Welcome to the British Earth Sheltering Association (BESA) website!
Introduction
 The British Earth Sheltering Association is a non-profit making organisation that aims to encourage the design and construction of Earth-Sheltered (E/S) Buildings in the United Kingdom.
We encourage people to design and build E/S buildings because we know they have a number of advantages. If designed correctly, they are cheap to run and maintain, very energy efficient, draught-free, durable, bright, quiet, dry, secure, and visually attractive, like the one pictured (right). You can see from the pictures below that the interiors of earth-sheltered homes usually look quite conventional – they are not dark, or damp, or claustrophobic.
Join us
Visitors may freely use the BESA public forum – click on the link near the top of the menu on the left. To gain full access to the site, you will have to become a member. To apply, click on the registration link near the top of the menu to the left. Membership is currently £4 per year. Members are entitled to access the private forum, see other content, download files and receive our Newsletter.
Before joining, though, you may wish to ask questions about BESA on the public forum and/or read on to satisfy yourself that you have come to the right place. There is a ‘FAQs about BESA’ section in the public forum which sets out the advantages of joining us. If you are still uncertain, we have assembled a table near the bottom of this page that might help you to decide where to find what you are looking for.
Earth Sheltered Buildings
 We are aware that the term 'underground house' is sometimes used by others to describe the sort of architecture that interests BESA. It is true that some earth sheltered buildings are 'underground', in the sense that they are subterranean, or below ground level, like a cellar, but some are constructed above ground level, then covered with earth, or earth-bermed. Many others are built into or onto a slope. So, what do we at BESA mean by an earth-sheltered building? Strictly speaking, earth sheltered buildings are those in which earth contributes significantly to the insulation and protection of the building shell. For this reason, BESA, as its name implies, prefers the broad term 'earth sheltered'. Note that our definition excludes some sorts of dwelling, such as caves, and buildings made of earth. If you are interested in either of these forms of construction, there are some links in the table at the bottom of this page that you may like to explore.
Some History
BESA was founded in 1983 by three architects from Liverpool. In its long history it has helped interested architects, students, planners, self-builders, and indeed those with only a passing interest to keep up to date with all and any issues related to E/S building.
In the UK, E/S buildings used to be built exclusively by pioneers with considerable budgets and the knowledge and skill to push their designs through the planning process. But now there are, in the UK, examples of E/S self-build communities, individual low-budget E/S homes, and E/S social housing projects. E/S buildings have come of age in the UK – they are represented in all sections of the residential housing market, and in the commercial and public property sectors, too.
BESA itself is now entering a new era. Its central goal – to disseminate information about earth-sheltered building – is unchanged. But it has now shifted from ‘paper-based’ to ‘web-based’ communication. We have attempted to archive as much of the old BESA material as possible so that none of the history is lost. Most of this is available in the ‘file sharing’ section of our site.
The future
 This forum/website is now under continuous development. It aims to occupy a fairly narrow niche on the web. Although many of our members take ‘holistic’ and ‘green’ positions, discussions on this site are restricted to matters associated with earth-sheltering. This site aims to be the natural choice of anybody seeking information about the design and construction of earth-sheltered buildings, especially in the UK.
As the BESA site develops, we will feature more pictures and accounts of members e/s projects, links to other E/S websites, all of BESA’s past Newsletter with an index (eventually - Ed.), more book reviews, and useful articles about E/S building technologies and planning issues. In addition, members can participate in the forums, or just ‘lurk’ and learn from what others are discussing. We hope you will give us a try.
Have you come to the right place?
Use the following table to find out whether the BESA website has anything to offer you, and to find other websites that might interest you.
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What
sort of visitor are you?
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Is this the website
for you?
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Just
curious – you have heard about earth-sheltered housing, and you want to see
what it is all about.
|
Yes.
Instead of conducting your own searches, you could save yourself time by
using our ‘Off site Links’ section, which contains scores of links to E/S
related websites. You can also browse our Photo Albums, read reviews of
books about E/S you might consider buying, and, of course, discuss your thoughts
with others who are also interested in finding out about E/S building.
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Troglodyte
- you are interested in the idea of living in a cave carved from an existing layer
or formation of rock.
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No.
This is not the site for you. The shell of an Earth sheltered building is
constructed, often from reinforced concrete, and at least some part of the
building shell is protected by earth. Cave homes either utilise existing holes
in solid rock, or are made by burrowing, tunnelling, or blasting holes. If
you are interested in cave-dwellings, here are a few links to get you
started. You can stay in cave dwellings Turkey,
and buy a cave home in Spain, or
even occasionally in the UK
(and here).
Opal miners in Coober
Pedy, Australia, are famous for their subterranean homes, and there are an
estimated 70 million people currently inhabiting cave homes in China. Finally,
consider the astounding dedication of Forestiere.
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Committed
- you are fairly sure you want to build an E/S house, and you want a complete
package of advice from someone who has already built one.
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Yes.
We can certainly offer quite a lot of information, and we are happy to answer
your questions, but we are not a consultancy and if you are on the brink of
deciding to build an E/S house, you might consider:
a)
looking at our Accommodation Forum to see if there is anywhere you might like
to stay so that you can experience staying in an E/S building, or
b)
looking through our Offsite Links to see where you might find an architect/builder
who has already built an E/S building, or an organisation which can give you
a complete consultancy package.
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Frustrated
- you have a question about E/S building, but have been unable to find anyone
to answer it.
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Yes.
We have a number of Forums and you will probably be able to find an answer to
your question here. If we can’t answer your question, we will usually be
able to point you to a useful source of information that will provide an
answer.
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Miner
- you are interested in deep underground structures such as tunnels,
listening posts, silos, etc.
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No.
There is not much on our site about this, though one of our members is an
authority on trenchless technology. We focus mainly on E/S dwellings. Try this link.
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Aspiring
- you want to build one, and you want some design inspiration
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Yes.
This is a good place from which to browse the possibilities. You can find
links to many styles of E/S construction – dome, tunnel, earthship, etc.
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Earth
enthusiast - you want to build structures out of earth
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No.
You have probably heard of rammed
earth, compressed
earth block, earthbag, light
earth, wattle and
daub, and cob
structures. These are all building techniques which use sub-soil or clay to
form all or part of the building envelope. Many of these buildings look
great, and are very ecologically sound, but we do not offer information about
them here.
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Proud
owner - you are already the owner of an E/S dwelling in the UK.
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Yes.
We probably can’t teach you very much, and now you have put all that effort
into planning and building your own E/S house, you might just want to have a
bit of a sit-down. But if you want to see what other E/S builders are up to,
help with our research, tell us about your own experiences, offer advice, or
receive a Newsletter from time to time, then this is the organisation for
you.
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Romantic
- you want to build a Hobbit House, or a Telly-tubby House
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No,
not unless you plan to meet UK Planning and Building Regulations. If you are
serious about building a structure that meets these criteria, then, yes,
there is much you can learn from this site. You may also find this group helpful.
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Agriculturalist
- you are interested in earth-sheltered agricultural buildings or wine stores
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No.
We focus on dwellings. There are some interesting structures out there, such
as sunken greenhouses, E/S ice-houses, and E/S chicken houses. The constant
temperature offered by E/S buildings has led to some vineyards adopting E/S
techniques. Take a look at the links here,
here, and
here.
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Green - you are interested in Green Living in general –
e.g. Transition Towns, Permaculture, Green Building, Renewable Energy,
Cycling & Re-cycling.
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Yes
and No. The focus of this site is deliberately narrow – it’s just about
earth sheltering. Other topics are better covered by other sites. You may
be better served by signing on to Green Building Forum,
or the AECB, the Permaculture Association, or the Transition Town Network.
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Cautious
- you are interested in building a fallout shelter
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No.
Mostly we are interested in structures that have quite a lot of natural
light. You will probably be better off looking at sites like this.
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