eco architecture

Plan-it Earth Roundhouse Holidays

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Strawbale Roundhouse -- the reciprocal frame roof and roof light express beauty and clever design
Strawbale Roundhouse — the reciprocal frame roof and roof light express beauty and clever design

It’s grueling hard work surfing the Internet for beautiful natural homes, but someone’s got to do it! Today’s website features two stunning roundhouses that can be rented out for vacations.

“Staying in our Roundhouses in Cornwall is a truly magical experience. It offers the perfect combination: back-to-nature living, without compromising on all the luxuries you would dream of for a perfect Green Holiday. Roomy, with comfortable beds, cosy wood burners and beautiful lanterns, this is luxurious Eco Living! This year we have two Roundhouses, situated in the orchard and large vegetable garden. The Roundhouses provide a unique family holiday or honeymoon destination.

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Open-air Bathrooms

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Open-air bathroom in luxury villa. You can actually do some star gazing from the sunken tub.
Open-air bathroom in luxury villa. You can actually do some star gazing from the sunken tub.

Is your bathroom small, dark and smelly, and a place where you spend as little time as possible? Consider surrounding yourself in nature with an open-air or partially open-air bathroom. They’re ideal in tropical climates, because odors and moisture are rapidly vented away. Open-air bathrooms are often used in luxury resorts and eco resorts so patrons can be close to nature. Using natural materials such as stone, pebbles, coral, pottery, wood and plants creates a unique environment with inviting ambience. Scented flowers are a wonderful touch. You can build extremely beautiful bathrooms like the ones shown here at very low cost by using locally available natural materials and doing the work yourself.

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Open-air 33’ (10m) 2-story Roundhouse

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Open-air 33’ (10m) 2-story Roundhouse
Open-air 33’ (10m) 2-story Roundhouse

I’m now offering open air earthbag roundhouse designs with large arched doorways. This particular design was done for a client in a tropical climate where maximum ventilation is needed. Note: you could add doors, windows, covering over the stairs, etc. by ordering a custom plan.

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Mechanized Rapidobe

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In addition to helping build your home, tractors also have lots of other uses around a homestead.
In addition to helping build your home, tractors also have lots of other uses around a homestead.

Abe from Vela Creations and I have been exchanging ideas about his new Rapidobe building system. The biggest strong point for rapidobe is its speed and ease of construction. You could speed the process along even more with a Bobcat or tractor to dump soil into the wall cavity, and then have several workers for tamping. Abe tamps the soil while standing inside the wall.

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German Association for Building with Earth

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Children‘s Nursery Oranienburg-Eden, the single largest earth dome structure in Germany, by Prof. Dr. Gernot Minke. The entire building is ecologically planned with timber and earth as the primary building materials.
Children‘s Nursery Oranienburg-Eden, the single largest earth dome
structure in Germany, by Prof. Dr. Gernot Minke. The entire building is ecologically planned with timber and earth as the primary building materials.

“In a time in which environmental responsibility is becoming increasingly important, conservation of resources and environmentally sound construction methods are gaining in significance.

Today there is a demand for building materials which require little energy for their production, which are always recyclable and hygienically safe, and which also offer scope for creative design – modern building materials such as earth.

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