Earthbag houses can be made into 2,3 or 4 bedrooms. This is achieved by having a mix of dome , round and rectangular shaped earthbag structures designed to link to each other using a balanced shape connector.
These houses cost on average less than 50% compared to using other methods of construction such as prefab or building stones. There houses are slightly more expensive than mabati houses, hence making them very cost effective.
The ability to be formed into various curvilinear shapes such as round and dome shapes makes them very suitable for building resorts and holiday home types where the design and shape of the building forms part of the attraction.
Earthbag buildings are very much in use in USA and South America. The technology is rapidly spreading to other parts of the world including Kenya.
Earthbag houses can easily be built into phases and extended later on as time goes by since the dome shape allows for easy integration with the rectangular connecting shapes.
The roofs can be made of iron sheets or concreted to be used as lounge areas.
Advantages of using earthbag technology is in terms of low cost, unique aesthetic designs, ease of extension of new spaces and conservation of the environment since they are easy on carbon footprint increase.
Architect Francis Gichuhi Kamau.
info@a4architect.com
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