Triple Dome Survival Shelter

How to Build Dirt Cheap Houses The following list summarizes some of the potential savings from using natural building materials and alternative construction methods. If you’re wondering why they’re not more widely used, it’s because contractors, banks, realtors and others in the housing industry make more profit from the current system. It’s up to you to get informed and switch to a sustainable lifestyle. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Earth-Sheltered Eco Hotel in Alps from Matteo Thun A radical new earth-sheltered design for the Bella Vista Trafoi hotel in the Italian Alps earns Italian architect Matteo Thun, one of the founders of the Memphis Group the Klimahotel designation, meaning “eco-responsible tourism”. Outwardly; these are just eleven lumps in the side of a mountain, but they provide guests with great views out and a warm and cozy stay within. There are many ecological advantages to earth sheltered designs like these. With no “outside” you get freedom from weather damage of the exterior, while in turn maintaining local habitat for the plants and animals in the region. Only the huge glass frontages remain as a sign of human habitations. Energy reduction is the main advantage to underground building. Source: Treehugger

Tiny Earthbag Homes = Low Cost To Build And Own Earthbag homes can take on many different sizes and shapes such as straight walls or curved. The roof can also be made of earthbag but only for smaller structures. Green roofs and timber roofs are also often used. Here is an in-depth step by step on how to build yourself an earthbag home. It’s possible that an earthbag home could be used for folks interested in living small. Once you own land in a no codes / no restrictions area, you have some flexibility to do such a neat build. Subterranean Living Down a dirt road and between thickets of trees, Paul Queen lives inside a grassy, man-made hill. Deer try to stroll across his rooftop. Gopher tortoises attempt to tunnel into the walls. But inside, Queen can barely hear the rain — or deer hoofsteps. His home is earth-sheltered, meaning it's not exactly underground but is surrounded and insulated by a massive mound of soil. National builders of the obscure style, which first grew out of hillsides and rural grasslands during the energy crisis decades ago, say that amid concerns about power bills and natural disasters, more people are burrowing into the earth, reports the Orlando Sentinel. Stephanie Thomas-Rees, a research architect with the Florida Solar Energy Center, said the state's sandy soil and high water table make managing moisture difficult in an earth-sheltered home. Now Take A Look At This One In Australia:

Earth house | Natural Building Hobbit House Pictures | The Hobbit Set Photos | Hobbit House Building The quintessential dream house I really enjoyed stumbling upon this tumblr page dedicated to a boatload full of pictures from The Hobbit movie, specifically of hobbit houses from the Shire set. The close-up captures are great — all the little construction details are really quite stunning. Read ahead for more pictures! Photo source: hobbithouses.tumblr.com Tagged as: hobbit house, Photos

La Casa Vergara This residence was designed by José Andrés Vallejo and built in Bogotá, Colombia in just 5 months, early in 2011. Architecture in Balance is a design platform that specializes in sustainable architectural solutions. Architecture in Balance implements alternative technologies, construction of low environmental impact, integrating contemporary design to create innovative projects and balanced environments. The design of La Casa Vergara explores the potential of seismic resistance with superadobe as the construction technology and contemprary design. The superadobe uses three elements: earth/concrete, tubular bags and barbed wire.

Watch As This Piece Of Land Becomes The Most Efficient Of Homes.... Underground Build-It-Solar Blog: Earthbag Construction I added a new (small) section on Earthbag home construction here... This was prompted by seeing a TV program on the home of Kelly and Rosanna Hart in Colorado. Its an earthbag house that they constructed themselves over a three year period. The house is beautifully done with with each room hand crafted for its purpose. The home uses a lightweight volcanic rock for the bag fill in order to increase the insulation value. The outer covering of the house (over the earthbags) is papercrete. Total cost of the house was $49,900 including land and a solar electric system! The EarthbagBuilding.com and the Earthbag Building book that are listed are both quite good -- lots of hands on material. The TV program mentioned above is Offbeat America, season 3, episode 1 on The Travel Channel -- it has a nice 10 minute tour of the house. Gary