Challenge
Rethink housing performance and demonstrate possibilities in a real community.
Selected experience / Independence Heights, Houston
The Zero
Energy Home.
Every big result starts somewhere.
The assignment / At a glance
GO’s Role
Help develop and communicate the living-laboratory idea with collaborators.
Idea
Think big. Start small. Make an impact.
Execution
Move from a working-session whiteboard toward demonstration homes and community engagement.
Results & Evidence
The original working-session material and Bloomberg feature document the story; community transformation involves many contributors.
Relevance Today
Make an ambitious idea tangible through a practical demonstration.
Sometimes, it starts
on a whiteboard.
This was the original working session behind what would become the Zero Energy Home Living Labs in Houston’s Independence Heights. The ambition was bigger than simply building a better house. The idea was to rethink the home itself—to make it stronger, safer, healthier, lighter, more energy efficient, smarter, faster to build, greener, and more affordable—and then demonstrate what was possible in a real community.
From the whiteboard to the real world
We turn big ideas
into big results.™
The initiative brought housing innovation into a real neighborhood, connecting demonstration homes, education, and community participation. It is one contribution to a wider community story, showing how an idea can move from a whiteboard into practice. That is what we mean when we say WE TURN BIG IDEAS INTO BIG RESULTS.™ A big idea can begin with a sketch. With the right strategy, partners, persistence, and execution, it can help transform an entire community.
THINK BIG. START SMALL. MAKE AN IMPACT.™
Bloomberg TV / BRINK
The Zero Energy
Home feature.
The history behind the initiative
Independence Heights:
The Story.
A personal account by David Goswick, with the family archive and photographs from the community initiative.
Read the story & explore the historical archiveLet’s GO make an impact
What’s your
next move?
Bring us the opportunity, the challenge, or the big idea. Let’s define the outcome and put the right specialists around it.