[dhamidi]

All the pictures on the website seem to be taken in arid climates. Does anyone know how well Superadobe is suited to more humid/cold climates (e.g. Scandinavia)?

Adding layers of insulation on the inside seems non-trivial, given the dome shape and the already thick walls.

[dredmorbius]

FAQ: "1) Do these buildings work in wet and/or cold climates?"

http://calearth.org/faq.html#climates

Although generally and historically associated with arid, desert climates, earth architecture and specifically super-adobe construction is as suited to cold and wet climates as any other type of construction. With regard to water issues it is necessary to properly waterproof the building and this is achieved in a multi-elemental approach which is discussed and demonstrated in detail during our workshops and training sessions. The question of water is not so much how do we protect the building from water but rather how do we harvest the resource of water from the building!

I'd also suspect, generally, that drainage and humidity control would be issues in moister / wetter climates. Cold ones also, as condensation from warm interiors onto cold surfaces will likely be an issue.

[dhamidi]

Thanks, somehow I missed that.

> The question of water is not so much how do we protect the building from water but rather how do we harvest the resource of water from the building!

"Harvesting" water from the building is certainly an interesting idea!

> as condensation from warm interiors onto cold surfaces will likely be an issue

That's a good point.

What's your opinion on the feasibility of this building technique for urban areas (in say, Western Europe)? I can imagine it to be hard to get a permit for building such a dome, as it doesn't blend in with the surrounding structures. Other than that, the low cost make it very attractive.

[dredmorbius]

I really don't see the method as appropriate for dense urban construction. It seems far better suited to rural spaces with little access to modern building materials. Though this really isn't my bailiwick.

There's a design for dense modern urban areas: it's brick-and-timber multi-story construction. You'll find it evident throughout Europe, with basic designs largely established by the 19th century if not before. The advantage of such construction is that it greatly minimizes land use, and hence transportation, a major concern for urban lifestyles. Designs which require large areas, aren't amenable to dense and multistory construction, and whose construction itselft is disruptive to adjacent properties (digging for earth fill in this case) strike me as a poor fit.

In rural areas it might work, though again issues of moisture and cool climates would concern me.

There's also an existing high-density earth-based construction model, the pueblo:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/USA_09669...

[benev]

I believe that a common method of insulating mud-built buildings in cooler climates is mixing straw with the mud. There's probably some method of incorporating something similar either inside the bags or as an external layer. This wouldn't have to be straw, it could be something longer lasting with similar thermal properties.