I almost said "earthships" at first so I was wondering if I missed taking it out. They were my gateway drug.
Honestly the biggest problem with earthships is the context they exist in: each one is a single-family house out in the country with a quarter-mile-long driveway for the car(s) that they all inevitably have. You could never have a population density of more than 30 people per hectare like that. It took me extensive searching just to find one multiple-storey earthship.
But you could use recycled materials and (partial) earth berms and passive solar design and greenhouse vestibules to make something cheap for the masses.
I'm not sure that modern building codes would permit this but historically cob has been used to create high density housing, with Yemen being the best example:
7 years ago I toured a 2-story strawbale construction with solar and wind and geothermal, that used to be a doctor's office. I was already on a natural building kick but this cemented* it as lifelong.
I almost said "earthships" at first so I was wondering if I missed taking it out. They were my gateway drug.
Honestly the biggest problem with earthships is the context they exist in: each one is a single-family house out in the country with a quarter-mile-long driveway for the car(s) that they all inevitably have. You could never have a population density of more than 30 people per hectare like that. It took me extensive searching just to find one multiple-storey earthship.
But you could use recycled materials and (partial) earth berms and passive solar design and greenhouse vestibules to make something cheap for the masses.
I'm not sure that modern building codes would permit this but historically cob has been used to create high density housing, with Yemen being the best example:
Cob city
Stomped-Cob City
7 years ago I toured a 2-story strawbale construction with solar and wind and geothermal, that used to be a doctor's office. I was already on a natural building kick but this cemented* it as lifelong.
*lime plaster