“We didn’t set out to look for a ‘zero-energy’ home,” says Nancy Mairs, a writer who moved to Armory Park del Sol five years ago with her husband, George, a retired teacher. “We simply fell in love with the house. It’s high tech but doesn’t look it.”

Visionary developer John Wesley Miller’s most impressive feat could be creating a zero-energy, or net-zero, community (one that makes as much energy as it uses) that real people want to live in. The homes, ranging from 960 to just more than 2,000 square feet, take architectural inspiration from the nearby historic area of Armory Park, incorporating porches and arches from the Mission Revival, Territorial, and Bungalow styles there. Water-conserving landscaping, or “xeriscaping,” features native desert plants. John calls the 99-lot infill development “walker-friendly and vehicle-unfriendly,” with homes facing each other across extra-wide, tree-lined sidewalks, and cars relegated to back alleys. And why not walk, with much of Tucson’s cultural activities within strolling distance.

Lessons from Armory Park del Sol
“I like being an example of what builders can do to make our environment better,” says John, who cochaired the first national green builders conference and has seen the approach take off in recent years. “Where there used to be five or 10 builders talking about this stuff, I now see hundreds.”