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The Natural Philosopher

wrote:
Costs of excavation (especialling tunneling for roads $$$).

Mmm. excavating foundations wasn;t that hard here..

Somewhere to put the spoil.

I had considered that you would put that back on top...

Very large amounts of concrete used.

Mmm. Thats a good point isn;t it?

Vulnerability to flooding.

Not with huger sewers ^H^H^H^H^H roads underneath...;-)

Earth sheltered housing has a lot going for it - but will be the option
of the well off - can't be done for the price of starter homes.

OK. lets look at it another way. Suppose you took a blockwork house and
simply covered it over with soil? I accept the construction would need
to be a bit more robust than for a plastic roof tile..e.g. prefab
concrete beams..and a DPM all round etc..but drainage is not an issue
provided that there is somewhere lower to drain TO.

I am thinking of a half cylinder made of say prestressed beams - like a
tube tunnel - that stands weight well. All drainage is down the tunnel
base, and the think has natural air ventilation with hot steamy air
suing to a stack and heat exchanger and cool air being drawn in.. Light
pipes for natural lighting...even a big periscope for a 'picture window'

You could grow anything on top of it - nice and carbon negative
that..even fuel. Or collect water and so on.

The house would more be 'covered in soil' than 'below ground'