Mankind has been building with earthen materials for ages. Think adobe, brick, turf, and rock. Earth houses take a number of forms--above ground, below ground, embedded in an embankment, and so on. Building materials range from bagged dirt to old tires, concrete to fiberglass composites.
To get an idea of the organic beauty that can be achieved in building underground, take a look at the article "Beautiful Swiss House is Buried Under the Earth," published by Inhabitat.
The house pictured above is part of a complex designed by Vetsch Architektur. More about the complex and more images can be found in "Unconventional Earth Homes in Switzerland." Construction details can be found at Greenroofs.
If you prefer to build above ground, here's information about a Superadobe earth home. Cal-Earth (California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture) describes the building process in detail. It is reported to be low-cost. Below is the interior of a home built with Superadobe.
Terminology for underground homes includes earth-sheltered, earth-bermed, earth-covered, earth-bunded, and subterranean. Prefabricated components for an earth-sheltered house are available, such as the ones manufactured by Colfibrex.
Dragonfly Hill is a blog that chronicles building an earth-sheltered home. Below Michael G. Smith describes his craft--building above ground with earth and straw.
Since there are no step-by-step project instructions (that I can find) available for underground homes, just notes on what you should keep in mind, I urge you to look at my earth homes playlist.
-- Marge
To get an idea of the organic beauty that can be achieved in building underground, take a look at the article "Beautiful Swiss House is Buried Under the Earth," published by Inhabitat.
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| Underground home, Vals, Switzerland, Inhabitat |
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The house pictured above is part of a complex designed by Vetsch Architektur. More about the complex and more images can be found in "Unconventional Earth Homes in Switzerland." Construction details can be found at Greenroofs.
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| Unconventional earth homes in Switzerland, inthralld |
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If you prefer to build above ground, here's information about a Superadobe earth home. Cal-Earth (California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture) describes the building process in detail. It is reported to be low-cost. Below is the interior of a home built with Superadobe.
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| Superadobe earth home interior, Busyboo |
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Terminology for underground homes includes earth-sheltered, earth-bermed, earth-covered, earth-bunded, and subterranean. Prefabricated components for an earth-sheltered house are available, such as the ones manufactured by Colfibrex.
Dragonfly Hill is a blog that chronicles building an earth-sheltered home. Below Michael G. Smith describes his craft--building above ground with earth and straw.
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Since there are no step-by-step project instructions (that I can find) available for underground homes, just notes on what you should keep in mind, I urge you to look at my earth homes playlist.
-- Marge
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