Housing Background

Down through history the type and relative permanence of housing has depended on the communities source of livelihood. Thus hunter gatherers and herders tended to live in temporary shelters such as tents, though there are exceptions. Agrarian economies had more permanent shelter. Much of the world has used increasingly scarce timber resources to build, heat and cook in relatively impermanent housing. Even if we establish programs to encourage the planting of trees I doubt we could continue this cycle into the future. Thus the McMansion is the epitome of unsustainability as is the thatch hut with the fire pit.
We have used caves and cliffs. We have used mud bricks, backed bricks and stone blocks. Some have provided winter heat and others summer cooling. We can build sustainable housing.

The basic criteria:
• Use available renewable or natural materials.
• Use recycled materials.
• Use solar design to provide natural heating and cooling.
• Design for at least a 500 year building life.
• Use appropriate technology to provide energy for cooking and refrigeration.
• Design for local food production.

Earthship

I trained to build Earthships in the early 1980's. The process recycles tires, cans and bottles, with earth a bit of concrete for energy efficient walls. The mass stores solar energy. It has a beam roof with cost effective insulation and sheeting. The roof is designed to catch water to store in a cistern for domestic use. The design includes grey water recycling to the greenhouse, composting toilet, and solar electric. It is a well integrated, well thought out system that minimizes costs. The design has been accepted by building authorities in some areas.
The design will only be approved by building authorities for areas without expansive soils. The home is bermed and has a quite unconventional look. This is a labor intensive process though I think a contractor with several to build could significantly reduce the labor required. See:

Adobe

I managed the construction of an adobe block house in the Colorado mountains. It was labor intensive, used a lot of non-local materials but resulted in a conventioal appearing home with excellent solar performance. See:

Straw Bale

I have never worked on a straw bale home but find the concept in its many forms very attractive. See:

Inert Fill

This is a concept that has been rolling around in my head for years. A revolution in the housing industry. See:Inert Fill
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