Abstract Outline, rough draft

Underground Circular Framing

            The point of this study is to determine whether or not building an underground house to the style of a hobbit hole, rather than a standard underground house, is feasible.

            First off there are several types of underground houses, the first type are called “bermed houses”, where the house is partially buried, usually the roof and a wall or two is exposed. And the second types are called “chambered houses” where the only things you can see are the windows and doors. For this research we will be focusing on the latter. To build an underground house the jobsite must first be prepped, the crew must excavate topsoil and earth where the house is to reside, and then the construction begins. Like a standard above grade house, the chambered house starts with the foundation and works its way up, the only difference is that underground houses don’t need cladding or exterior finishes on the outer walls, they do however, need more insulation and load bearing strength. Earth is a bad insulator, even worse is damp earth. It’s just a great capacitor (stores heat), the dirt is also a good conductor, best way to control this is too install rigid installation in the home’s exterior fabric, do not put insulation on the interior of the wall, the cold earth will be able to affect the exterior of the house and cause structural damage, during the hotter seasons of the year the earth roof gets cool from the respiration of plant life and evaporation of moisture off the earth keep the building cool, (Roy R (1994) The complete book of underground houses). Obviously some limitations apply, you can’t build an underground house wherever you like (due to poor soil conditions or heavy seismic activity) nor can you build a multi story building underground, within the realm of reason.

            Currently this research has already showed the underground houses are greener. They provide increased resistance to weather and natural disasters and close to a constant interior temperature, due to the fact that the house is underground. Yet hobbit homes require a greater amount of materials compared to a typical submerged underground house, due to the circular shape, this being said, they do offer more space inside the structure. The materials used can include “concrete blocks, reinforced concrete, stone, membrane, rigid insulation, moisture barrier, and then a drainage mat” (Ricketts, S (2004) A Guide to Canadian Architectural styles) this can be applied for the walls/ceiling for a circular framed house. Research has also shown, according to calculations, that a circular framed building will be able to withstand a greater weight load than typical framing; this is due to the force being distributed throughout more of the frame, instead of just the walls, (Dorf, R (2005) The Engineering Handbook)..  They may not use a given amount of space most efficiently but it certainly would bring an abundance of privacy. Also due to the layout of hobbit holes, which include many hallways and/or corridors, pockets of earth, soil and possibly even rock, can provide additional load bearing support to the structure, as it would be similar to having wide pillars or columns running throughout the design. So for the extra cash this home will cost, several benefits include more space, and more of a durable environment