Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Earth Berm (Hobbit) House

This post was written by contributing writer Noel. Visit his home on the web at http://lekayrnthon.wordpress.com

Simon Dale believes in the concept of living in tandem with nature and the environment at large. So much so in fact, that he, his wife and a few mates that he recruited for heavy lifting from time to time, went ahead and built what is being called the Hobbit House; their unique version of an Earth Berm house.

'The house was built with maximum regard for the environment and by reciprocation gives us a unique opportunity to live close to nature. Being your own (have a go) architect is a lot of fun and allows you to create and enjoy something which is part of yourself and the land rather than, at worst, a mass produced box designed for maximum profit and convenience of the construction industry. Building from natural materials does away with producers profits and the cocktail of carcinogenic poisons that fill most modern buildings.' (from the site)

The tools used were a chainsaw, a hammer and a one inch chisel, as well as good old muscle and human ingenuity. He claims to have little experience with building in general, holding out that anyone can construct this kind of structure. 

Examples of the features of the house are:
 - Solar panels for all their energy needs
 - An air cooled fridge
 - Fixtures and fittings from reclaimed materials
 - Running water from a nearby spring and powered by gravity. 
 - Straw filled walls, covered in lime plaster for ease of building and insulation
 - All the comforts of modern living as well as being close to nature
Below are pictures of Simon and his wife and his two children, as well as a video of him explaining his reasons for choosing to live in this manner. 


 

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