The Old Coal Miner

Looks at

Affordable Housing

Anyone thinking a quarter of a million dollars is an affordable house is living the fantasy of  an alcoholic realtor, down on his luck, and sliding into oblivion.

I believe inexpensive and environmentally sound houses are possible.  Those “Earthships” by the gorge north of Taos were an attempt to produce such.  Arcosanti in Arizona was another.

The approach suggested here is found in the work of Antoni Gaudi, whose most famous structure, the cathedral in Barcelona, obtains its soaring openness through the use ofcatenarycurves.

Thecatenary is the curve produced when a chain or weighted rope is suspended from two points.  Because the weight pulls straight down from two points, the weight of the arch made with the curve  pushes straight down on the foundation.  The catenary arch is the only arch form with no side thrust.   In the cathedral, this means the building supports itself with no heavy braces or “flying buttresses”.

Gaudi used a simple design “computer” for the cross sectional plans for the cathedral: hanging  weighted strings from the ceiling and photographing the result.  This is probably the easiest way to find a catenary curve--simply suspend beaded string or chain in the desired final shape and photograph or measure it.

The catenary arch can be used to make a strong building with little bracing out of simple materials.

I believe a catenary straw-bale home could be constructed for less than 50000 dollars--a real low cost home.

A light internal framework bent to a catenary supports the bales until they are in place ( braced thin metallic tubing would work).  The a good exterior would be metal roofing, The interior walls could be wire reinforced paper or cloth.  A North wall of bales, and a South wall of glass completes the structure.

The current straw-bale building codes would have to be adapted for the new structure, of course, and details designed by a good structural engineer.  Ventilation of the bales, and internal bracing for snow loads would be details of major importance.

I can envision a 35 acre housing development with 30 to 100 houses.  All off-grid with rainwater collection, recycling showers ( soap and rinse first, then take as long a hot shower as you wish), and composting toilets.  I have always thought the real estate and construction establishment would never allow this, but now, in the age of  climate change, conservative confusion, and legal marijuana--who knows?

I have appended  rough sketches of the idea .