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Modern Earth-sheltered Town House is Urban, Civilized

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The soaring glass atrium in this Swiss earth house by Gewölbehaus Fiechter brings daylight to  six rooms.

The circle seems to be a common design theme in underground homes. But this design provides an example where the use of the “circular” theme is very elegantly understated.

This house in Germany is partly underground. But it is light and airy too. It doesn’t feel “buried”. Ecological friendly heating is provided through a ground heat exchange, sometimes known as geothermal heat. The constant temperature of the earth stabilizes the temperature in the house, keeping it warm and dry.

The central atrium brings daylight into the heart of it.

And the boring black sedan parked matter-of-factly outside this novel home could be outside any routine urban townhouse – seeming to illustrate that this kind of energy efficient earth-sheltered design has become mainstream.

Source: Gewölbehaus Fiechter