Demonstrating the viability and growing acceptability of earth-sheltered buildings in the uk Jeremy Martin Adrian Harrall Dip Arch RIBA Chartered Architect A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF LINCOLN FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY JULY 2007 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To the Team at SEArch, heartfelt gratitude for their tireless application: Laura, John and Robin for their unflinching support; Sandra for her relentlessly harvesting of the data; James the future of SEArch; Julie who has honoured us for 17 years with her loyalty and integrity. I am deeply indebted to Professor John Chilton of Lincoln School of Architecture for letting me through the gates of academe. and to Professor Brenda Vale for upping the ante my gratitude must also go to Kevin Morel Rowlinson, Peter Southgate, and Jim Fitzpatrick for making it all happen and digging deep into the rivers of the past. and to Dr Arthur Quarmby for providing the catalyst; It goes also to Peter Carpenter, the Elder Statesman of UK Earth-Sheltering, for being a constant and reliable source; and to David Woods for unreserved generosity with his time and information. my thanks are due also to my Mother for the use of her dining-table and pita bread; to my children Penelope, Royston, and Molly for bringing joy and happiness to their father during the ‘dark days’; and to KAY my wife, Partner, Lover, and Friend these past 30 years, my one Constant Star. These acknowledgments would be incomplete without mention of the assistance of Valentine Bolam, whose editorial and literary exactions have touched almost every word of this document. And they would be entirely incomplete without acknowledging Holt Myers, without whose unfailing faith, friendship and patronage this document might never have seen the light of day. Contents abstract 1 chapter 1: introduction 2 chapter 2: an appraisal of the UK earth sheltering movement from 1972 – 2006 introduction 6 the Buildings 7 a brief history of the british earth-sheltering association 13 case studies 42 literature review 58 summary 66 references 68 chapter 3: SEArch’s portfolio of earth- sheltered commissions from 1997 to may 2007 Introduction 77 portfolio project i – the long Sutton work life project 80 portfolio project ii – Honingham earth sheltered social housing scheme 126 portfolio project iii – university of glamorgan 156 portfolio project iv – jag-hol 161 portfolio project v – the epic project 173 portfolio project vi – holkham toilets 182 portfolio project vii – samphire cottage 188 portfolio project viii – CaNeBuZo 191 portfolio project xi – barnsdale walled gardens 205 portfolio project x – Colney pastures 210 portfolio project xi – thornage eco-house 215 portfolio project xii – boxford eco-house 221 portfolio project xiii – the long Sutton social housing scheme 227 chapter 3 summing up 237 chapter 4: discussion 238 chapter 5: conclusion and further work 251 appendix 253 bibliography 308 abstract Thesis demonstrating the viability and growing acceptability of earth-sheltered buildings in the UK The Managing Director of Sustainable Ecological Architecture Ltd (SEArch), Jerry Harrall, Dip. Arch. RIBA, began an evaluation of the viability of earth-sheltering in 1997. In the intervening period between then and May 2007, SEArch has undertaken several earth-sheltered commissions as part of this ongoing evaluation. During that period, the number of commissions received has significantly increased and it has become apparent that there is a growing interest in earth- sheltered design solutions in the UK. The development of earth-sheltering in the UK is chronicled in this thesis as are its benchmark buildings and key exponents. The thesis also presents the first compendium of known contemporary UK earth-sheltered buildings. SEArch’s portfolio of thirteen earth-sheltered commissions is presented in detail. This body of information is drawn together in a discussion in which the viability and growing acceptability of earth- sheltering in the UK is asserted. The main contributions to knowledge made by this thesis are:- • A compendium of contemporary UK earth-sheltered buildings complete as at December 2006; • An appraisal of the UK earth-sheltering movement from 1997 to 2006; • A detailed portfolio of thirteen earth-sheltered projects. The principal conclusions drawn in this thesis are:- • That earth-sheltered buildings are viable in the UK; • That there is evidence of a growing acceptability of earth-sheltered buildings in the UK; • That earth-sheltered buildings can provide a commercially viable commission base for an architectural practice. 1 Chapter 1: introduction It is the intention of this thesis to demonstrate that earth-sheltered buildings are viable in the UK and that they are increasingly acceptable. To put UK modern earth-sheltering in perspective, the history and development of the UK earth-sheltered movement over the thirty years since 1976 has been researched and compiled. Following on from this, an appraisal of SEArch’s portfolio of earth-sheltered commissions from 1997 up to the present day is undertaken. Sufficient material has been gathered to provide the basis for a discussion as to whether earth-sheltered buildings are viable as well as increasingly acceptable in the UK. What is meant by earth sheltering? The expression earth-sheltering is interpreted by the author as being a generic term with the general meaning: building design in which soil plays an integral part. This integration may occur in a number of ways. By way of clarification, the author offers an extended definition as follows:- Author’s definition of earth-sheltering A building can be described as earth-sheltered if its external envelope is in contact with a thermally significant volume of soil or substrate (where “thermally significant” means making a functional contribution to the thermal effectiveness1 2of the building in question.) There may be said to be three forms of earth-sheltered building: - • earth-covered • earth-bunded • subterranean An earth-sheltered building may be designed to combine some or all of these forms. An earth-covered building is one where the thermally effective element is placed solely on the roof, but is more usually a continuation of the earth-bunding at the unexposed elevations of the building. An earth-bunded building is one where the thermally significant element insulates one or more of the sheltered elevations of the building. The bunding can be partial or total. A subterranean building is one where the thermally significant element insulates all elevations of the building, leaving only the roof exposed; or, if the building is built into an incline, it may be that the roof is covered and only one elevation is left exposed. All the known earth-sheltered buildings in the UK have, as part of the research undertaken for this thesis, been recorded for the first time in the Compendium of Contemporary UK Earth-Sheltered Buildings, which constitutes Appendix Item 1. 2 Using the Compendium as a source, Chapter 2 chronicles the history and development of the earth- sheltering movement in the UK. This chapter identifies the movement’s champions, identifies its benchmark buildings, and goes on to show how these have influenced the growing number of earth-sheltered buildings in the UK. Chapter 3 undertakes a review of the expanding portfolio of earth-sheltered commissions for which the architectural practice of SEArch Ltd is responsible. It shows how this body of work has drawn on the architectural precedents highlighted in Chapter 2 and how each of SEArch’s projects has informed the next. Chapter 4 discusses the findings of the thesis and the implications for a field of study that might be termed environmentally responsible earth-sheltering. Chapter 5 concludes the thesis and provides some recommendations for further work. 3 references 1 Baggs, S.A. Baggs, J.C. Baggs, D.W. 1991. Australian Earth Covered Building. New South Wales University Press. P25. 2 Baggs. S.A. 1981. Effects of vegetation upon earth-cooling potential. University New South Wales. PP88 & 89. 4 chapter 2 an appraisal of the uk earth-sheltering movement from 1972 to 2006 5 2.00 Introduction 6 2.01 the buildings 7 2.01.1 1972-1975: underhill 7 2.01.2 1975 -1983: formative years 10 2.02 a brief history of the british earth-sheltering association 13 2.02.1 ‘ NEW ‘ BESA 20 2.02.2 ‘ NEW ’ BESA : THE EARLY YEARS: RECESSION 22 2.03 case studies 42 2.03.1 THE CAER LLAN BERM HOUSE, FIELD STUDIES AND CONFERENCE CENTRE 42 2.03.2 THE HOCKERTON HOUSING PROJECT 53 2.04 literature review 58 2.04.1 informed exogenous influences 60 2.04.2 uk literature 60 2.05 summary 66 references 68 5 2.00 introduction In order to make an appraisal of the UK earth-sheltering movement, it has been necessary to assemble a detailed narrative of its development, which has not been done before. And, since the movement would be nothing without its buildings, in order to tell the story it has been necessary to compile a catalogue of known contemporary UK earth-sheltered projects [See Appendix item 1], something which has also not been done before. What emerges from this exercise are recognisable trends. Numbers of earth-sheltered buildings have continued to increase [See Fig 1] over the thirty-four year history of the movement and certain types of earth-sheltered building emerge as favoured above others. Key buildings in the development of the movement are identified as landmarks in its evolution. FigF. i1g.. C1.h Aa rTt asbhloe wSihnogw tihneg nTuhme bNeurm obf eCro Onft eCmopnotermarpyo UraKr yE aErathrt-hS-hSehleteltreerde dB UuiKld Binugilsd ings coCnsotnrsutcrtuecdte eda Echa cyhe aYre bare tFwroeemn 11997755 Taon d20 e0n6d 2006 d cte KEY DATES: - ered nstru 10 11998990 1Nsetw A GEdMitor Building structed Earth-Shelt Sheltered Buildings coBuildings 3456789 1 11 1 1 99999 99999 34567 S41 3 2CCCCtsrOhndoooot dD nnnnNNN ffff NaaeeeeIaTttrrrratiieeeei!ootoinnnnnnonccccaanaeeeellal l (old) B.E.S.A 'new' B.E.S.A No. Of Con ber of Earth- 0121975 D19a8w3n 1> 9o8f 0BESA 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 m u K E Y D A T E S N Year An architectural movement could not, especially nowadays, occur without a society of like-minded individuals coming into being; but historically such movements have been sparked by the emergence of a single exponent of exceptional vision and drive, or perhaps, eccentricity. This appraisal will show that the contemporary British earth-sheltering movement is probably no exception, but it will inevitably focus mainly on the body of enthusiasts that has grown up, united by a shared passion and by commitment to a common set of values. That is where the champions of the UK earth-sheltering movement are to be found. Conspicuous in the narrative is the rarity of any institutional endorsement of the earth-sheltered building type, as also are the lack of any official design guides and the paucity of academic and 6