Earthbag construction

While Gernot Minke, the German professor of earthen architecture, first developed a
technique of using bags filled with pumice to build walls, it was architect and builder Nader
Khalili who popularized the methods and architecture of earthbag construction (particularly for
residential buildings).[2]
Khalili called his technique superadobe, because he filled the bags with moistened adobe soil. Many
examples of his work can be seen at the Cal Earth Institute in Hesperia, CA, which he established in
1986 to popularize his ideas about natural construction techniques. Khalili pioneered code approval
of earthbag domes for high seismic risk regions. Several books and videos have been produced by
the institute to demonstrate his methods, however a number of other individuals and groups now
offer training workshops.
Fernando Pacheco of EcoOca in Brazil later developed Hyperadobe. The big difference between the
two is that Superadobe uses woven polypropylene bags with barbed wire between the layers,
whereas Hyperadobe uses a knit raschel, the same material used in packaging fruit. This leads to
less cost compared to the poly bags.

A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely

covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing
membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage
and irrigation systems. Container gardens on roofs, where plants are maintained in
pots, are not generally considered to be true green roofs, although this is debated.
Rooftop ponds are another form of green roofs which are used to treat greywater.

Green roofs serve several purposes for a building, such as absorbing rainwater,
providing insulation, creating a habitat for wildlife, increasing benevolence and
decreasing stress of the people around the roof by providing a more aesthetically
pleasing landscape, and helping to lower urban air temperatures and mitigate the
heat island effect.[1] There are two types of green roof: intensive roofs, which are
thicker, with a minimum depth of 12.8 cm, and can support a wider variety of plants
but are heavier and require more maintenance, and extensive roofs, which are
shallow, ranging in depth from 2 cm to 12.7 cm, lighter than intensive green roofs,
and require minimal maintenance.[2]

The term green roof may also be used to indicate roofs that use some form of green
technology, such as a cool roof, a roof with solar thermal collectors or photovoltaic
panels. Green roofs are also referred to as eco-roofs, oikosteges, vegetated roofs,
living roofs, greenroofs and VCPH[3] (Horizontal Vegetated Complex Partitions).

Khalili proposed using the techniques of earthbag construction for building

structures on the Moon or other planets. Currently, it is quite expensive to lift a
positive-mass payload from Earth. Thus, Khalili's techniques would seem to be an
ideal solution as the requisite supplies would consist of lightweight bags and a few
tools to fill them. He specified that such bags would probably have pre-sewn "hook
and loop" (i.e. Velcro) fastener strips in lieu of barbed wire.
It's easy to posit that earthbag construction uses the least energy of any
durable construction method. Unlike concrete, brick or wood, no energy is needed
to produce the necessary materials other than gathering soil. With on-site soil being
used, practically no energy is expended on transportation. And unlike rammed earth
construction, no energy is required to compact the soil. The energy-intensive
materials that are used plastic (for bags & twine), steel wire, and perhaps the
outer shell of plaster or stucco are used in relatively small quantities compared to
other types of construction. The buildings last a long time; however, when they are
no longer useful they may simply erode with no serious threat to the environment,
or even be recycled into new earthbag-constructed buildings