Reader comment: “I love your designs! I do have a question:
We live in Tucson. Metropolitan area (but not TOO metropolitan) hot most days, hot most nights because the buildings and concrete absorb the heat and release it. It can get cold in the winter (though not much below freezing), but the main issue is the heat. What if we took one of these earthbag designs and just buried it?
“A windcatcher is a traditional Persian architectural element to create natural ventilation in buildings. Windcatchers come in various designs: uni-directional, bi-directional, and multi-directional. Windcatchers remain present in many countries and can be found in traditional Persian-influenced architecture throughout the Middle East, including in the small Arab states of the Persian Gulf, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Question from a reader:
“I want to build one of your earthbag Earth Lodges in the tropics. What do you think?”
“It’s possible to have good ventilation in the building if you use the way nature works.”
Domes are vulnerable to water damage, so what to do in rainy climates? I say add a roof. There are various roofed dome houses on our main website at EarthbagBuilding.com that you peruse here and here. Those are earthbag domes. The design I’m first presenting here is made of ferrocement. It’s just one more way to do things.
Water features are very relaxing and very effective at cooling the environment. They also look great and the plants will help filter and oxygenate the air. I was looking at a local fountain (photo above) and realized it would be easy to add some vent holes to help cool a home.