Earth sheltered buildings

Post Reply New Topic

I have seen pictures of the California Academy of Sciences and I have read about it as well, but I have never visited. If I lived closer I'm sure I would be there everyday, even if just staring at it from across the street. Have you visited? Living roofs are popping up everywhere now. This article was in the paper yesterday.
http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-re ... 002e0.html

Been thinking about designing my own house as well, I would love to have a place that is at least partially underground, but finding the right land for the right price may be a challenge. I had a concept similar to the bow of a ship coming out of the hillside, which would give a natural platform overlooking the lower ground, with a glassed in conservatory behind it aslo taking advantage of the view and other rooms set back into the hillside. My problem is I dislike the feel of being in a space where the walls are made of concrete or brick. I would sooner use wood or sandstone or something that has feels more natural and doesn't sweat and feel humid like concrete does. Guess I am just not a cave dweller.

I do still want to design a home though. I started playing around with archicad, as much to give myself something to do while I am not working, but also to try and flesh out the concept I have had kicking around in my head. Anyway, tell me what y'all think.


first attempt in google sketchup, just to get the idea of the poles and floor layout.


nearly finished render in archicad, looking from the front.


looking from the back with the laundry/bathroom added on.


interior looking down, showing mezzanine and kitchen area.


more interior.

This is not a small building, it is 8m high and about 8m wide, and would be quite enough for one or 2 people, built on acreage or in a forest, and made almost entirely of wood. The only things I would change would probably be the use of stained glass windows. I would like a darker almost cathedral like interior with lots of wood yielding a warm and comforting character. So not a cave, more of a cavern, but made of wood.

john

This is certainly an interesting design. I am however unsure of how you were thinking about making it partially underground. Could you elaborate on the details please?

WaterWater: The living roof systems have gotten a lot better, but the 70 year life is a stretch. That may be the life of the actual waterproof membrane under ideal conditions, since it is completely protected from UV light. But living roofs usually need to be stripped off and re-built every 10-15 years, and that gets expensive. But maybe the ones we're installing now will last 20-30 years, which makes the cost OK. It depends on climate a lot also. We have a long dry season here, but at least we have fog in the City. In the suburbs it's desert. Things die.

fullfathomfive: Cool design, and pretty practical. The circular stairway around a fairly large center pole makes a much better stairway than a tighter spiral staircase. Why so tall, since half of it is lofted? 3M stories (6M total) would be a lot easier to build. 2.5M ceiling heights would be typical. I'm also curious about how the subterranean feature fits in, but maybe that's a different design.

Sorry, my idea was probably a bit out of context in terms of a discussion of earth sheltered buildings. This is my first attempt at designing something and I was probably getting a bit excited. I suppose one could take a circular structure and build it in the side of a hill, use a concrete water tank as your basic form and go from there, add a tunnel, add a turret, it's all up to the creativity and budget of ther person building it.

I guess I was just thinking more of the bigger question of what do we need in a building. What sort of building do we design that fits our unique needs? What sort of structure do we build in the context of the environment we place the structure in. Materials? Environmental concerns? I think the earthship has a lot of advantages and a very low environmental footprint when done right. Would I live in one, not sure (have to give one a try). I think architechture is like art in that in produces a different response in each person.


john

I live just outside Melbourne Australia in a house surrounded by dense forest.

My house has two foot thick rammed earth walls. Two stories and six bedrooms with an iron roof.

I have rainwater tanks and a petrol driven sprinkler system that can envelop the entire house in a spray of water for several hours.

I might need it because they say that this summer will be the worst fire season in history.

duk666 - do living roofs have to be replaced every 20-30 years because of the plants or the material beneath the plants?

fullfathomfive - glad to see someone else thinks this way. Earth shelters are definitely not for everywhere or everyone, but they are certainly something to be considered in suitable areas.

Wombat - excellent! would you be able/willing to provide photos? you don't have to, I am just curious. How is your house heated? and why locate it in dense forest? did you create it or was it an existing structure you moved in to? is it below grade at all?