Some thoughts on improved housing

Update: a local company has now developed a dome house which complies with the Building Code of Australia. They're website, here, talks about the benefits of double compound curves. This is a wonderful development.

Saturday 27th November, 2010

In my opinion, we spend far too much time chasing around after what are basically minor aesthetic details in housing, rather than getting to grips with some fundamentals - like affordability, and environmental sustainability/functionality.

I remember a few decades ago talking about my opinion that all houses in Australia should have verandahs, and having someone respond "But we've got air conditioning - just us that". Well, the environment wasn't as fashionable then, I suppose, but air conditioning was damn expensive ...

Anyway, some months ago, I prepared the following notes on a house I would like to build - which won't happen now, as I'm not going to be able to get a block of dirt in the country. Still, someone else might be able to use the idea - and I might yet wind up rich enough to buy some land in the city's suburbs and build an adaptation of this principle.

I was interested to learn, a year or so ago, that others have thought of and applied the idea of using deeper parts of the Earth for cooling. More recently I was pleased to see some discussion on the idea of green roofs (in cities): it may not offset our damage, but it is a step towards making the world a better, more liveable, even - dare I say it - pleasant place.

Anyway, enough rambling: on with the idea. As usual, click on each image to get a readable version. Oh, I used this as part of a submission to the Victorian Bushfires Commission, so it may crop up in other areas.


























































































































I would love to either make my living from a job where I am paid to think, or to be in a position to do something with these ideas, but I am in neither the job I have know involves a certain amount of being paid to think, but there is quite a bit of mundane, dreary or unpleasant administration, commercial and competitive stuff as well – and some good training and interaction with good people) . So I have created this web site to at least allow me the opportunity to get my ideas out where, maybe, someone can either use them, or be inspired by them, to come up with something that is of benefit to this world or the people who share it. All I ask for is at least appropriate credit where it is due.

Kayleen