[Greenbuilding] Some vernacular underground architecture from the 30s

[RT]

On Sun, 07 Aug 2011 07:22:52 -0400, Bob Waldrop <bwaldrop at cox.net> wrote:

> While wandering about, I came across this interesting photo. . .
>
> http://wallbase.cc/wallpaper/350805
>
> It shows a woman standing in front of a church from the 1930s in Oregon,  
> but on closer examination, it's clear that the church is a dugout
>
> Sensible, climate-appropriate living of the era. I predict this kind of
> thing will become more popular going forward. I wonder if any plans have
> endured from those days?

Bob's post rung a bell in my memory from the days of the Whole Earth  
Catalogue but that bell is so far in the distant past that I couldn't  
remember which WEC or whether it was from one of it's sister publications.

The "bell" was the extensive (~10 acres ?) underground constructions in  
California that were dug out mostly by one man working alone with nothing  
but a pick and shovel and a wheelbarrow over the course of 40 years or so  
in the early 1900's.

Trying to come up with a name out of the cobwebs of memory, the best I  
could come up with is "Baldessaro Fortessari" but I just Googled it and  
nothing relevant came up.

Perhaps there are other geezers reading this whose memories and spelling  
are better than mine ?

But something else I do remember is that not only did  BF did out amazing  
spaces down there, he planted fruit-bearing trees down there in courtyards  
which exposed the trees to sunlight.



-- 
=== * ===
Rob Tom
Kanata, Ontario, Canada
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