ABC Green Home Launches TerraVerde, the Next Phase of Its Nationally Recognized High-Performance Home Program
Newport Beach, Calif., Jan. 13, 2026 — Builder Media announced today the launch of ABC Green Home 5.0: TerraVerde, the next phase of its nationally recognized residential demonstration home program. The two-year initiative will culminate in the construction of a luxury, high-performance residence in Temecula, a Southern California market known for its concentration of custom homes and a rapidly growing production homebuilding sector.
Since its inception more than a decade ago, the ABC Green Home program is established as a verified performance benchmark for American residential construction. Across the program’s series, ABC Green Homes achieved a high number of third-party certifications, including three LEED Platinum certifications, among the most rigorous sustainability standards in the building industry. Advanced energy, health and performance certifications pursued across the series validate energy efficiency, resilience, indoor environmental quality and construction execution. While every ABC Green Home exceeded California’s Title 24 Building Energy Efficiency Standards, the program demonstrates what is achievable when architecture, engineering, materials and workmanship are fully integrated and independently verified.
ABC Green Home’s impact is recognized by the U.S. Congress, the California State Assembly, and the California State Senate, as well as by national and regional industry associations, municipal planning councils and sustainability organizations. ABC Green Home projects also received Gold Nugget Awards and recognition from the National Association of Home Builders Best in Green Awards and the American Society of Civil Engineers Orange County Branch, reflecting the rigor of design, building science and execution.
Beyond awards, the ABC Green Home series serves as an educational resource for architecture schools, construction management programs, trade organizations and public agencies. Each home acts as a real-world case study for builders, designers, engineers and officials to examine how advanced building systems, materials and technology integrate with high-quality construction. Each residence consistently accomplished a high number of third-party certifications, reinforcing the credibility of participating partners and the performance of the building systems used.
“ABC Green Home is not about checking boxes or chasing trends,” said Nick Slevin, Publisher at Builder Media. “The recent fires and devastation across Southern California made the need for structural hardening even clearer. TerraVerde emphasizes resilient design and the use of sustainably oriented building materials is central to the project. All ABC Green Homes are built exclusively with materials from Builder Media’s advertising partners, ensuring that the innovations we demonstrate are fully verifiable and grounded in the products the industry uses today. This next phase continues our commitment to verified performance, safety and sustainability.”
TerraVerde introduces a refined two-year program structure. The first year will focus on architecture, engineering, systems integration, documentation and media development. The second year will center on construction, third-party verification and performance evaluation, ensuring that design intent is realized in built form.
Architectural leadership returns to John Danielian, AIA, president of Danielian Associates, who previously led ABC Green Home 3.0. Danielian will guide the design of TerraVerde as a modern contemporary agrarian vernacular residence intended to showcase best practices in American luxury homebuilding. “I’m pleased to return and lead the ABC Green Home design team as the program moves into its next chapter,” said Danielian. “TerraVerde allows us to apply everything we’ve learned from past projects to create a home that is resilient, sustainable, and a true showcase of high-performance American home building.”
The TerraVerde team also includes Jillian Cooke, founder and owner of Atlanta-based DES-YN, will serve as interior design team lead. Cooke previously contributed to ABC Green Home 3.0 and 4.0 and returns in her role as president and CEO of Wellness Within Your Walls following her leadership on ABC Green Home 4.0, which was independently scored exemplary for health and wellness performance. Don Neff, president of LJP, Inc., also worked on ABC Green Home 3.0 and 4.0 and will oversee quality assurance and construction verification for TerraVerde. Randy Richards of Reliable Lumber, a participant on all previous ABC Green Homes, contributes structural leadership and Matthew Tippell of Maximilian Development will provide development oversight.
A defining element of the ABC Green Home legacy is its collaboration with Southern California Edison, the energy partner on all previous ABC Green Home projects, which helped establish leadership in net-zero energy performance. Builder Media is engaging energy and technology leaders as planning progresses, with the intention of welcoming a Senior Energy Partner for ABC Green Home 5.0.
Builder Media is actively onboarding product and design partners to participate in TerraVerde. Participants will have their solutions specified, installed, verified and documented within a nationally recognized demonstration platform that reaches builders, designers, policymakers and decision-makers across the residential construction industry.
Coverage of ABC Green Home 5.0, TerraVerde will appear across Builder Media’s platforms, including Green Home Builder, Builder & Developer, digital channels, newsletters, websites and video content. Launch coverage will debut in the Green Home Bytes newsletter and on the ABC Green Home and Builder.Media
More information about ABC Green Home 5.0: TerraVerde and partnership opportunities is available at abcgreenhome.com and builde
