Earth sheltering is the architectural practice of using earth against building walls for external thermal mass, to reduce heat loss, and to easily maintain a steady indoor air temperature. Earth sheltering is popular in modern times among advocates of passive solar and sustainable architecture, but has been around for nearly as long as humans have been constructing their own shelter.
The expression ‘earth-sheltering’ is a generic term, with the general meaning: building design in which soil plays an integral part. More specifically, a building can be described as earth-sheltered if its external envelope is in contact with a thermally significant volume of soil or substrate (where ‘thermally significant’ means making a functional contribution to the thermal effectiveness of the building in question).
In the US in the 1970s, during the energy crisis, and along with the back-to-the-land movement, there was a surge of interest in earth shelter/underground home construction in an effort toward self-sufficient living. However, earth shelter construction is often viewed by architects, engineers, and the public alike as an unconventional method of building.
There are three main types of earth-sheltered buildings: bermed, in-hill, and underground. In earth berming, soil is piled up against exterior walls and packed, sloping down away from the house. The roof may or may not be fully earth covered, and windows/openings may occur on one or more sides of the shelter. Due to the building being above ground, fewer moisture problems are associated with earth berming in comparison to underground/fully recessed construction. In-hill construction sets a house into a slope or hillside. The most practical application is using a hill facing towards the equator (for maximum solar radiation). There is only one exposed wall in this type of earth sheltering, the wall facing out of the hill, all other walls are embedded within the earth/hill. For underground/fully recessed construction, the ground is excavated, and the house is set in below grade. It can also be referred to as an ‘Atrium style’ due to the common atrium/courtyard constructed in the middle of the shelter to provide adequate light and ventilation.
The benefits of earth sheltering are numerous. The Earth’s mass absorbs and retains heat. Over time, this heat is released to surrounding areas, such as an earth shelter. Because of the high density of the earth, change in the earth’s temperature occurs slowly. This is known as ‘thermal lag.’ Because of this principle, the earth provides a fairly constant temperature for the underground shelters, even when the outdoor temperature undergoes great fluctuation. In most of the United States, the average temperature of the earth once below the frost line is between 55 and 57 degrees Fahrenheit (13 to 14 degrees Celsius). Frost line depths vary from region to region. In the USA frost lines can range from just under the surface to more than 40 inches. Thus, at the base of a deep earth berm, the house is heated against an exterior temperature gradient of perhaps ten to fifteen degrees, instead of against a steeper temperature grade where air is on the outside of the wall instead of earth. During the summer, the temperature gradient helps to cool the house.
The reduction of air infiltration within an earth shelter can also be highly efficient. Because three walls of the structure are mainly surrounded by earth, very little surface area is exposed to the outside air. This alleviates the problem of warm air escaping the house through gaps around windows and doors. Furthermore, the earth walls protect against cold winter winds which might otherwise penetrate these gaps. However, this can also become a potential indoor air quality problem. Healthy air circulation is key. Earth shelters also provide privacy from neighbors as well as soundproofing. The ground provides acoustic insulation against outside noise. This can be a major benefit in urban areas or near highways. In urban areas, another benefit of underground sheltering is the efficient use of land. Many houses can sit below grade without spoiling the habitat above ground. Each site can contain both a house and a lawn/garden.
Historically, earth berming was a common building practice that combined heavy timber framing and rough stone work with stacking thick layers of sod or peat against the walls and on the roof. This served as excellent protection from the elements. In a relatively short period of time the earth layers grow together leaving the structure with an appearance of a hill with a door. In these early structures, the heavy timber framing acted as structural support and added comfort and warmth to the interior. Rough stone was often stacked along the outer walls with a simple lime mortar for structural support and often serves as an exterior facing wall and foundation. There is a greater use of stone work in earth shelter structures in areas where timber is scarce. These are the most sustainable of the earth shelters as far as materials go because they are able to decompose and return to earth. As a result, there are few remaining examples like Hvalsey Church in Greenland where only the stacked stones remain.
One of the oldest examples of berming, dating back some 5,000 years, can be found at Skara Brae in the Orkney Islands off northern Scotland. Today’s bermed earth structures are built quite differently from those of the past. Common construction employs large amounts of steel reinforced concrete acting as structural support and building shell. Bulldozers or bobcats are used to pile earth around the building and on the roof instead of stacking earth in place. One modern example of bermed earth structures is the Hockerton Housing Project, a community of 5 homes in Nottinghamshire, England.
One historical example of in-hill earth shelters would be Mesa Verde, in the southwest United States. These building are constructed directly onto the ledges and caves on the face of the cliffs. The front wall is built up with local stone and earth to enclose the structure. Similarly today, in-hill earth shelter construction utilizes the natural formation of a hillside for two to three of the exterior walls and sometimes the roof of a structure. Alternative builders craft a type of in-hill structure known as an Earthship. In Earthship construction, tires rammed with earth are used as structural materials for three of the walls and generally have a front façade of windows to capture passive solar energy.
A well-known example of an earth-sheltered home is the residence of Bill Gates, who had it built over a period of several years on a heavily wooded site on the shore of Lake Washington. It is an excellent example of the lack of obtrusiveness of this kind of home, since it appears much smaller than it actually is, when seen from the lake. Though underground construction is relatively uncommon in the US, successful examples can be found in Australia where the ground is so hard that there is little to no need for structural supports and a pick ax and shovel are the tools of the builder/remodeler. In the early 1970s, China undertook the construction of Dixia Cheng, a city underneath Beijing. It was primarily a complex of bomb shelters that could house 40% of the population at that time. It was a response to the fear of Soviet attack. Parts of it are now used in more commercial ventures.
The Daily Omnivore 
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