[DoctorBeaver (OP)]

I would love to live somewhere like this...

http://www.simondale.net/house/index.htm

[dentstudent]

It would appear to be somewhat influenced by The Lord of the Rings...Did you see recently a cave dwelling sold in Worcestershire? I've always fancied building a house in the arches of a disused railway bridge.

[DoctorBeaver (OP)]

Stuart - I immediately thought of hobbits when I saw it.

I didn't see the cave house. Do you have a link?

Railway arches would be interesting so long as there were no trains still running.

[dentstudent]

Hence "disused".....

Here's the link for the cave "dwelling". I think it went for GBP 100,000 or so.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/herefordandworcester/content/articles/2007/06/12/cave_house_feature.shtml

[DoctorBeaver (OP)]

Nice. That's not far from where I live.

[neilep]

Wonderful Eth.....I love that house.

I once knew a man who did a similar thing !..albeit it was a contemporary dwelling but underground....NOT like a nuclear bunker or an enhanced basement !..Cripes, I remember he made the news about twenty years ago.

[Carolyn]

I can't believe it, but I love this house...but could someone tell me exactly what a compost toilet is?

[Karen W.]

It is very cool. I have a co worker who built her house also. It is a straw bale house! radient heated floors and the works..solor powered etc etc.!

It is very cool and quite charming!

Usually a compost toilet empties in an area that is used for compost and it all becomes fertilizer!

[paul.fr]

looks like the teletubbies house.

[another_someone]

Looks a bit dim inside, and while it may be low impact, it is not something you could exactly build high density (OK, for one guy, or one family, living isolated in a hillside, but you would not house 1 million people like that).

[DoctorBeaver (OP)]

Looks a bit dim inside, and while it may be low impact, it is not something you could exactly build high density (OK, for one guy, or one family, living isolated in a hillside, but you would not house 1 million people like that).

I wouldn't want to. I'd want to be miles from anyone.

[another_someone]

Looks a bit dim inside, and while it may be low impact, it is not something you could exactly build high density (OK, for one guy, or one family, living isolated in a hillside, but you would not house 1 million people like that).

I wouldn't want to. I'd want to be miles from anyone.

Yes, but it does rather undermine its 'environmentally friendly' credentials; since it implies that it makes very inefficient use of land (and possibly other resources).

As  private luxury - that is fine (not my idea of luxury - but each to their own), but if it tries to make claims about the way forward for environmentally friendly housing, then I would question those credentials.

[paul.fr]

i know george has sort of answered with an enviromental answer. so in my tiredness i will add this.

It should keep heating bills down, due to its insulation, ie all the mud and grass growing around it. but, i can that it is very dingey inside. i bet you have to keep the lights on all day.

Also, i looks like no natural light will get in. and where is the patio?