The Acqua Liana's marbled oversize garage overlooks the swimming pool above.
(Credit: Frank McKinney )
The artistic foyer features a water floor.
(Credit: Frank McKinney )
Many real estate sellers are facing tough times in today’s economic climate. What to do? One alternative: hope for environmentally conscious green dollars. That’s what luxury real estate developer Frank McKinney did. He is pursuing a green strategy with his latest creation, the elaborate Acqua Liana, set on about 1.6 acres on the Atlantic Ocean in Palm Beach County, Florida.
Acqua Liana (Tahitian and Fijian for “water flower”) features a glass “water floor” with “hand-painted tiles in a Lotus garden motif, brilliantly illuminated below the shimmering surface,” according to McKinney’s Web site. The three-story mansion claims to be the first built and certified according to the rigorous standards defined and mandated by the U.S. Green Building Council, the Florida Green Building Council, and Energy Star for Homes.
While we can’t help but wonder if the words “green” and “mansion” inherently represent a contradiction, the 15,071-square-foot mansion does incorporate plenty of eco features.
Solar panels meet most of the house’s energy needs. Environmentally conscious lighting reduces electricity consumption by 70 percent. If the homeowner wants to know how much electricity is being consumed, the automated feedback system displays energy efficiency in real time.
A water system collects enough runoff water from the entire cedar roof to fill an average swimming pool every 14 days. The water is then used to fill the water garden and irrigate the landscape. Ultra-efficient air conditioning and purification systems ensure air quality that’s supposedly twice as clean as a hospital’s operating room.
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