Sustainable Shelters

First published on March 03, 2022

Like all creatures, human beings are environment-makers. We forget this sometimes, perhaps because today we have become notorious for being environment-destroyers. It wasn’t always like this. Our ancestors mostly lived in harmony with nature, taking only what they needed. Many communities, mainly indigenous ones, still live sustainably, respecting and protecting nature. Perhaps there is no other human-made structure that expresses our relationship to the wider world more plainly than a house. Everybody needs some form of shelter, and though the forms they take vary widely, all shelters are designed keeping a few elements in mind: what materials are used, how the space is designed, where water and energy come from, climate control, and waste disposal. Let's look at a few interesting examples!

Mud Houses

Mud is a versatile, readily available material that has been used in India for thousands of years to build houses and even forts. Its advantages are many. Not only is it cheaper than cement, but it also uses half the amount of water. Mud houses, when reinforced well with materials like lime and wheat husk, are very sturdy. The walls also absorb moisture, keeping the building cool – very useful in hot areas! There’s more: mud walls can be recycled and are 100% biodegradable too. 

A traditional mud home in Kaimalasseri, Malappuram, Kerala. Photo: Sidheeq A / Public domain


Dhajji Dewari Houses

These traditional houses are found in mountainous parts of Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir. They are built in a way that makes them resilient to earthquakes and helps them retain heat. The house has three parts: the front, where a lot of outside light comes in, is used during the day, and acts as a ‘shield’  between the indoors and outdoors. Cooking and sleeping happen in the second, inner part, and the third room houses cattle. The doors here are placed such that they prevent cold winds from entering the house. Meanwhile, heat from cooking, people, and animals in the inner rooms keep it warm. 


Weaving a Home

Jordanian architect Abeer Seikaly has designed a prototype for a tent to house homeless and displaced people. It has been built to harvest rainwater but also capture solar energy. The tent is made of strong, plastic tubes molded into curves and woven into a stretchable fabric. This fabric can be dismantled or parts of it can be opened to allow for better ventilation when it is hot, or closed completely when it is cold. This creative design is a great example of a contemporary shelter that is people-centric and sustainable.

A woven tent shelter. Photo: Abeer Seikaly


Igloo

Igloos, or snow houses, are shelters made of snow, traditionally built by people in the Central Arctic region of Canada and Thule in Greenland. They are dome-shaped and made of large, stacked blocks of compressed snow. The igloo is built at three levels: the upper one for sleeping, the middle one for fire, and the lower one is for trapping cold air. Heavy cold air automatically falls to the bottom of the igloo, whereas the warm air which is lighter, rises to the upper levels. The door of the igloo is placed at the bottom of the structure, with an entrance at the end of a tunnel, preventing icy winds from blowing harshly into the shelter. Finally, a small hole in the top of the domed roof allows smoke from the fire to leave.

An igloo is lit up by the nothern lights in Manitoba, Canada. Photo: Emmanuel Milou / Public domain.
 

 

Earthships

Earthship is a term for a type of off-grid house, made with a combination of upcycled and sustainable materials. Pioneered by the American architect Michael Reynolds, they can be built anywhere. In a typical Earthship, glass bottles, old tires and recycled aluminum cans are used to build the inner and outer walls, and are packed with adobe, keeping the house thermally insulated. The doors and windows are designed to keep it well-lit during the day. There is a greenhouse at the front of each Earthship where food is grown. It also warms the house during winters. Pipes that are dug into the earth bring up cool air from underground and keep the house cool. Solar panels or wind turbines usually generate electricity for the household. Water is harvested using rainwater harvesting techniques and greywater from showering and washing filters through plants and is then used as toilet flush water. The waste from the toilet also gets composted and used as fertilizer! Each Earthship is uniquely beautiful and curious to look at.

The south and east view of an Earthship solar home. Photo: Public domain / Wikipedia

Innovations in sustainable housing make me hopeful for the future! 

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