Alternative Fill Materials for Eternally Solar Earthbags

We’ve been discussing the Eternally Solar earthbag building system at length. Engineering tests show their walls exceed building code requirements even when filled with sand. Their bags are also used to form lintels and bond beams. As exciting and practical as this is, there’s a wide range of other options. Their earthbags can be filled … Read more

Soulless Buildings

Some of the proposed housing solutions in the $300 House competition are utterly soulless and devoid of love. They look like boxes churned out by a factory with little or no thought to cooking, living, sleeping, privacy, windows or other basic necessities. At first I noted their use of energy intensive materials such as steel … Read more

Stanford University Earthbag Project

Kelly Hart and Patti Stouter fielded some questions from Stanford University students. “I am a graduate student in the Construction Engineering & Management program at Stanford University. For one of my courses this quarter, two of my classmates and I are developing a non-profit social venture business plan. We have decided to explore earthbag construction … Read more

Earthbag Designs Lead the Contest

Four of the top seven house designs at ‘The $300 House Open Design Challenge’ are currently earthbag houses. The ranking keeps changing, but that’s where it’s at right now. This is incredible. Of course I’ve known earthbag is growing in popularity, but to see it surge to this level is very exciting. In the screenshot … Read more

$300 Earthbag House Update

My housing designs are now posted for ‘The $300 House Open Design Challenge’. I’ve submitted two proposals so far: $300 Earthbag House – What the World Needs Now, and the Stone Dome – $300 Geopolymer Earthbag Dome. There are lots of new drawings and details included. Please, please take a look, leave comments and rate … Read more