I hope the concepts of self sufficiency really take hold in the near future, but I always find the design of these homes to be a huge turn-off. Since I'm in architecture school, I have to take a class that deals with green architecture, and one of the issues discussed is how many of these energy efficient homes come out looking pretty ugly becasue there are so many factors attached them such as material, window orientation, sun shades, etc. As architects, we are asked to develop ways to make these buildings more appealing (or normal) to the market. It's possible. Even historic buildings can be sustainable, such as the University of Michigan's school of natural resources.
