February 26, 2008

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