Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Subterranean Homesick Blues








"La Renardiere" (the fox hole) 1972 - 1975
Architect: Etienne Fromanger
Northern France

We discovered this house in the March 2009 issue of Elle Decoration UK. There is hardly anything to be found on this architect but his design, drawing from one the oldest forms of human shelter, is stunning. With the interior fixtures and fittings preserved to their original 1970's bohemian beauty, this home is my favorite of this style.

Half or entirely buried, these "Earth shelters" act as an insulator and maintain a mean temperature of around 55 degrees year round.. preserving an abundance of fossil fuels. Living within earth shelters has been a large part of human history. The connection to earth shelter dwellings began with the utilization of caves, and over time evolving technologies led to the construction of customized earth dwellings. Today, earth shelter construction is a rare practice, especially in the United States. During the energy crisis and the 1973 Oil Crisis, along with the Back-to-the-Land Movement, there was a surge of interest in earth shelter/underground home construction in an effort toward self-sufficient living. However, progress has been slow, and earth shelter construction is often viewed by architects, engineers, and the public alike as an unconventional method of building. Techniques of earth sheltering have not yet become common knowledge, and much of society still remains unaware of the process or benefits of this type of building construction.






Hilltop House - Brooksfield, Florida








Twin Dune Houses - Atlantic Beach, Florida
Hilltop House & Twin Dune House via William Morgan Architects









The vacation house of the architect, Claus Bonderup - Blokhus, Jutland

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

this is so cool. the room with a hammock looks like the ideal reading/napping/thinking spot. thanks for posting this! xo joanna

chelito said...

as an interior designer, these pix are just amazing.
if a zombie attack were to ever occur, these are places where
i would want to be. chelitoxoxo

Pine says fire said...

sighhh. The things dreams are made of.

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