Why do we only think of Vertical as Up ? Or … Is Strata Going Underground ?

Since strata is about splitting land in the vertical (as well as horizontal) plane we think of buildings going up above the ground in duplexes, small apartment blocks and high rise towers.  But, vertical also means going down … so why not have strata underground too ?

There’s nothing new to living (and working) underground as it’s been happening for a long time in naturally occurring caves or in built structures.

Although novel, underground living offers a range of the benefits including –

• a nearly constant comfortable temperature without the need for additional insulation
• quiet because of the noise insulation of the surrounding earth
• resistance to hurricanes, tornadoes and many other natural disasters
• safety from most weapon systems
• unobtrusiveness on the landscape
• privacy
• energy efficiency due to the stable subsurface temperature of the earth
• and with a smaller surface area, fewer building materials are used.

However underground living is susceptible to flooding and can be a bit dark.

I know it’s not for everyone but remember that JRR Tolkien’s Hobbits of the Shire lived in holes, they have lived underground in Coober Pedy for over 100 years, Berber caves in Tunisia have been lived in for centuries and the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is underground.

Underground living is even being considered for the design of a future base on Mars.

Some of the ways to live underground include –

Caves (Natural) have been used for millennia as makeshift shelter.

Caves (Constructed)/Dugouts are a common structure for underground living. Although the tunnelling techniques required to make them have been well developed by the mining industry, they can be considerably more costly and dangerous to make than some of the alternatives. On the plus side, they can be quite deep.

Earth Berm structures are essentially traditional homes that have then been buried, typically leaving at least one wall exposed for lighting and ventilation. However, because they are to be buried, the structures must be made of materials capable of surviving the increased weight and moisture of being underground.

Rammed Earth structures are not truly underground, in the sense of being below grade or buried beneath a berm. Instead, they are structures made of tightly packed earth, similar to concrete but without the binding properties of cement. These structures share many properties with traditional adobe construction.

Culvert structures are a very simple approach. Large precast concrete pipes and boxes a few meters across are assembled into the desired arrangement of rooms and hallways onsite, either atop the existing ground or below grade in excavated trenches, then buried. This approach can also be referred to as Cut and Cover.

Urban underground living is so common that few even think of it as underground. Many shopping malls are partially or totally underground, in the sense that they are below grade. Though not as exotic as the other underground structures, those working in such urban underground structures are in fact living underground.  And, many casinos are partially underground.

Shaft structures. The project would incorporate a very wide and deep shaft, within which would be built levels for habitation, all looking in toward a hollow core topped with a huge skylight.

Tunnels, including storm drains, are used by homeless people as shelter in large cities.

Well, you might say this all sounds very interesting but no-one would bother.  But you’d be wrong as there are a few places where living underground is common.

Of course, Coober Pedy is an Australian mining town where underground living has been happening forever. 

But in Tokyo, Japan, the Taisei Corporation has proposed to build an underground village called Alice City and in southern Spain, man made cave homes (known in Spanish as casas cueva) exist in Granada and nearby Benalua.  In fact in the Guadix suburb and in the gypsy quarter of Sacromonte everyone lives in a cave, there are cave theaters, cave hotels, cave restaurants, cave spas, and of course, cave houses.  Whilst Bag End 2 is a less conventional project for modern hobbit holes to live in.

If you like the idea yourself and want to make a start underground, the Stockton Underground provides information on building underground houses, you can buy a how to book by Mike Oehler from undergroundhousing.com and you can join Subterranea Britannica (a society devoted the the study and investigation of man-made and man-used underground places).

On a similar theme, in California (where else?) an Italian immigrant spent his lifetime creating the Forestiere Underground Gardens.  Why ???

So, maybe I'll see you 6 feet under (or more) ….

Francesco …