Brandon Rogers is a native of Orlando who decided to move to Africa to get some hands-on experience building affordable homes after a stint at a design firm in the states. Now, instead of sitting in a cubicle, he spends his time developing affordable housing schemes and putting them into action. He’s studied a variety … Read more
One of the greatest needs in the world is disaster-resistant housing – houses that can hold up against hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, flooding and other natural disasters. If you follow the news like I do then you’ll realize that tragic disasters affecting tens of thousands or millions of people occur almost daily. It’s sad and painful … Read more
The idea presented here is for Haiti and other areas susceptible to earthquakes. It’s a very simple concept, but even small steps like this one can save lives. The main idea involves reinforcing corners of earthbag buildings with plastic mesh or plastic fencing. For background information, see my previous post on Low Cost Reinforcement of … Read more
Sometimes incremental changes are the most effective. People are naturally resistant to major changes, but they’ll more readily grasp and utilize small changes. That’s the thinking behind this confined masonry/earthbag system. Confined masonry is one of the most common building systems in the world, with millions of structures built this way. Confined masonry construction consists … Read more
Polypropylene bags are susceptible to UV damage if left exposed to sunlight for more than a few weeks. High intensity sunlight in deserts and at high altitudes is a particular concern. Builders typically use tarps to protect earthbag walls during construction to minimize UV damage and maintain the strength of the bags. But tarps have … Read more
A new article by Arvid Linde in Green Home Design compares typical earth-sheltered homes with structures made of earthbags. Linde raises a number of interesting points. I agree with his assessment that most earth-sheltered designs contain a lot of high embodied energy materials, notably concrete and steel, and therefore are not as ‘green’ as they … Read more