Energy-saving and environmentally friendly house (continued)

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5. Land (Earth house)

Today's houses are made of glass and steel, but they can be made entirely of ancient materials. Ancient construction techniques are something that architects and engineers are interested in.

If you imagine a miraculous construction material, it will be super cheap or even free, it is everywhere in the world, it is strong enough to build houses that are safe for them. We are under all weather conditions and not too expensive to keep warm and cool. This material is so easy to work that workers need only learn the necessary construction skills in a few hours.

These marvelous materials are not only as cheap as earth but also worth the attention of architects, engineers and designers. China's great Great Wall of Great Wall will show us the durability of this material. Not only that, our concern with environmental and energy saving issues has made the ancient material become the current construction solution.

So what do these houses look like, it might be like 400-year-old houses in the town of Taos or maybe there are surprising new designs.

A house can be made in many different ways, from live bricks (Adobe) Rammed earth, straw (Cob) or from Straw Bale bundles.

* Adobe and Pueblo style houses (houses built from unburnt bricks)

Adobe house houses.

Unburnt bricks (live bricks) are commonly used in Southwestern America and in Spanish-speaking countries. Although the word Adobe is often used to describe an architectural style, it is actually from a building material.

Live bricks are a solid block made of soil, clay and straw. However, the construction method and structure of live bricks varies, depending on the climate and local customs. Sometimes asphalt is added to the material to help with water resistance. Sometimes a mixture of cement made of limestone, clay (Portland cement) and lime is added but the material will be more expensive. Some places in Latin America, fermented cactus juice is used to waterproof.

Since ancient times, American Pueblo Indians have built large Adobe houses for many families that Spaniards often call Pueblos. Around the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the Spaniards did this type of house, but they changed a little style. They dried bricks living under the sun to form building blocks. Then brick into rows and cover the bricks with a layer of protective mud.

The Pueblo style house is characterized by strong heavy walls, rounded edges made of live bricks. The floor is made of brick, wood or slate. The house has a height according to steps, a flat roof structure and this roof section is supported by wooden bars that are captured through the wall. The look of the house blends in with the circular railing protruding from the walls and the dark, simple windows. The main door of the house is open and the house also has niches carved into the wall to display religious symbols.

This type of house became popular from the early 1900s, mainly in California and Southwestern America. During the 20s, aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss and colleague James Bright introduced the Pueblo architecture version to Florida, now Miami Springs. Here, Curtiss and Bright have built houses with solid solid walls made of wood or concrete blocks.

Modern Pueblo houses today are usually made of concrete or other materials such as live bricks, mortar, lakes or plaster.

* Rammed Earth (house from block compressed earth)

House of Rammed Earth style.

Rammed Earth's structure is similar to Adobe's, both using soil mixed with waterproof materials. However, despite the waterproofing additive, Adobe requires a dry climate to make it hard enough to build walls. In humid regions of the world, construction contractors have developed Rammed earth architecture with soil and cement building blocks.


Rammed earth projects are not only environmentally friendly but also fire resistant and termite resistant. Some modern designers think that thick earth walls create a sense of solidity and safety.

In many parts of the world, the concepts of Pisé, Jacal, and Barjareque are also used to describe a structure similar to rammed earth.

* Cob house (house from mud and straw)

Cob house style house.

In ancient English, cob means root indicating rounded blocks. Cob house is made from clay-like soil, sand and straw. Unlike Adobe house and the Straw Bale structure, Cob house does not use bricks or other blocks of materials, instead of polished or undulating walls. Cob house can have sloping walls, arches and many alcoves.

Cob house is one of the most durable housing structures because the mud mixture is honeycomb and porous so it can withstand the prolonged rainy period without being weakened. Gypsum made from lime and sand can be used as an external wind wall.

Cob house is especially suitable for desert or extremely cold weather areas.

* Straw Bale (home from stacked straw bundles)

The house is assembled from straw.

On the African meadows, houses made of straw appeared from the Stone Age. The straw works became popular in Central West America when colonists discovered that there was no strong wind to blow up straw and grass was arranged in thick layers.

The team of architects and engineers is currently studying new possibilities for building with stacked straw bundles. Today the pioneers in construction and living in those houses say that building with straw instead of ordinary materials reduces construction costs by more than half.

The Straw Bale House book by Athena Swentzell Steen is a unique document that basically guides how to build houses with straw.

No one can argue about the environmental benefits of using mud and straw. But this ecological construction movement receives criticism. In an interview with The Independent at the Center for Alternative Technology (Wales), Patrick Hannay - of Welsh University School of Architecture - criticized the straw construction works that they had no beauty at all. .

But anyway, you are the judge. Is the ' responsible ' architecture beautiful? Houses with materials from soil and straw are sufficiently attractive and comfortable? And do you like to live in such a place?

6. Glenn Marcutt's natural imitate nature (Imitate Nature)

Energy-efficient homes are designed to take advantage of the surrounding environment and adapt to the climate. Made from simple materials that can be found on the spot, these houses blend into the surrounding landscape. Ventilation systems open like petals and leaves, minimizing the need for air conditioners.

Australian architect Glenn Murcutt, who is also the winner of the Pritzker architecture award throughout Australia, is famous for its eco-friendly nature simulation designs. Even if you live far away from Australia, you can still apply but Glenn Murcutt's idea for his own plans to build a house. Here are a few tips for Glenn Murcutt for building an Imitate Nature home.

* Use simple materials

Forget the gloss of marble slabs, precious woods imported from tropical forests, tin alloys and precious copper. Glenn Murcutt style house is unobtrusive, comfortable and economical. He uses cheap materials available in his Australian homeland. Notably, the Maria Short House with corrugated iron, glazed windows of glazed iron and a lumber wall from a large sawmill nearby.

* Touch the ground very lightly!

Glenn Murcutt likes to quote the proverb of Australian Aboriginal people to touch the ground gently because it emphasizes his concern for nature. Building in the Murcutt way means using special measures to protect the surrounding landscape. Nestled in the arid Australian forest, Marcutt's Ball-Eastaway house is suspended on the ground thanks to steel stilts. Because there is no need to dig deep foundation, dry soil and surrounding trees are protected.

* Follow the sun

Awarded for energy efficiency, Glenn Murcutt's homes take advantage of natural light. They are characterized by corridors, roof windows, adjustable louvers and removable partitions. Remarkably, Marcutt's houses were long and windows that could be extended to the fields, oceans or windy areas. The house is designed to catch the sun.

* Listen to the wind

Even in the heat of the tropical climate of the Northern Territory, Australia, the houses designed by Glenn Murcutt do not need air conditioning. The ventilation system deftly ensures cool winds will flow through every room. At the same time, newly insulated homes are protected against strong winds.

Murcutt's Marika house - Alderton is often compared to a tree because the walls are open and closed like petals and leaves.