Ellen Snortland and her husband have now lost a home to fire, another to flooding and another to a mudslide — and they’re tired of fighting the elements. “We are going to have to deal with extreme weather for the rest of our lives. To pretend otherwise is really folly,” she said. “I don’t see anybody doing anything radical. So what I can do is make my home radical.”
They are considering Superadobe, a form of architecture that uses long sandbags, barbed wire and earth, which can withstand fire, flooding, earthquakes and even hurricanes.
So far this year, over 24,000 fires have burned through more than a million acres across the U.S., significantly above the 10-year average.
During the Eaton fire, Ellen watched her home burn on TV. Now she’s ready to rebuild — literally using the dirt on her property. That’s why she came to an open house by CalEarth, a nonprofit founded by Nader Khalili, who developed Superadobe based on traditional adobe architecture from his home in Iran.
During the open house, they showcase the dome-shaped rooms, which are harder to shake, burn or wash away. “The arch shape is the strongest shape in nature,” said a CalEarth spokesperson. “Instead of working against nature, it’s trying to beat nature at its own game.”
The long coils of sandbags provide compression strength and the barbed wire adds tensile strength. To make them permanent you’ll need to plaster over the sandbag structure to protect it from erosion.
The concept of earthen homes has been around for thousands of years. Indigenous communities in the Southwest have used adobe for centuries, keeping their homes cool in summer and warm in winter.
In the aftermath of the L.A. wildfires, advocates for natural building techniques argue that materials like adobe and cob (which use sand, clay and straw) not only offer fire-resistance, but are also more environmentally friendly — reducing toxic hazards associated with more modern building materials. This shift reflects a growing awareness of the need for resilient and environmentally friendly construction practices in fire-prone regions.
You can read the original article at moneywise.com
Your “fighting the elements”, began when you, as with all of humanity transgressed against natural law. Nature isn’t playing a game. That’s Humanity’s limited perception of itself.Trying to “beat nature at its own game” is going against nature (natural law), unwittingly. Sounds like a self fulfilling prophecy. If it was a game humans would not “win”. Stop pretending, humans.
Do you think peoples will continue to live in primitive era?
Why don’t you try to promote houses with light weight concrete blocks?
Earthen architecture has a long history, but this does not mean that it is primitive; it is highly relevant and appropriate for sustainable shelter. Concrete, even lightweight concrete, is a polluting technology.