Earth Sheltered Homes

Property sat 7 years unsold. She created dream underground villa​

Jun 23, 2024

When Jennava Laska first visited the underground home for sale in Nashville, Tennessee it had been on the market for seven years looked like a “horror movie house” or a long-abandoned cellar. She saw potential in the home’s spoke-and-wheel design to create an underground Mediterranean villa and bought the long-neglected property.

When Gene Tidwell, one of the designers of Nashville’s iconic Batman Building, built the home in 1983, he buried it at the top a hillside to avoid the Tennessee bedrock at the bottom of the driveway and to dig into the much softer slate up top.

The home forms a tunnel through the hill with windows at each end to let in light and with the 2 skylights, the space feel light and airy despite being buried. Laska opened up the home by removing the walls that divided the tunnel section so now you can see straight through the home from one end to another. She wanted this main area to feel like the atrium at the center of a Roman Villa with bedrooms and living room branching off from this main space.

Laska says the space remains naturally cool in summer and warm in winter though she installed a heat pump for the especially hot or cold days and a dehumidifier for the summer. Since radon gas can build up in the shale rock, she installed a radon filter with a fan that continuously filters air from below the home.

https://undergroundvilla.com/undergro...

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The real work was done by the bat building designer.
Cut and cover is the easiest way to create underground structures.

Curious that no one saw what was on offer for all those years.

The current owner just did an expensive makeover.

New Mexico's 'Earthships' offer unique model for living off the grid​

Jun 20, 2024
This summer’s extreme heat and the demand for air conditioning are putting a big strain on the electricity grid in many parts of the nation. But for more than 40 years, a pioneering architect in New Mexico has been building a unique kind of home that can be heated and cooled without using any electricity at all. Special Correspondent Megan Thompson reports.

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Turns forsaken WW2 bunker into perfect Arctic underground cabin​

Sep 29, 2024

After discovering an abandoned World War II bunker while on a hike in northern Norway, Henrik Lande Andersen spent two years transforming this former German WW2 lookout into an overnight refuge open to all.
Over the course of two years, Henrik made the hike from town - the only way to access the site - carrying pieces of salvaged construction material to build a roof, door, windows, beds, table, and kitchen cabinets.
During World War II, northern Norway was a strategic outpost (as a transport route for Swedish iron ore), and the German Army built hundreds of bunkers here. Henrik’s bunker—that he’s dubbed Utsikten, or “The View”—was likely built by Ukrainian prisoners of war. The rocky mountain face was first blasted with dynamite and then filled in with concrete and rock.
Using materials found in the trash, Henrik estimates he spent the equivalent of about $500 to create the shelter (used entirely on roofing materials; he even found expensive tools in the trash). He even enlisted six friends to carry a heavy iron stove up the mountain on planks.
Today anyone who finds the path from town hike up to the site and spend the night. The sign on the door reads “ no key, feel free,” and hundreds of people have slept in the space since Henrik finished it.
The place isn’t sanctioned by a local government, but in Norway, there’s a right to roam - Allemannsrett - that allows anyone to camp anywhere, as long as it's not encroaching on someone's home or privacy and doesn’t cause any damage.
Henrik was 18 when he moved up here from Oslo attracted by the rugged nature. He made a film about his two-year experience building, and at times living in, this historic refuge. “What I wanted with the project was to turn the place on its head, what it was historically. It was about war and abuse of power and I wanted to turn it to the opposite, like a sanctuary, a place where everyone is welcome and to transform the history to something new.”

Turns forsaken WW2 bunker into perfect Arctic underground cabin​

Henrik's film: • Utsikten | The View

Army Ranger Builds Off Grid Bunker Homestead​

Jul 31, 2024 #SustainableLiving #Goats #Homesteading

Join us as Joshua Morris gives us an exclusive tour of his ultimate homestead! Josh and his family have been perfecting their homesteading skills in Missouri for over 20 years, creating a self-sufficient paradise. From grass-fed beef to goats, their homestead is a true testament to sustainable living.

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/ @homesteadranger
https://homesteadranger.com/

Check Out Josh's Book: Thrive in the Coming Dark Age: How to Build the Ultimate Survival HomesteadDiscover all the details and secrets of Josh's homestead in his comprehensive guide. Get your copy here: https://amzn.to/3WFJskp

A helluva a long time ago, I member reading about a community where everybody lived in a basement home. The economy had collapsed so everybody roofed over the already started basements and got on with life.