Chacahua Eco Dome - Arq. Augusto Pérez Torres

Gutsy because people build homes with this technique when they’ve just learned it. The materials are basic, elemental, primal. Monolithic earthen architecture is common in Iran and throughout the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Mediterranean. Thousands of years ago, people discovered and utilized the principles of arch and dome construction. By
applying this ancient structural technolog

y, combined with a few modern day materials, We have cultivated a dynamic contemporary form of earthen architecture that we simply call Earthbag Building. With a couple rolls of barbed wire, a bale of bags, and a shovel one can build a magnificent shelter with nothing more than the earth beneath their feet. The method offers more structural integrity than adobe, more plasticity than rammed earth, and more speed in construction than cob. Earthbag construction offers broad possibility for ultra-low-cost, low-impact housing,especially in regions where timber, grasses, cement, and fuel are scarce. Earthbag domes also provide unparalleled safety in wooded areas prone to wildfires, as fire will more easily pass over any structures without a roof or leaves to ignite. Earthbag building has been chosen, too, for sites exposed to hurricanes and other extreme weather. Solid as the earth itself.