if it provokes, provide, otherwise, none.

it was a sketch.

i will suggest that before committing money, spend the time developing what the site would be on someone else's site. this will let you define the site, free of charge, before spending time and money simply getting the site up. for example, www.demilitarizedzone.net/e10. if you put your energies there, then, after a few months of testing and refining, go live with the domain name you choose.

several months ago, i thought i would attempt a blog that was a collection of earth architecture sites and images. i realized that sellers on ebay offered a continuous feed of postcards containing earth buildings and people are often emailing me with events on earth building. after 4 months of seeing if this was something i wanted to pursue, i realized it wasn't and i am currently rethinking a site with contemporary works as a supplement to my research (not up yet). thus, there was no energy lost registering a name, etc. you may see what i had posted here: http://www.flowstate.org/eartharchitecture/

the February through May archives have most of the content. i would appreciate any thoughts anyone might have.

is the e10 site is solely focused on building with raw earth, or does it consider ecology as the focus?

how about

www.e10.nu

by the way, the site is in italian.

http://babelfish.altavista.com/

I thought you might be interested in yesterday's transcript from an mechanical engineer who I released from a project, due to his lack of interest in architecture that uses walls and roof constructed of earth. You will see he is unwilling to work outside the culture of industrial production given his interest in "plastic sheeting, cellulose insulation, steel studs, fiberglass, urethane foam". I asked him to submit a proposal to design the geothermal heating and cooling system. Here was his reply:

>>>"R" or "U" values for the walls and window areas is going to present a
major problem. The fact that the adobe walls have a very high thermal mass
just means that it will take longer than some other materials to reach the
extermes of outdoor ambient conditions during the winter and summer. Once
those conditions are reached the heat loss in winter and gain in summer is
controlled by the walls "R" value of .41. The double pain windows have a
higher "R" value than the walls. With "R" values this low, the equipment
will have to be significantly oversized (compared to a well insulated
structure of the same size) and will be called on to run at full capacity
for many more hours during high load (heating or cooling) conditions.
Without at least R-19 walls and a R-25 roof, I will not put my name on a
system design because I know the home owner will be very upset over their
high electric costs. Recognizing that they probably want the "adobe exterior look", you can still give up 6" of its thickness (leaving 12" adobe brick) to accommodate wood or steel studs and 4" to 6 " of fiberglass, urethane foam, or cellulose insulation, any of which will give you a R-20 to 24 wall and replace the
heavy, 12" compacted earth roof with 12" of fiberglass (covered with
decking)giving you a much lighter, R-48 roof. Between the insulation and the
adobe,it would be wise (and relatively inexpensive) to add a sheet plastic
vapor barrier to enable humidity control inside the structure.<<

I followed with:


Dear Mr. XXXXX,

Its seems that your services are incompatible with the design of an
adobe house for our clients. Under no circumstances would we
consider replacing mud-brick with the materials you have suggested as
a condition for submitting a quote. Thank you very much for your
insight and assistance.

Sincerely,

RAEL

What are the benefits of earth construction? TOO NUMEROUS TO MENTION HERE.

How much wood would a earthonaut save per house hold if we build with dirt? 1/2 THE POPULATION OF THE PLANET LIVES IN HOUSES CONSTRUCTED OF RAW EARTH

What colors and patterns can we create? INFINITE

How High can i build a earth wall? IN YEMEN 11 STORIES. HIGHER IF YOU HAVE THE TIME.

What are the code requirements? http://www.nmia.com/~eaci/EBF-codes.html

Do we have any construction documents for earth construction? DESIGN THEM, OR GO TO THE LIBRARY

How about construction details? DITTO

How well does it hold up in rainy climates? IT EXISTS ON 6 CONTINENTS IN ALL CLIMATES AND CLIMATALOGICAL ZONES

What is earths R-value? 0.41 FOR A 18" WALL, BUT IT DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY

What strategies can be applied for insulation? SAME STRATEGIES YOU APPLY WITH ANY WALL, BUT EARTH HAS A TREMENDOUS THERMAL MASS CAPACITY

Are there any Hybrids of earth and enough straw to insulate? YES. THE Mauritzberg Manor House IS A FAMOUS EXAMPLE BY SVERRE FEHN http://www.terracruda.com/norrkopping.htm

How well does an earth floor stand up to wear an tear? GREAT

Will the coffe which i spill o this floor obsorb into it? ABSORB. YES, BUT YOU CAN SEAL IT WITH LINSEED OIL, OR OXBLOOD.

How easy is it to mop? SWEEP

Can you apply a natural resin to seal it? WHAT IS NATURAL RESIN?

What happens if I get drunk and punch the wall, will it collapse? THE UNITED STATES MILITARY USES SOPHISTICATED WEAPONRY TO DESTROY ADOBE WALLS IN IRAN

Can i patch the dent? SEE THE SNL ADOBE CAR

How about feax finishes? FAUX. AS IN FAUXDOBE OR SANTA FAUX. WHY?

Does it take wall paper? YES. NEW MEXICANS USED NEWSPAPER BEFORE WALL PAPER WAS AFFORDABLE/AVAILABLE

How will it compare to the versatilites of Drywall? DRYWALL IS NOT STRUCTURAL

What is the maximum PSI which it will support under code? SEE THE CODE ABOVE

How about lateral wind loads? SEE CODE

What is the connection to the roof, and don't say just lay the veags on there, when I build with dirt, I don't want Vegas, I want to lay a w12v40 on the top of that dirt wall, will it support it? VIGAS. VEGAS ARE GRASSY FIELDS, LIKE LAS VEGAS.