Earth Sheltered

“The Shambles Under Highland Butte” blog follows Susan Nielsen and Richard Yarnell as they build their two story, earth sheltered home in Oregon. The blog is peppered with beautiful pictures of life on their farm as well as many interior and exterior photos of their project.

Susan describes the project as, “The house, in Beavercreek, Oregon, is 2400 sq. ft. of living space, with an attic.  Its main structural material is a block product called Faswall which is manufactured within 100 miles of our site. Its attached south-side greenhouse is the primary heat collector for the house; its concrete floors and interior south-facing walls are heat sinks. Cooling is provided through ducts from the north-side earth sheltering. In addition to its passive features, the house is equipped to generate 6300 peak watts through its photovoltaic panels on the roof, pre-heats domestic hot water through flat panels mounted below the greenhouse, and will heat pool water using solar mats. This house is designed holistically; all the systems create a single, balanced machine.”

Thank you, Susan Layne Nielsen, for the use of these copy written photos.

South side greenhouse

North side entrance