Glen,
A question for you. I note that in an earlier post you have some contact with the local tribal people. I was wondering if there is any danger of some information on the type of houses that they built in your area. Specifically passive solar cooling and heating techniques.
The aboriginal people in this area where nomadic hunter gathers, and the structures they built where very basic bark shelters. Still they where designed to catch the breeze and provide shade for the occupants. Basically a sleeping shelter. These humpies where very small just room for one person. Because this is a semi arid area, they where built along the rivers where they could benefit from the better hunting and the cooling breezes off the water.
The people further South where it was cooler and food was more abundant built more permanent stone structures. These structures had the entrance on the northern side to catch the sun and to protect them from the cold southerly winds in the winter. I guess the stone also acted as a thermal mass. They where dome like and quite small, just enough room for a couple of people, sort of like a small igloo. I think they probably had a number of these scattered around their hunting areas, and would move from time to time so they didn't exhaust the hunting and fishing in any one area.
I hope this qualifies as small home design and John is not going to growl at me for this thread. This is just a little interest of mine.
jonesy.
Indigenous housing is a great topic. Much can be learned about the area you live in by how the natives used local resources to keep themselves protected and comfortable.
It's also valuable for us northern hemisphere folks to understand what has worked in the flipped over down under world.
Sounds like a real interesting subject Jonesy. I know some but will get more and get back to this. I have a friend who is a native american who works and horse trades with me sometimes - he and his wife work in Yosemite telling people about this type of information.
Some of their passive heating and cooling was accomplished by moving from summer locations in the mountains to lower locations in the winter. They gathered acorns in the foothills and there are still many locations around with grinding rocks where they pounded their acorns.
Glenn
Here is one of the historic Indian cabins from Yosemite area courtesy of the National Park Service. I realize we are talking earlier than this but I included it as it looks like it should be one of John's plans.
(http://www.nps.gov/yose/planning/lodge/html/ylarp_ch2_files/image001.gif)
Here is a sketch of an Indian dwelling called an Umacha in the Miwok language. The lady who drew the sketch years ago called it an o-chum, I helped my friend, Ben and his wife Kimberly, repair a couple of them in the Indian village in Yosemite. They are built of a pole frame covered with long large pieces of cedar bark. As I remember, cross supports were tied on with wild grape vines.
(http://www.yosemite.ca.us/history/yosemite_indians_and_other_sketches/images/thumbnail/o-chum.jpg)
Link to the picture site with more information.
http://www.yosemite.ca.us/history/yosemite_indians_and_other_sketches/indians.html
My friends are part of the Miwok and Maidu tribes. They were mostly hunter- gatherers rather than warring tribes. Their cultures were fairly similar and both used the round houses for their ceremonies. These were semi-subterranean, cone-shaped structures with pole frames, covered with bark, brush, grass, or tule; a fire-pit stands in the center and a hole is left on the top of the dome for air circulation. Some were also earth covered. This is a picture of the round house I have attended several Indian sacred ceremonies in. I would guess it is approximately 40 feet across and 15 feet high with 4' high stacked rock walls around the inside perimeter. The center is supported by 4 tree posts with beams in the crotches of the tree posts. Poles radiate out from the center and other poles are tied across them horizontally with wild grape vines then the entire structure is covered with cedar bark. There is a large fire pit in the center to see the dancers by and warm it. Smoke exits through the hole in the top center.
(http://www.earthlanguage.org/yosemite/r-house.jpg)
Here is a link to the page the picture is from
http://www.earthlanguage.org/yosemite/yose2.htm
Great stuff Glen.
Interesting that you mention that those lodges are partially buried. The stone shelters in Victoria are also earth bermed or dug into the north side of small hills. (The sun down this end is to the North)
BTW I have a copy of Mike's book on order; I'm looking forward to getting my hands on that.
jonesy.
Jonesy, does being upside down like that all the time give you a head rush ??? You'll enjoy Mikes book.
Here is a picture of Mesa Verde Cliff Palace which I have been to. I always tried to study how they did things in these buildings. I am going to landscape my uphill patio like this - making a little cliff dwelling with false fronts with earth plaster walls. Some of the dwellings there were built around AD 1200. I'm not sure the total years covered in all the dwellings at this site.
(http://www.nps.gov/meve/images/cliff_palace/cp_morning.jpg)
From the NPS site:
Sandstone, mortar and wooden beams were the three primary construction materials. The Ancestral Puebloans shaped each sandstone block using harder stones collected from nearby river beds. The mortar between the blocks is a mixture of local soil, water and ash. Fitted in the mortar are tiny pieces of stone called "chinking". Chinking stones fill in the gaps within the mortar and added structural stability to the walls. Over the surface of many walls, the people placed a thin coating of paint, called plaster, the first things to erode with time.
Link to the NPS site with lots of information.
http://www.nps.gov/meve/cliff_dwellings/cliff_dwellings_home.htm
One of the great books to learn from on this topic is Les Walkers "American Shelter". He presents indigenous housing types as deconstructed structural models so you can understand how they were built.
Here is a PDF link
http://www.countryplans.com/Downloads/american_shelter.PDF
to one of the pages from the book that shows how the NW Indians built their cedar lodges in my part of the planet.
(http://tinypic.com/1zt1ja)
That looks like an interesting book. I may have to get one on order soon.
I found another type house I was looking for. At the east entrance to Yosemite is Mono Lake. It is a real interesting place with volcanic cones and hot springs all around. I used to fly in to Lee Vining on the edge of the lake where the history center told of the houses of the Mono Paiute Indians. The lived near the lake in these and harvested brine fly larvae - a good source of high protien-- with special baskets (that looks like one at the right front of the door) then toasted them over a fire. Yum-yum. Tasty. OK- I would try it at least once. ;D
(http://www.ushistoricalarchive.com/indians/photos/ct15/ct15028r.jpg)
You can get historical prints at this site:
http://www.ushistoricalarchive.com/indians/photos/ct15028.html
That diagram has pretty collar ties.
Are they too far up to do much good?
I looks like to me that the plank beam supports work as a combination beam and tie keeping from having any outward pressure on the columns so they should work quite well.
RE: Indian lodge diagram:
It is quite interesting structurally. The main roof beams are supported by the posts that carry the real weight. The plank cross beams work to carry the upper roof beam weight down onto the main beams.
Remember, this is being done without nails or any metal fasteners. Nothing except maybe some pegging and lashing allow anything to work in tension.
The walls are non-load bearing much like a modern skyscraper. They must be pegged or tied to the roof planks.
Also, this building was designed to be disassembled as the split cedar planks for the walls and roof would probably last through several structures.
Like Mike Oehler and his underground houses, the NW Indians found that bringing the structural supports inside the heated space where they could be kept warm and dry during the wet winters increased the building's longevity by several factors.
Digging in is not a new or impractical idea. Text from the site linked below: Stretched across six provinces in north central China are the yaodong cave dwellings. In Chinese, the term (pronounced YOW-DOAN) means an arched tunnel.the total number of yaodong dwellers is easily in the millions, making this housing type an example of a vernacular architecture of some scope. (Vernacular architecture refers to indigenous built forms without the aid of "professional" intervention).
(http://www.spokane.wsu.edu/academic/design/images/yaodong2_lg.jpg)
Learn more(scroll down when you get to the page):
http://www.spokane.wsu.edu/academic/design/architecture_visit_Yaodong.html
Interesting article. I wonder if they are going to use all-concrete for them.
(I gather that the concrete industry is a major CO2 producer)
Concrete is a favorite of engineers when working with heavy duty loads -and maybe it is the only large scale practical material to use. In Mexico, many people don't think a house is top quality unless it is made from solid concrete. Sometimes their roofs are even solid concrete. I found this out when I was in Chihuahua working with a steel frame housing company to possibly set up a dealership in the US.
They took me to Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City for a Government awards ceremony where they received an award for their concepts. That was a real building.
(http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/mex-war/chapultepec-castle.jpg)
More info about it here.
http://www.mexicocity.com.mx/castle.html
Recently indigenous wall structures and artifacts were found near the castle which takes the inhabitation dating back to 600 to 300 AD even before the Aztecs.
(http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/teotihuacan/teotihuacan-urns-1-29-04.jpg)
Learn about it here.
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/teotihuacan/teotihuacan-1-29-04.htm
One of the fascinating lessons from Ingenious Housing is learning how to work with local materials to moderate the climate extremes you find yourself in.
In severe climates (especially hot and dry) going partly underground or earth sheltering in some other manner (such as building adobes or rock walls) makes very good sense. In underground construction you need only insulate against the ground temperature not the outside air temperature. With high mass materials you even out day and night temperature fluctuations.
In wet mild climates people want to get up out of the muck or provide drainage away from buildings and have good ventilation for drying.
In wet hot climates dwellers of the tropics designed for maximum ventilation and sun control.
In some ideal climates you don't really need much protection at all and can run around with just a fig leaf!
BTDT ;D
Here is a picture of a Tarahumara cave dwelling in Mexico near Creel in the Sierra Madre. I am pretty sure it is one of the caves I visited while exploring the Copper Canyon area and trying to learn about the Tarahumara indians. They also had houses but were known for cave dwelling high in the mountains. They moved into the mountains when the Spaniards came through, conquering Mexico and only recently in 1969 upon the completion of the Chihuahua al Pacifico railway did they commonly meet people from the outside world. Copper canyon is made up of several river canyons and is larger and deeper than the Grand Canyon.
(http://songseek.com/picturenet/photos/Creel/PB256285.JPG)
Interesting how whole hole whole communities went underground. I remember seeing a few years ago a housing style somewhere in Sudan or possibly Afghanistan where they dug a large hole in the ground. This hole formed a sort of town square and small dwellings where dug into the sides all round. The hole was also a water collector for the little rainfall that fell in that area.
Here in Australia we have a town known for its unique style of underground living. Coober Pedy is an opal mining town in South Australia. About 80 per cent of the population live underground. The reason for this is that the temperature can rise to 50°C in summer and it has been known to rise to 60°C. The annual rainfall in the area is minimal at around 175 mm (5 inches) per annum and can fall any time of the year. Coober Pedy was originally known as the Stuart Range Opal Field, named after John McDouall Stuart, who in 1858 was the first European explorer in the area. In 1920 it was re-named Coober Pedy, an anglicised version of Aboriginal words "kupa piti", commonly assumed to mean "white man in a hole". Water there is quite expensive at about $5 for 1,000 litres. The town water supply comes from an underground source 24 kilometres north of the town, is pumped through an underground pipeline to the water works where it is treated by reverse osmosis and pumped through a reticulated town water supply system.
jonesy
There is a new type of cement being developed here in Australia called Eco-Cement. It is made by blending reactive magnesium oxide with conventional hydraulic cements. The magnesium oxide will first hydrate using water and then carbonate, forming strength giving minerals in a low alkaline matrix. Many different wastes can be used as aggregates and fillers without reaction problems due to the low alkaline levels.
Eco-cement is used to make porous concrete's, that absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere to set and harden.
Here is a link to the inventors web site http://www.tececo.com.au/index.php
jonesy
"Copper Canyon"... circa 1950. Ray Milland, Hedy Lamar, McDonald Carey, ...
Interesting information, Jonsey. I'm thinking of having my name changed to Coober Pedy now. It would be easier to say than my current name and the meaning would fit. ;D
Copper Canyon - full of history and a great place to go (as long as you don't have one of those bad experiences like getting shot by drug growers- the number one cause of bullet wounds to the indians).
Now to France -old cave dwellings -many still lived in.
Here is the cave we stayed in in Troo, France that inspired the underground cabin. Most of these caves are hundreds of years old. This is the cave I filled with smoke by building the fire too fast. The cave was originally open to the church on the hill above as an escape route. It has since been blocked off.
(http://www.bandbcave.com/images/fireplace.jpg)
The caves were dug in the limestone cliffs of the Loir river valley walls for a defensible space against the war parties that were common in times past.
Here is an accurate sketch of the front from their site. Our cave was at the top of the steps. Bernard and Barbara's (owners) was just above ours.
(http://www.bandbcave.com/images/bandbcave.jpg)
More pics here.
http://www.bandbcave.com/
Some of the caves in the next town down river went 5 kilometers.
Here is another picture of the front of our cave and more info at a different site. The cave below, left used to be a bakery and the cave on the bottom straight ahead goes to the old town water supply. There is still nice clear water in it. The window at the top went to the owners cave. They said it was quite a remodel project putting the picture window in the front of the cave.
(http://img.coxnewsweb.com/B/08/97/08/image_908978.jpg)
Info:
http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/content/news/travel0924.html;COXnetJSessionID=CuRLdAHoTUEkW1mKUsI3IL9tlihM9UzCuh7dWtrUQKRlbgY0RK8z!-1804650266?urac=n&urvf=11103482351640.30441108380976956
I'll throw my 2¢ into this interesting discussion.
I did a schematic proposal recently for a hillside development cut and anchored back into a wet unstable hill of sand, gravel and sediments that rises above the marina in my small WA town. For years I'd seen this thing in my mind every time I walked along the top of the bluff — a friend finally got me to draw it up.
http://www.countryplans.com/Downloads/bluff-project.PDF
What is interesting to this discussion is not the proposal, but the examples of terraced hillside developments, especially the one in Yemen on p. 5. Those buildings are built with sun dried mud and adobe and can rise many stories. They've been around for several hundred years.
That looks like a great project and information, John. I really like the Yemen photo.
I read somewhere about soil stabilization where they drill holes into the slope and pump in concrete or something- maybe with fiber mesh. I don't remember the whole process. It was supposed to be relatively cost effective compared to other methods.
I wonder why the back of your napkins look better than the back of my napkins after the sketching is done ???
Ken Kern mentioned that the USDA had done studies on bearing strengths of properly made earthen walls as an affordable building solution but had dropped it when industry started to complain. He mentioned that even at a compressive strength of 100 lbs per sq. inch, one square foot of earthen wall would support 14400 lbs-- well over what is required to hold up most roof systems with the dead load of the wall only taking about 2000 lbs of that. Cement stabilized can easily go over 300 psi. Cob is monolithic and can curve so much stronger than an adobe block wall of the same size. ;D
Glen wrote:
I read somewhere about soil stabilization where they drill holes into the slope and pump in concrete or something- maybe with fiber mesh. I don't remember the whole process. It was supposed to be relatively cost effective compared to other methods.
I'm adding:
Might be quieter than pile drivers. Familiar sounds a couple of areas I've lived.
Description of Native American dwelling in 1769 before European colonization near Monterey, CA.
Historical accounts of the natives before European colonization show that they were happy and well-adapted to their home. In October 1769, Father Juan Crespi was on a Spanish expedition to Alta California in the vicinity of Monterey Bay:
"Here we stopped close to a large village of very well-behaved good heathens, who greeted us with loud cheers and rejoiced greatly at our coming. At this village was a very large grass-roofed house, round like a half-orange, which, by what we saw of it inside, could hold everyone in the whole village. Around the big house they had many little houses of split sticks set upright. The village lay within the little valley, all surrounded by grassy hills (nothing but soil and tall grass), a place well-sheltered from all quarters, and near the shore. ...They have a very dense little grove of nut-bearing pine trees dropping down some hills from the mountains running in back, which are grown over with these pines.
...We went in view of the shore, over high, big hills all covered with good soil and grass--though almost all the grasses had been burned--and all very bare of trees."
Read more here:
http://www.ecomafia.com/indigenous.html
Would they have cheered if they had known what was to come ???
Quote
I wonder why the back of your napkins look better than the back of my napkins after the sketching is done ???
It is a talent architects learn in school, 1st year course, Napkin Drawing 101. My brother-in-law, also has this ability, having an architecture degree. He is also a pretty darn talented artist, which I think many architects are as well, it definitely helps.
Thinking about the quote above from October, 1769 the burning of the grass would have been a controlled burn by the indigenous Americans as part of their natural farming operation. They burned off the small grass, weeds and seedlings to allow their crop of food producing trees to do better without competition from the small stuff. This was common in the oak trees in my area. They actually farmed the oak trees as acorns were their main source of food. The burning also helped the wildflowers to come back in the spring.
The round house mentioned above with the split stick houses attached would also indicate this was an at least semi-permanent home for them thereby requiring them to be self sufficient.
More information on native American shelter and excerpt from their site:
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/settlements/regions/great_basin_and_west_coast.html
Great Basin and West Coast
Many types of shelters were used by the native cultures of the Great Basin. One of the most common shelters made by these cultures were Conical dwellings. These shelters were used in a wide variety of environments. The Conical dwellings were made from a framework of tree poles bound together with vine stalks and covered with either brush, grass, or tule. This type of shelter is also known as a type of tipi. These shelters were fairly warm and safe. They held up under many of the weather conditions in which they were placed.
The Mogollon pit house was built partly underground. These shelters were widely used on the western coast of present day California all the way up to the edge of the northwest area. Mogollon shelters had mud plastered roofs supported by a frame work of tree saplings. The partly underground shelter constructions were great for all kinds of climate. These shelters provided excellent insulation against the harshest elements of nature. Mogollon shelters could protect people from a range of 100 degrees F to about the freezing point at night. The cultures who lived in these Mogollon shelters rarely had more than 30 in a village. This was because the Mogollon shelters were not specifically created to support large settlements.
(http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/settlements/images/naigloo.gif)
Most interesting thread, Glenn. Thanks for your research.
The Mogollon pit house is easy to understand as a model for low cost housing with the materials and technology of the time. It was probably adaptable to all but the wettest soils of the Northwest coast.
When you think to yourself, "What would we take out of modern technology to improve on this design for today's simple heathen?", I come up with two things: plastic membrane waterproofing, and windows.
Used windows and poly were what Mike Oehler used for his $50 house project. It also allowed him to build comfortable dry housing in Northern Idaho - an area that is probably too damp for the Mogollon pit house.
I've been recently corresponding with Mike (we're exchanging books - he's quite a good writer and story teller). It is interesting to read his update of his building system and the information on what buildings have lasted and which have turned organic.
In short, those where the wood members are inside a well heated and ventilated space are lasting very well. Those buildings that are not lived in, and where moisture and humidity are allowed to rise, these will deteriorate in as little as a few years. Mike also found that the poly barrier in the floor (he put his under carpet) helped a great deal in keeping moisture levels down.
Use it or lose it is the short lesson.
If I wanted to build a comfortable year-round shelter for the absolute lowest cost, I would salvage lumber, windows and used carpet and then go buy several rolls of good quality cross laminated poly for waterproofing. That and a wood stove to keep it warm.
If I were an artist, in a few years it might look something like Glenn's "palace of cob"
"Think like a heathen" — John ;)
Thanks for those observations, John. I really enjoyed them..
To add a little to yours and Mikes observations, I have one corner that has a moisture problem - first small section of experimental floor. No vapor barrier in that section under the floor with soil cement floor. A Royer Foyer or wrap around as Mike suggested would cure the moisture problem and give me more light in that corner. May have to get the backhoe out and remodel. The adobe floor is fairly easily repaired once I get to it. Fortunately with this kind of building repairs are fairly quick and cheap. Just have to take the time.
I just ordered American Shelter and a ton of other books related to it and world vernacular building from John's Amazon link -now that I have learned that the Amazon link from here helps this site without costing extra. They kept suggesting books that were relevant and I kept buying ::)
Here is a link to John's book page and the Amazon link is at the bottom. Note that when at Amazon, they offer used books also, many like new for a fraction of the cost sometimes.
http://www.countryplans.com/books.html
More interesting indigenous housing from Iran. This was brought to my attention from a picture in the book "Built By Hand".
Here is an excerpt from the National Geosciences Database of Iran and a link to their site below the picture.
Kandovan and Maymand villages
The Kandovan and Maymand villages,one in the foot of Sahand in Osku district of eastern Azarbajan and the other in the foot of Mozahem mount in Shahr-e-Babak of Kerman are symbols of man and nature coexistence. The houses and generally villages have build in pyroclastic sediments and Lahars. There are school, mosque, bath, attic and stables which all of them have made into deposits. They have characteristics such as air circulation against outside so that in summers are cooler and in winters are warmer. In Kandovan,there are water plumbing,power wiring and even sewage system in the houses.
(http://www.ngdir.ir/Data_Pub/PhotoGallery/Pics/tt070.jpg)
Link to site for tons of interesting photos and information.
http://www.ngdir.ir/PhotoGallery/PhotoAlbums.asp?PCategoryCode=4&PID=33
Used with permission
Copyright Ã,© 2004 National Geoscience Database of Iran
All Rights Reserved.
Here is an interesting page from Lloyd Kahn's "Home Work" book. It is from a two page spread called "Perpetual Camping" and shows some very basic living structures made of the simplest of materials.
This is very basic shelter and makes Mike Oehler's low-cost underground houses seem almost palatial!
http://tinypic.com/2nq15s