“I am honored to have John Adams and Andrew Russell join the Blu team,” said Bill Haney, Blu Homes CEO. “The leadership they have shown over the past 30 years, their deep understanding of the environmental and real estate communities and their business prowess will help to guide Blu as we scale our operations into a leading global, technology-driven green home builder.”

John Adams served as NRDC’s executive director from the organization’s founding in 1970 until 2006 and later also served as president. With more than 1.3 million members and more than 350 lawyers, scientist and other professionals, the NRDC is widely considered one of the world’s leading environmental groups. John has also served on many governmental advisory committees, including President Clinton’s Council for Sustainable Development. Adams, author of the recently published “A Force for Nature: The Story of NRDC and Its Fight to Save Our Planet”, is a graduate of Michigan State University and the Duke University School of Law. John continues to play an active role in NRDC, is chairman of the board of the Open Space Institute and sits on the boards of numerous other environmental organizations. Rolling Stone wrote of Adams, “If the planet has a lawyer, it’s John Adams.”

Andrew Russell, the Duke of Bedford, has been a technology investor for 30 years, focusing on green technology. In addition to his interest in leading edge technology, Andrew operates an internationally recognized center of excellence for the conservation of endangered species at his celebrated Woburn Abbey. He also manages extensive real estate holdings centered in London. Andrew graduated from Harvard.

The two new board members join a team of esteemed environmentalists, architects and technologists. For more details go to http://www.bluhomes.com/about/advisors/.

Unlike traditional stick-built wooden houses, Blu’s strong and durable steel frames make them suited for many high-wind areas, including the U.S. coastline now bracing for the impact of hurricane Earl. On the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, category 1 hurricanes have sustained winds of 74 – 95 mph and are capable of producing significant damage to homes, while category 5 hurricanes have sustained winds of more than 155 mph and are “catastrophic,” causing widespread destruction. Standard Blu and mkDesigns homes can currently withstand wind intensities of a category 3 hurricane, and can be engineered to withstand the devastating winds up to a category 5. (For a complete overview of The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, visit the National Hurricane Center website at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/sshws.pdf).

Blu’s team utilizes state of the art 3D modeling to assess each individual building site to determine its loading needs based on its location and ground topography, regardless of published wind loads. For extra protection, Blu’s homes can also be outfitted with high performance hurricane-resistant windows.

Blu Homes will deliver its first homes to St. Croix, in the Caribbean, in 2011, where hurricane-force wind concerns are high. Lorraine Soucy, COO of Indigo Island Homes and distributor of Blu|Homes in the Caribbean region, explains “We were excited to discover Blu|Homes, as their heavy duty framing system creates a safer haven for families on our island. Their proprietary steel framing system also allows us to ship inexpensively to the Caribbean, making these products an obvious choice for this environment.”

“Hurricanes can huff and puff but they won’t blow a Blu Home down!” said Maura McCarthy, co-founder and VP of sales & marketing. “With hurricane Earl around the corner, and storms Fiona and Gaston brewing in the tropics, Blu’s uniquely solid construction gives homeowners peace of mind during even the most extreme weather conditions.”

Visit the National Weather Service’s National Hurricane Center (http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/index.shtml) or Stormpulse (http://www.stormpulse.com) to keep tab on current hurricanes.

About Blu

Blu Homes, Inc. has a variety of residential and commercial eco-friendly, green prefabricated home designs and has delivered homes to families and businesses across the U.S., from New York to the Colorado mountains and the California coast. With the application of Blu’s folding technology, mkDesigns are now available across the country, beginning with the Glidehouse. For more information on Blu Homes or mkDesigns , contact info@bluhomes.com, or visit www.bluhomes.com or www.mkd-arc.com.

“The Glidehouse is an elegant and innovative green design, and we are delighted to offer this spectacular home,” said Bill Haney, CEO of Blu Homes, Inc. “Artfully harmonizing indoor and outdoor living, the Glidehouse truly proves that sustainability can be both beautiful and cost-effective.”

Starting at $360,000, the Glidehouse is designed for clean, green, contemporary living. Using the most modern and environmentally friendly building methods and materials, the Glidehouse is now constructed entirely in Blu’s state-of-the-art 80,000 square-foot Massachusetts factory. The Glidehouse is now also built with Blu’s proprietary steel and wood hybrid framing, making it more spacious than ever before, able to handle the most challenging weather conditions and quickly and conveniently completed on site. Available with two or three bedrooms and two full baths, and with optional features including additional bedrooms, carports, garages and fireplaces, the Glidehouse brings custom-home beauty and features to prefab in this single floor home.

Glidehouse signature features are:

• Sleek storage bars to keep clutter at bay
• Breathtaking, energy-efficient glass “walls” that create panoramic views
• Extraordinarily wide, open and spacious rooms
• Clever window placement to draw in fresh air and natural light
• Exquisite cedar sunshades, and other optional extras, that allow for desired light and air flow

Healthy and efficient for green and affordable living

This high performance home is airtight, energy efficient, and built in a controlled factory environment to maintain the highest construction standards. In addition, non-VOC paints, clean and beautiful glazing like Andersen® or NanaWall® windows and doors, FSC certified wood and bamboo flooring, water-saving fixtures by Kohler®, and Paperstone countertops are a few of the high-quality, eco-friendly finishes the Glidehouse features.

The Glidehouse also uses water-saving plumbing fixtures, on-demand water heaters, and a mechanical ventilation system that is significantly more efficient than typical forced-air systems. Optional radiant hot water flooring is the standard for colder climates.

The Glidehouse meets the Energy Star® program standards for energy efficient homes and the performance standards of the American Lung Association Health House program. Blu can work with your local green rating program, as well.

Each Glidehouse home is solar ready. Other renewable energy systems such as geothermal, wind generator or hybrid systems can also be added to your Glidehouse design.

Blu Homes’ advantaged business model

Blu is a team of architects, designers, engineers, construction professionals and business folks working to build the highest quality, beautiful green homes. We design and engineer our homes ourselves, then build in our own factory and ship to you. Blu employees then come to your site to finish your home on your foundation, offering unmatched service to ensure your satisfaction. With this full range of control, Blu can offer a guaranteed price as well as free architectural consultation on customizing your Blu home.

If you are interested in owning your own Glidehouse home, please contact us at info@bluhomes.com.

The home featured on “This New House” is a Blu|Element, which is eco-friendly and designed as a lovely single-family primary residence, vacation cottage or retirement home.  The Element is also suitable for academic or institutional use as student, faculty or visitor housing.  Blu|Elements come in three sizes and include a variety of one-, two- or three-bedroom floor plans and many options on window, door and wall configuration to meet client needs.  Each Element features standard luxurious touches like gleaming bamboo floors and a towel warmer in the bathroom and many other options, including a fireplace. They maximize living space and are spacious and bright, featuring lovely high ceilings and abundant windows.

Blu’s break-through information and building science technology allow the company to economically design, manufacture and ship its green homes and buildings across the United States and beyond.  Unlike other modular homes, Blu builds spaces up to 34 feet wide with ceiling heights up to 16 feet, so the designs are open, spacious and bright.  Blu’s homes can be finished on site in a matter of weeks and are constructed of a steel/wood frame designed for extraordinary durability.

Blu offers residential and commercial designs and has delivered homes to families and businesses across the U.S.   Blu’s buildings comes in a variety of models, sizes and floor plans, including home additions, studios, one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom homes  and commercial buildings, all allowing for interactive customer design involvement.  Blu homes feature a unique combination of cool and green features designed to create a healthy living environment with a reduced carbon footprint.  These features include low or no-VOC paints and finishes, recycled and recyclable materials, low-flow fixtures, energy star appliances, high efficiency heating systems and architectural characteristics that maximize passive heating and cooling.  An optional pier foundation is also available.  For more information on Blu go to http://www.bluhomes.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter or email us at info@bluhomes.com.

About “This New House”

In This New House, a new magazine-style series on DIY Network, hosts Amy Matthews and This Old House’s Kevin O’Connor bring viewers inside homes across the U.S. that feature innovative building materials, techniques and gadgets.

Series/Season Premiere: Thursday, July 29 at 8 p.m. ET

Expert Host: Amy Matthews, Licensed Contractor and Kevin O’Connor, Host

“This partnership with Blu allows us to make green, healthy homes available affordably and quickly to residents of the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico,” said Anne Wachtmeister, CEO of Indigo Island Homes. “We did our homework and selected Blu because of its high-quality construction, commitment to green and ability to efficiently and affordably transport beautiful homes to our clients.”

“We have a great deal of interest for our products both within and outside the U.S.,” said Bill Haney, co-founder and president of Blu. The US housing market is only 4% of the world market so the international market is an important part of our long term plans. This move into the Caribbean is an valuable first step toward internationalization because the Caribbean has strong demand for affordable, quality construction, our unique technology lets us supply these homes economically from our factory in Massachusetts, and because Indigo Island Homes has such excellent standing in the local markets.

Blu’s break-through information and building science technology allow Blu to economically design, manufacture and ship its green homes and buildings across the United States and Caribbean. Unlike traditional modular homes, Blu builds spaces up to 34 feet wide with ceiling heights up to 16 feet, so the designs are open, spacious and bright. Blu’s homes can be finished on site in a matter of weeks and are constructed of a steel frame designed for extraordinary durability. Blu’s proprietary heavy duty structural steel frame is particularly well suited for high wind zone/hurricane areas, earthquake areas, and other challenging environmental zones like the Caribbean.

Blu offers residential and commercial designs and has delivered homes to families and businesses across the U.S. and Caribbean. Blu’s buildings comes in a variety of models, sizes and floor plans, including studios, one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom homes and commercial buildings, all allowing for interactive customer design involvement. Blu designs feature a unique combination of healthy, cool and green features designed to create a healthy living environment with a reduced carbon footprint. These features include low or no-VOC paints and finishes, recycled and recyclable materials, low-flow fixtures, energy star appliances, high efficiency heating systems and architectural characteristics that maximize passive heating and cooling. An optional pier foundation is also available. For more information on Blu Homes or mkDesigns go to http://www.bluhomes.com or www.mkd-arc.com, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter or email us at info@bluhomes.com.