Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
fall again once oil prices
began to fall.
The American experience
is that underground buildings
have a reduced energy con-
sumption, from 20-80 per
cent of that of buildings
above ground. Several fac-
tors influence this: the insula-
tion of the earth mounds
around the building, the
warmth from the earth, the
heat capacity of the earth
mass and the protection from
wind. Half buried buildings
have better protection
against noise, and the distur-
bance to the landscape is
minimal. At 20 cm below the
surface, the variations in
temperature over 24 hours
are hardly noticeable. This
means smaller temperature
changes in the fabric of the
building and thereby fewer
maintenance problems and a longer life
span. These houses cannot, of course,
be built where there is radon in the
ground.
Figure 14.10: The temperature at different depths of the Earth throughout
the year in southern Scandinavia. Source: Låg 1979
Earth structures on the surface of
the Earth also have interesting
climatic aspects, particularly with
respect to thermal insulation and
moisture regulation. In northern
Europe there are indoor swimming
pools and moisture-sensitive
libraries built with clay as the main
material. A whole series of earth-
based renders have been developed
for concrete and hard fired brick in
order to reach a more stable humid-
ity within the building. To achieve
reasonable thermal insulation, an
insulating aggregate or another
substance such as plant fibre is
Figure 14.11: A cabin partly buried in a sensitive area along the
south coast of Norway. The materials and structure have been
chosen with respect to the climate, earth and water analyses. The
aim has been to reduce the physical and chemical traces of the
building to a minimum when it finally disappears.
Source: Gaia Lista, 1997
