Library · 24 records
Records
Every story is built from records. Each record has a grid reference, at least two sources once published, and a feasibility label.
Dwellings
Dwelling · D-01 Malcolm Wells's Cherry Hill office A semi-underground architecture office beside the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, designed by Malcolm Wells for his own practice. Case by case Dwelling · D-03 Dover Sun House A 1948 house in Dover, Massachusetts, heated by sunlight stored in 21 tons of Glauber's salt. It worked for about two and a half winters. Historical Dwelling · D-04 Church of the Holy Cross, Stateburg A Gothic-revival church of 1850–52 with rammed-earth walls about 40 feet tall. A National Historic Landmark since 1973. Historical Dwelling · D-08 Lammas Ecovillage Nine households on about seven acres each near Crymych, Pembrokeshire. The first UK ecovillage to win planning permission, in 2009. Case by case
Methods
Method · M-06 Earth sheltering Building into or under the ground so soil moderates temperature and the land above stays green. Needs careful structure, drainage and insulation. Case by case Method · M-07 Rammed earth (pisé de terre) Damp earth tamped hard in layers inside temporary forms. Walls can stand for centuries if kept dry and protected. Case by case Method · M-08 Cob Hand-built monolithic walls of clay subsoil, sand and straw. Has a model-code appendix in the 2021 IRC that towns can choose to adopt. Code path exists
Materials
Material · T-01 Earth (subsoil) Clay, sand and silt dug from the site or nearby. Strong in compression and heavy, but a poor insulator and weak when wet. Established Material · T-02 Straw The dry stalks left after a grain harvest. Used baled for walls and chopped as fibre in cob and plasters. Established
People
Person · P-01 Malcolm Wells Architect (1926–2009), often called the father of modern earth-sheltered architecture. Built underground offices and homes in New Jersey and on Cape Cod. Person · P-02 Eleanor Raymond Boston architect who designed the Dover Sun House (1948), one of the first houses heated by the sun alone. Person · P-03 Mária Telkes Physicist who designed the Glauber's-salt heat storage for the Dover Sun House, then founded a solar-energy lab at New York University. Person · P-04 Amelia Peabody Boston sculptor and philanthropist who funded the Dover Sun House and owned the land it was built on. Person · P-05 Edward C. Jones Charleston architect who designed the Gothic-revival Church of the Holy Cross in Stateburg, South Carolina, built in rammed earth. Person · P-06 William W. Anderson Physician who settled in Stateburg in 1810, built in pisé de terre at his Borough House, and persuaded his church to build in it too.
How to read the labels
- Established
- Mainstream practice with standard code provisions
- Code path exists
- A model-code appendix covers it, if your jurisdiction adopts it
- Case by case
- Possible with an engineer or an official's approval
- Experimental
- Few documented long-term results
- Historical
- Documented for what it teaches, not as a recommendation
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