The Hockerton Housing Project is the UK’s first (and almost only) selfbuild earth sheltered housing development. It is a remarkable place, not only because of the five houses which are built into the side of a hill and are almost zero energy but also because of the water collection off the land behind the houses, the treatment of sewage through a wetlands system, the wind generators, and their local transport systems. They do excellent tours around the place and are extending their skills into a wider community.
There are two possible criticisms of this kind of earth sheltered housing:
- the large amount of concrete needed to form the main underground structure
- the limited amount of natural daylight available on the side of the building covered by earth
My wife and I are looking to build and Earth Sheltered Low energy/zero energy house. We have found a potential 5 acre site in Buckinghamshire. We are told that there would be a good chance of building 1 house on this site but not several. We were thinking in terms of an orchard and possibly a small-holding to make full use of the land. We would like to build a home with about 3000ft2 of accommodation. Do you have any idea approximate cost of building such a house on a self-build basis?
very inspiring! I hope to replicate something like this one day, but perhaps using old car tyres rammed with earth will reduce the need (and expense) for concrete. http://www.lowcarbon.co.uk/earthship-brighton/earthships