Earth sheltered buildings

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Awesome thread, how did I miss it?!?

I love architecture like this, makes me wish i completed college so I could afford one myself though

A hidden sunhouse???
I remember watching a documentary years ago about underground living. They used some sort of long bendable tubes that reached the surface above. Sunlight would enter the tubes and follow the curvy path until releasing the light in the underground chambers. Gee---I wish I could remember more about that show---but you might research it to see if this is something that could work for your dreamhome.

I used to daydream about living in a house carved out of a British hillside and about transforming some of the concrete jungle that surrounds me into a landscape of single storey houses covered in turf.
I don't know enough about this sort of thing to really enter into a discussion about it, but I'm glad to see I'm not the only person who has thought about this sort of thing!

Btw, I bought a book from a charity shop a while back on Green Architecture. Lots of nice pictures - good for flicking through when bored.

HOLY SHUT, tubes everywhere shining unadulterated, mirrored sunlight. Awesome. Perfect for that modern ruins look I always wanted ever since you mentioned that.

A super quick search led me to this...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Days_(documentary)

Is that it?

misslottie - Thank you for sharing that! I am in the US and I am disappointed that I cannot download. I looked through the site and it is quite fascinating. I don't know of anything like that in the US. Does anyone know if there is one?

Confused-Fish - do you have a favorite style? I would like to hear what you and everyone else think about all the different styles and methods of earth sheltering designs.

glider18 - I have never heard of the tube method. I will definitely be looking into that more and will update if I find anything. Thanks for sharing!

skysaw - You most definitely are not the only one. For me this is something that I think about constantly from the moment I wake up all day and into my dreams. I think that it is a much needed change from the "concrete jungle" - Green architecture is certainly gaining popularity now and I only hope that earth sheltered buildings make a comeback. And please don't hesitate from joining in a discussion! we all have opinions and can learn so much from each other - I would love to hear your thoughts.

typ3 - a house in the middle of a long stretch of field sounds quite appealing and may be possible if you have a good design. for instance, you could have a house that is fully underground with a back "trap door" but you could also have an entrance that is dug below ground with a slope up to the surface or stairs. Some part, a window or door would have to be exposed to the sunlight. but if the back end was covered with earth - than the visable aspect of the house would be at a minimum. Or you could construct sun windows on the roof/ground surface that allows for natural lighting. you would then need some way of keeping things off of it on the surface outside. but there are also the fully underground atrium style houses - those are really cool but not suitable for all locations.

I found something on this---search on the internet for sunlight in a tube. It says scientists are working on this. I hope you find it interesting.

Is this what you are talking about? http://www.world-science.net/othernews/ ... ubefrm.htm

I find this very interesting! From your earlier post I thought you were thinking of the tubular skylights http://www.toolbase.org/Technology-Inve ... -skylights

but this sunlight in a tube concept is so much more interesting. I would really like to see how this works.

I have heard about skylights used in which light is refracted through a tube coated with shiny aluminum and it gives diffused sunlight into the underground area.

Could have a dome insidea fake log, countersunk just a bit so it is out of sight from ground level... Say the stump is ~ 8' up... Could run one of those tubes down into the building which the diffused light would be directed...

Or more secretive is to have a fake pond or wetland area and a part of that extends over a part of the underground building in such away... there is a glass bottom of some sorts at the bottom of the water, could even be a stream diverted and hidden, no shiny parts from a distance and such to notice.... light will be diffused a bit through the water than a means to gert it either by a sunken skylight + refletive tube or directly underenath the bulding itself... as if it isa fishtank in the ceiling that is lit naturally by the sun outside.


A proper air circulation system would take care of the air from becomming too humid thus having a build up of fungus and mold spores...

Can have two air ducts, conected in such a way, such as, each one is ~ 50' in length... the air duct is a 4' to 6' DIA culvert or culvert type of matterial... filled with large and medium stones, 1 1/2" to 12" DIA in size... Need air pockets and such but the length would allow warming and/or cooling of incomming air... One could be at a higher elevation than another...

Grate - culvert - wall of underground place
.........................|--------|
/========== |..........|
.........................|______|=========\

Often when watching that History Channel show Cities of the Underground, I find myself thinking if the existing underground rooms (like the prohibition era ones in Chicago) could be modernized and reused. In most cities, there are vast underground spaces which are usually completely vacant. Once one of these spaces is proven to be structurally sound (or modified to be so), a standard wood-framed building could be built inside the space and used either as a dwelling or as a commercial space.

In Providence RI there is an abandoned railroad tunnel which runs from the center of the city, under the upper-class neighborhoods, to the waterfront on the Seekonk River, where there is a massive abandoned bascule drawbridge welded in the up position. The tunnel is about a quarter mile long and is about 30 feet wide by 20 feet tall. Both ends of this tunnel are currently covered with steel sheeting. The railroad tracks on the city end of the tunnel have been gone since the 80's and since they used to go right through where a large apartment building is now, there's no chance of this tunnel ever being reactivated for railroad use. A somewhat parallel tunnel built for streetcars is currently in use for buses, so the chances of the railroad tunnel being used for buses is pretty low as well.

I was thinking that this tunnel could be used for a type of shopping mall, since it's 20 feet tall, a 2 storey building could be built running the length of the tunnel with enough room for a walkway down the side and a bunch of retail shops. The city currently has an upscale mall, so this could be a nice alternative with smaller specialty shops. Both ends of the tunnel are in prime areas, one end being right in downtown Providence, and the other end being next to some woods that could be used for a parking area. Since the river is no longer used for boat traffic (and other lower drawbridges downstream have already been welded shut), the bascule drawbridge could be lowered, and turned into a walkway with outdoor cart stands providing aditional retail space. At the other end of the bridge is a large piece of land which is currently an industrial superfund site, but it's environmental cleanup is nearing completion, this could be used as a large parking area for the complex.

Dee - this is a fantastic idea! I would love to have a window under water - put fish in the water and it would be perfect! I just worry about leaking, and I don't know how much maintenance it would require.

normally_impaired - do you know much about redeveloping these types of tunnels? I don't and am very curious about whether or not your idea would be possible. It sounds like an excellent idea.

While finishing some research for my term papers I found this website about the Hockerton Housing Project.

http://www.hockertonhousingproject.org.uk/

An entire community living sustainably with an earth sheltered housing complex! Does anyone know more about this project or any other earth sheltered community? Any opinions on earth sheltered communities? I am interested in knowing what everyone thinks since there are many perceptions about these buildings and the lifestyle that comes with it. What is it about them that you find appealing or not appealing?

I just found this thread and haven't had a chance to read it all, but thought I'd introduce myself.

I'm a structural/architectural engineer with a Special Interest in vernacular architecture, including adobe, rammed earth, living roofs, and earth-sheltered. I've been involved in several real projects, designed some fantasy houses, and been involved in initial feasibility studies of a bunch of them that weren't practical.

Anyway, if I can help, let me know, either in this thread or PM.

-duke

Hi Duke666, since you are also interested in earth-sheltered houses, I thought you might want to take a look at a dream home of mine. It is plan #C10 at the bottom of the page. It is also a passive solar house. It is more of an earth-bermed house rather than earth-sheltered.

http://www.architectur-rugs.com/architec/prcoarc.htm

Glider18:

I love the drawings C5-C8, but C-10 looks like a very practical design. Earth sheltered, solarium, central thermal mass, circulating air. Berming has advantages over just digging in, and having zero net cut/fill is a good goal. Efficient construction and reliable waterproofing are what makes a project work. I did some feasibility sketches for a similar house, in Ohio, a long time ago.

A friend of mine worked building Earth Ships:
http://www.earthship.net/

We use a lot of the sun-tubes in regular construction here. Skylights have heat and glare problems. The sun-tubes give a nice, diffuse, natural spectrum light, and can extend through a full story.

duke666 - have you worked much with cylindrical buildings? I was just reading about how the round shape can help lessen heat loss compared to the conventional four-sided structure and I am wondering if the increase in effeciency of a cylindrical building is to a degree of any significance.

That was one of the arguments for geodesic domes also. The problem is that it's a lot easier to make rectilinear structures, so it's difficult to justify the cost of curves. It's also true of structural efficiency - Construction efficiency is what matters. Cost is actually a pretty good indicator of embodied energy.

And geodesic domes have a lot of waterproofing challenges.

Most of the curved projects I've done have been things like converting existing solos and breweries.

The earthships work well for curves, as does adobe, but they are both very labor intensive.

Have you seen the roof of the California Academy of Sciences?

http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/07/28/cal ... reen-roof/