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Interest
in underground houses peaked in the 1970s as the Arab oil
embargo drove energy sky high. Since then, demand has dropped,
with only 100 earth-covered houses being built at any time
nationwide. You can still make a difference by building gently
on the land!
All links below will open in a new window.
Articles
Earth
Shelter ABCs:
Architects, Builders, and Construction Suppliers
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Earthship
Biotecture - a global company offering
proven, totally sustainable designs, construction drawings
& details, products, educational materials, lectures
/ presentations, consultation & guidance toward
getting people in sustainable housing. From single family
to colony / community / city complexes.NEW! |
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Earthlog
Equity Group, L.L.C - Custom home builders,
design, sales & real estate development company,
offering custom designed earth sheltered, earthlog,
log homes and commercial structures.NEW! |
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Malcolm
Wells
- the original underground architect |
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Bill
Dunster
- UK, Zero Emissions Development, award-winning environ-friendly
architect. |
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Javier
Senosiain - mexican architect who uses ferrocement
to sculpt houses |
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GreenArchitecture.com
- Architects specializing in integrated bioclimatic
architecture |
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Architect
in Switzerland
- uses variety of construction techniques |
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Gale
& Snowden Architects - UK, creates ecologically
sustainable buildings and landscapes |
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Home
Sweet Earth Home - builders since 1977 |
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Terra-Dome
Corporation
- modular forming system has conventional vertical walls
with a dome ceiling. |
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Formworks
Building, Inc - design and construction of highly
efficient and self-sufficient structures. |
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Davis
Caves Construction - Builders & developers
of earth-sheltered homes since 1977 |
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Earth
Sheltered Technology, Inc -
builders of earth sheltered architecture |
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Performance
Building Systems
- arch shaped, earth sheltered homes in a kit for the
do-it-yourself homebuilder |
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SunTerra
- energy efficient and earth-bermed homes |
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Radius
Engineering - self-contained underground fiberglass
shelters for
nuclear, biological and chemical warfare (NBC), tornadoes,
terrorism, and natural disasters. |
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Architerra
- aka TheNaturalHome.com |
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AMERDRAIN
- prefabricated sheet drain protects earth sheltered
homes |
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Building
Logics, Inc.
- Eco-Roof/GreenRoof Systems |
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Roofscapes,
Inc. - design and install green roofs, bioretention
systems and wetlands |
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Greenroofs.com
- Exploring the ecology of organic greenroof architecture |
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Greenroofs.ca
- Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, a Toronto-based organization
working to build a green roof industry in North America |
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Porous
Pavers - Invisible Structures - Surfacing and
Stormwater Solutions |
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GEOBLOCK
- Porous Pavement Systems - In use at the White House
and Microsoft Headquarters. |
Examples of
Earth Sheltered Architecture
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Casa
de las Mariposas - "House of Butterflies."
An Anasazi-style, cast concrete home, carved into the
mountainside in Arizona.NEW! |
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Gund-Ream
Sod-Roofed Ranch House - a case-study of
an earth-sheltered home and ranch, six years after it
was built in a formerly swampy landscape. NEW! |
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Earthhomes.co.uk
- freeform earth-sheltered homes, featuring architect
Peter Vetsch (who is also featured in the ABC section
above, as "Architect in Switzerland") |
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Gonzo
- Innovative earth-sheltered straw bale house,
courtesy of solar783.com
- example photo at left taken from Mike Reynolds' design,
after which the house was modeled |
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BIMBLE-GUNYAH
- Jerry Van Walsum's colorful "aboriginal"
earth shelter design from Australia with courtyard,
fountain, and lush surroundings |
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Cumbria
- an earth-sheltered home built in an old, disused quarry
site in the east of Cumbria, UK. Requires no additional
heating. Lots of photos and plans. |
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Home
for Life - Futuristic earth-sheltered design,
with womb-like rooms featuring lots of curvilinear wall/ceilings
that flow into each other. Almost no straight lines
in this plan, creating a light, organic feel. A full
size replica Bedroom Suite is on exhibit at Bishops
Wood Environmental Education Centre in Worcestershire,
UK. |
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ManyTracks
- author Sue Robishaw, an owner of an earth sheltered
home, offers information on homesteading, organic gardening,
seed saving, solar energy, and alternative living |
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Hill
House,
designed by the Jersey Devil Design-Build Group to overcome
the hurricane-force winds that blow through the area |
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Pete
and Sal's Terradome house,
on HGTV |
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Home
built of earth - John and Petra's home in Fairfield,
Iowa. Features solar panels, earth tube air conditioning,
green house, on HGTV |
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Bill
Gates' Home - (not enviro-friendly, but underground
nonetheless - WMM) |
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Our
Cool House
- Phil and Lisa Malone's Earth Sheltered, Passive Solar
home uses a variety of energy conservation techniques
|
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Earthship
- recycles trash and combines with earth to minimize
environmental impact |
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Earthship
Landing
- an Earthship home near Durango, Colorado |
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The
Invisible Dome Home - no sunlight here, tsk,
tsk - WMM |
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Ted's
Underground Home - lots of photos of building
process |
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THE
HODGES RESIDENCE - a superinsulated direct gain
passive solar home in Ames, Iowa |
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Marion
Herd's home in Texas |
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Peace
and Carrots Farm - timber framed home includes
solar greenhouse, and composting toilet. Fun site with
lots of inside view photos of lifestyle. |
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Gund-Ream
Sod-Roofed Ranch House/Log Cabin |
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Mole
Manor
- handicapped-accessible, beautiful design features.
|
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Caer
Llan - earth sheltered, passive solar home of
the British Earth Sheltering
Association library, one of the two lowest energy houses
in Europe winning a Euro-solar prize in 1995 |
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The
Moscone Center - underground business complex
on 22 acres in downtown San Francisco |
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Earth
Sheltered Designs - 5 examples from the book
published by U. of Minn. |
Land
& Energy Conservation
- Rocky
Mountain Institute
- fosters the efficient and restorative use of resources
to create a more secure, prosperous, and life-sustaining
world.
- Earth-House.com
- an information resource for everything related to earth
sheltered or underground homes
- GreenHomeBuilding.com
- wide range of information related to sustainable architecture
and natural building, including photos, examples, and
building codes NEW!
Education
& Training
Related
Issues
If you're interested in earth-sheltered architecture, you
may also want to investigate these other concepts. Select
a link below for Google search engine results, or look for
a book at Amazon:
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Many
thanks to the interesting and enlightening people
and web sites that provided source material for malcolmwells.com. |
Please distribute the content contained in this web site.
When you do, please give full credit to this web site address or
to Malcolm Wells.
Copyright © 2002 Wendy M. Mathias
Almost all images, sketches, and "handwritten" text are
copyright Malcolm Wells.
Questions about this web site? Write the webmaster.
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