Embanked Designs or Earth Sheltered homes

The Great Wall of WA by Luigi Rosselli is a construction project that caught my attention while I was completing my Architectural Technologist diploma in 2019.

This project shows off a great range of sustainability elements, including:

• Green Roofs w/ Water Capture

• Biogenic Materials

• Thermal Energy Efficiency

• Biophilia

• Community

• Food System Integration

Each of these elements noted relates back to the design choice of an Embanked Design. Sometimes also referred to as Earth Sheltered homes, this approach provides an opportunity to synergize many different strategies.

Embanked walls help regulate indoor temperatures by providing natural insulation. The natural insulation properties contribute to energy efficiency by reducing the reliance on heating and cooling systems.

Additionally, the soil acts as a thermal mass, absorbing heat during the day and releasing it at night, reducing the need for artificial heating and cooling. This also significantly dampens external noise, creating a quieter and more peaceful indoor environment when designed into site considerations.

Photo - Edward Birch

For example, the green-roof is an extension of the buildings embanked wall.

It carries the earth as a building envelope and acts as useful space for users. All while capturing the water that hits it, directing it down the slope towards a communal collection point.

The construction process itself is also environmentally friendly.

The 450mm thick rammed earth walls and the sand dune embankment at the Great Wall of WA make use of locally sourced materials, such as sandy clay and gravel, and reduces the carbon footprint associated with transportation.

These biogenic materials also provide energy efficiency.

They are an excellent thermal mass, keeping the interior spaces regulated without the need for air conditioning. Furthermore, the earth can absorb extra heat from the house in hot weather or insulate the house to maintain warmth in cold weather.

In addition, the embankment was scalable and provided a near literal sandbox approach for many people to share and experience. Taking advantage of scalability and community accesses.

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Rammed Earth Walls

• Materials: The wall is made from rammed earth, which is a mixture of sandy clay, gravel, and water sourced from the site. It is mixed and cured like a concrete.

  
  

• Biophilic Aesthetics: The rammed earth facade has a distinct sawtooth formation, giving the structure a unique and visually appealing look.

Photo - Edward Birch

Although it would have likely had a significant earthworks and excavation program while under construction, this building has a lot in common with the low impact substructure considerations I last touched on.

Even though disturbance is very high during the build. The programs outcome provides a minimized building foot print since the top-soils are returned to the area, in use as a green-roof with native plantings.

There are lots of reasons to appreciate designs that take advantage of embankments. And these are just at first glance..

Embanked designs caught my eye so much that I decided to incorporate them into my capstone project for my diploma. My modern "Earthship" attempted to borrow from the design pillars first noted by Michael Reynolds. A concept that initially was brought to life thinking of a home like a ship. Requiring it to provide all the basic necessities.

Wikipedia notes the Earthship pillars to be:

1. Building with natural and repurposed materials

2. Thermal or solar heating and cooling

3. Electricity from solar and wind

4. Water harvesting

5. Sewage treatment

6. Food production

More on that next time....