Moseley Architects’ reserved parking spaces aren’t for mothers with young children. They’re for people who drive fuel-efficient cars. The Richmond firm is all about energy efficiency. It used green building techniques to renovate a contaminated garage as long as a football field into its headquarters. The soot was so thick in the barrel-vaulted structure that wood ceilings, 28 feet high at the apex, had to be blasted, but not with sand. Sand would have damaged the wood, so peanut and walnut shells were used.

In her job, Allison Dunaway makes sure people follow state environmental laws. That entered into her thoughts when it came time to build her dream house. “I wanted to put my money where my mouth was,“ said Dunaway, 30. She and husband Greg, 32, are building an unusual, environmentally friendly house on 2 acres in Powhatan County.

When: Today and tomorrow
  What time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  Where: 3072 Judes Ferry Road in Powhatan County, off state Route 711.

Anational green-building program is being revised to put more emphasis on using energy wisely and fighting climate change. The changes are being made in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, or LEED.