Can earth-covered houses protect us from bushfires? Even if they’re a solution, it’s not risk-free

Tue, 9 Apr 2024 19:28:04 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/can-earth-covered-houses-protect-us-from-bushfires-even-if-theyre-a-solution-its-not-risk-free-216449>

"As extreme fire weather becomes more common across ever larger areas of
Australia, we need new options for living with the risk of bushfire.
Underground or earth-sheltered housing is one possibility. While still unusual,
these homes are being built in bushfire-prone areas.

But before we embrace this form of housing as a widespread solution to
increasing bushfire risks, we need to consider its complexities. Things to
weigh up include the challenges of designing and building these homes, their
costs and occupants’ behaviour. We also have limited real-world evidence of how
such homes perform in bushfires.

A broader question is whether we should allow more people to live in
bushfire-prone areas. If we let that happen it will lead to more deaths and
injuries."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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