Cork-clad home uses Trombe Wall & circular vents as free A/C

When Nancy and her husband found a lot at the edge of Catalonia’s Garraf forest, they wanted a home that would fit the environment so they wrapped their home in cork insulation and installed a “natural” swimming pool that uses wetlands instead of chlorine. Instead of installing an HVAC system, architect Elisabetta Quarta Colosso strategically placed three thermal storage walls, or “Trombe walls”, to warm and cool the home.
[Watch another house by Elisabetta Quarta Colosso's, also cork-clad for insulation, this time in the city of Barcelona • Turns drafty townhome ... ]
“A Trombe wall is a massive Equator-facing wall that is painted a dark color in order to absorb thermal energy from incident sunlight and covered with a glass on the outside with an insulating air-gap between the wall and the glaze.” In winter, the sunlight absorbed by the mass is converted to heat and then transferred into the living space. In summer, the system cools like a solar chimney by drawing in cool air from the north and pushing out warmer air in the southern vents.
Taking into account the three Trombe walls, as well as the local climate and the home’s passive solar orientation, Elisabetta estimates the home should need to use the tiny wood-burning stove only two weeks per year. Nancy confirms that it is only on the coldest winter nights or if there are several days without sun when they need to light it.
After nearly two years since construction, the cork cladding has begun to gain its own patina, but cork, unlike other insulating materials (like foam) that can lose its effectiveness after a few years, doesn’t lose R-value with time. It also proves an effective sound insulator and Elisabetta crafted a patio with cork walls on two sides for quiet contemplation.
Nancy loves the aesthetic associated with the functional choices of the house systems, but the highlight for her is the natural swimming pool. No chlorine feels great on the skin and the only maintenance is an annual trimming of the plants. The pool is fed by a 20-thousand liter rainwater water tank stored under the driveway (it also waters the garden). Elisabetta explains that the idea of the house is to have “a small complete ecosystem that works with its own resources”.
More on Trombe walls: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trombe_...
Architect: www.elfilverd.com/
On *faircompanies: faircompanies.com/videos/cork...

[@raydreamer7566]

46 years ago I was working near a hotel building in Bobcaygeon Ontario Canada that was in renovation. It had a Ice room that was about 20 x20 feet in size that was internally insulated with cork sheets about 3 to 4 inches thick. This was the ice room. Large blocks of Ice ( I was told about 2 feet by 2 feet by 3 feet in size) was cut from the lake during the coldest months of the winter and dragged back and strategically placed inside this room like an interior wall. Then covered with straw to slow down its melting. The melting ice was naturally drained out to the adjoining river. This kept all of the hotels food and drink needs cool for the entire summer months as needed. Sad to say that this part of the building was abandon and tor down during the renovation and plugin coolers are now used. The cork was surprisingly in great shape, even the pieces that were stranded outside in the elements for years. I was told that this building was about 100 years old at that time. I could not confirm this age. So your cork idea is a true time tested natural product and used with air type cement it the best use of natural materials of old and new to help make a building energy efficient ! Great video ....... Very educational .....

[@ForeverMasterless]

Man that's a shame. Decisions like that which are leading us into climate catastrophe. A completely energy free way to keep things cold for an entire hotel abandoned for no good reason.

[@harrymills2770]

@@ForeverMasterless I can think of one good reason: For a fraction of what you paid a team to go out and saw and haul ice, you had a cold space with the flip of a switch. Still, ice-cutting could be a healthy hobby for people who pay to exercise at a gymnasium. Put all that good energy to work doing something productive. The stories I heard, people used sawdust, because it was readily available in any town with a sawmill.

[@zefrum3]

Thanks for sharing!

[@thetessellater9163]

@@ForeverMasterless - Climate change is caused by too many humans on the planet! All attempts to mitigate it, whilst still growing our population will fail. Every country on earth needs to halt their population growth right now, and formulate real plans to manage their numbers down. But it won't happen because of capitalists wanting an ever rising market and continued profits! Greed will kill us all, and much of our flora and fauna - but at least a small number can watch our demise from their siloed life of Riley. !!!!

[@mariloutaurines-rispal4129]

I Ray, I am from the south of France. Here temperatures can be very high in the summer but people used to make artesanal icecream in the hot summer since ancien times thanks to the same technology. They built earth domes and filed them with ice and insuleted with straw in the inside (harvested in the Pyrenees mountain during winter). On the outside they rammed earth on top of the dome. The ice could remain unmelted during 2 years. It was also used as a safety source of water for extremely hot summers. It is so impressive !

[@StaleCookies]

I’ve been fascinated with tromp walls for passive homes for ages so exciting to see them being utilised in new builds

[@rhasani4372]

as an architect... i love to work with Elisabetta. She embodies all of why i choose to become an Architect in the beginning! my compliments!

[@johns6119]

Hi Hasani, did you work on this house?

[@rhasani4372]

@@johns6119 no, i think you misunderstood :) i loved to work with Elisabetta is meant to say i like people that think the way she does and love to work with them in the future.

[@emil8260]

Down bad

[@88marome]

×"I would love to work with"

[@timwillits3795]

That architect is brilliant!

[@ggc7318]

Much better than the totally sealed "sustainable " houses here in USA.

[@marissaalonzo7997]

I would put a thin cork layer on the interior walls to offset the the noise bouncing off the concrete

[@JohnEPezze]

You are so right Miss Alonzo and if you're going to do it don't make it thin. Give yourself anywhere at least a half inch or 3/4 of an inch. Take care and God bless you

[@snippets981]

Absolutely. Not a fan of echoey spaces. And it's a surprisingly comfortable looking. Much preferable to that light color, imo.

[@larsstougaard7097]

Agree I would save the cork from wine bottles and slowly make a wall inside.

[@snippets981]

@@larsstougaard7097 Not into wine myself, but I'd start drinking a lot of it just to do that very thing -wouldn't it be fabulous?? Not into dinner parties either, but I love the idea of having people over regularly and everyone knowing "wine and corking the walls is why we're here, drink up!!"😂👏👏👏😂

[@larsstougaard7097]

@@snippets981 😁🙏❤🌏🥙🍷

[@cuongtruong6043]

She is the dream architect; clever use of materials, use of innovative technology and considerate design.

[@Melih_R_Calikoglu]

Kirsten. You always find those great inspiring designs and bring them to us. Thanks.

[@JohnEPezze]

I just love the cork I would really love to build with it

[@recklessroges]

I did an experiment back in the 90's with cork insulation. It was thermally impressive, but direct UV radiation did weaken it over a decade. (But my test was with much thinner panels, and they probably weren't processed the same way.) I look forward to an update in 10 and 20 years time.

[@larsstougaard7097]

Yes interesting how it do over longer time period

[@tlockerk]

Would it be cost effective to re-clad after 10 or 15 years? With cob or adobe it is sometimes needed.

[@toucansteve]

This is not natural cork, it has been processed to overcome cork's deficiencies. Wood is being treated similarly with impressive results.

[@mtrisi]

At 14:30 she said it should last like 100 years

[@filipejsbrandao]

This is insulation cork board. The process is 100 years old. A cork granulate is inserted into a closed chamber and water vapour is pumped inside. It heats up to 300degrees Celsius. This process expands the cork cells and releases suberin, cork's natural resin, that binds the granulate to form a block. Standard dimensions are 1000x500x300mm blocks which are then sawn into varying thicknesses. This material is widely used for building cladding in Portugal, traditionally in double wall insulation. Since 2000, it started being used in exterior cladding either like in this building. There are several buildings now with more than 20 years.

[@AlexandreLollini]

Cork is able to protect a space capsule enter the atmosphere, even when burning it burns "so slow". When the forest burn, the cork oak -quercus-suber- is still alive : it restarts. I have cut 872 trees when my forest burned in 1994, but the five quercus suber are still proudly alive.

[@magnus9165]

I watch this channel from time to time for years. The geothermal place and greenhouse in Nebraska was always one of my favorites. Now, this one will be right up there as well. I would love have to have enough money to hire this very smart architect to design a home for me in AZ. I love the way this home is so efficient. Even the pool. I believe with our profits over people rigged system here in the states, we miss out on many ideas and technologies. I would have gone the rest of my life if not knowing about this had you not been active with this channel. I think these innovative designs are probably one of the most interesting of all your videos.

[@apscoradiales]

It's misleading to compare this custom house to the ones built by residential developers. developers build for profit. custom house, by definition, is a one off where it specifically tailored to one user for his or hers specific needs.

[@evankelley1204]

@@apscoradialesthey also just build better homes in Europe. The products that are popular in the US are only here due to marketing and undercutting prices of more sturdy materials

[@apscoradiales]

You are forgetting labour skills. Find me a contractor in North america who can work with cork. @@evankelley1204

[@MusicEchos]

I love your home! I had a pond similar to yours. It was mainly for a few goldfish. One day I jumped in. A few days later I got an ear infection. It is true that nature takes care of bacteria but that doesn't mean that the bacteria doesn't live peacefully under the plants. I would do bacteria tests every month or so during the summer. I wouldn't let my friends with damaged immune systems get in. Bless you and thank you for sharing

[@WhyteHorse2023]

You can add protective bacteria. We do this with freshwater fish tanks.

[@dandan8333]

Totally dumbfounded, never thought I would see a beautiful and well thought out home with unique natural ingredients! It makes me sad to view as I know that it's probably near impossible to have these qualities stateside! Now, it's changing my thoughts while building. TY! Have a great day.

[@stephenverchinski409]

8'x24' vertical hot air collector equatorial facing installed in 1982. Home built in 1950's uninsulated cinder block. Insulated in 1980s wall by wall as affordable. 1200 sq ft home. Usually supplemental heated only after December 15. Used to use the gas furnace now use a 30,000 btu wood Morso stove. Usually stop by February. Like the cork.

[@toucansteve]

There are many built high performing low energy use homes in the United States. Many builders, architects, engineers dedicate their lives' work to this end. No, they are not common but neither is common sense.

[@michellebyrom6551]

Spain and Portugal have cork trees as a native species. Other trees have been transplanted to favourable conditions in other countries. Given the size of the American population, it shouldn't cause any great harm to European cork industry for America to supply some of its own needs. Cheaper too.

[@lizcox7286]

I have been in passive solar houses in VA and there are also cob and earth ships here in the states

[@walterdolen7169]

This house reminds me of a passive-envelope-solar house I build in 1980, which had double walls on the north and side of the house wherein the air circulated through in a circle (through under floor crawl space, inside north double walls, through the attic, through the south facing aquarium). We didn't have any mass inside the wood house, but it still worked even though the summer's average temp was 95f and the winter in the 30sf. No air conditioning and small electric heater when the sun didn't shine. Durning the summer we had large air ducts that went underground helping to cool the air around the envelope that escaped through opening in the roof. This was driven by the south side aquarium. This was the most comfortable house I ever lived in. I wish I still lived in it, but we moved.

[@noellaq8056]

Mr. Dolmen, Thank you for sharing. Would you happen to know where I can read more about these ideas you have just mentioned? (A book or books)? Where did you get your ideas from at the time? Merci. We are considering a small extension, and would like to incorporate some good and practical ideas.

[@goldeneastgun]

I love the intelligence that went into this design. Efficient, practical... as well as beautiful. All homes should be built this way.

[@jonothandoeser]

Takes a lot of ideas that are shared in common with the 'Earthship' design.

[@carolinawren3594]

Autoclaved aerated concrete? Its a mystery why it isn't required by law in all building jurisdictions and criminal that it isn't required in fire prone areas. Its properties in load bearing, fire proofing, thermal and sound insulation are nearly incredible. As opposed to all traditional masonry it requires 0 tolerances so it almost requires a whole new trade but on the other hand it can be easily worked with hand tools. So where for masons it might be a struggle for embroiderers it might be a piece of cake. Cork is not as universally applicable but no less deserving of greater use

[@NouriaDiallo]

Well, masons have to learn to work with it, but when they try, they usually appreciate the light weight of the blocks, that make the work faster and less jarring than cinder blocks.

[@stevepailet8258]

@@NouriaDiallo not good below grade but an amazing use of a quality building material

[@dlorien7306]

We're building with it now... in Carolina!

[@apscoradiales]

AAC is a great building material and is used often in some parts of Europe. It is more expensive that masonry units like the Weinerberger bricks. You can't force people to use it though through building code requirements. Other masonry units are also fire resistant. Not every bricklayer can lay AAC units - it's normally laid by using adhesives, not typical mortar, so requires some training.

[@stevepailet8258]

@@apscoradiales I was told by a manufacturer that it uses thin set mortar

[@robenglish416]

This is one of the most interesting houses I’ve seen on this channel. Cork is brilliant, just wondering how it would survive a colder and more humid climate? I would probably put it as an inside insulation here where I live. I also need leaning roof for snow. The natural pool is also genius!

[@frankindustries356]

Barcelona gets frosts in the winter (and every few years snow will settle). In the late summer we regularly see 90-95% humidity.

[@larsstougaard7097]

Very interested with cork, here in Denmark it would probably not work, normal wood cladding maybe .

[@kazparzyxzpenualt8111]

Cork is naturally water repellant. It has been used in freezer rooms for more than a century that I am aware of. Before modern alternatives changed the metrics.

[@susie9893]

Those pools are v popular in Europe

[@wren5291]

I was wondering exactly the same thing. Logic would dictate that one uses materials native to that country and of that particular area, however, I remind myself that everything OF the Earth is connected, and so materials are interchangeable and can be utilised in different locations.

[@universe12e]

The architect is really very smart and master of renewable sustainable energy home

[@wren5291]

I love houses like this. Nature is genius, and the humans that use it for the betterment of all, divine👏🏽🌍💚

[@gabrieln3613]

Wow, I believe this would be my "favorite" video/project you have found. I have a design group in US (San Diego area based but we go US & Central America and have people from several countries) and we design projects starting from land for Homesteads Eco-Villages & Farms, Greenhouses, Sustainable Landscapes, Natural Ponds, Swimming Pools (hundreds of pools in many states) Farm-to-table restaurants, etc. with our team of myself (45 years' experience in designing outdoor projects), an architect, chef, naturopathic doctor, certified food producer, 2 graphic designers (one from Mexico with master's in Sustainable Design), Artist and a few back-up biologists to help work with Marine, Plants, Wildlife as we encounter. Very cool concepts and applications....I was not aware of this type expanded cork....sweet! Keep up the great work!

[@UpperSkyDJ]

This home is so well thought out & beautiful. Especially like how the pond/pool is taken care of.

[@recklessroges]

A friend built one in the south of France. It's amazing. Zero chlorine but still stays clear and has fish swimming in it.

[@BatMan-to8im]

I struggle to see the beauty of that house. It looks as miserable as an eastern European tower apartment block

[@bebeautiful6613]

@@BatMan-to8im to me the concept is fantastic but the home doesn’t look warm and inviting. It looks cold and sterile. No personality no life.

[@horseluv723]

This house excites me! The trombe walls are amazing and using the cork externally for insulation is brilliant.

[@trevorrisley5419]

Tell me about it! This is literally something I’ve dreamed of for years since discovering the Trombe Wall.

[@johnshore3095]

I love the small sections and have an idea to add an insulated roller shutter to add extra insulation by night in winter.. not natural or zero energy but could add extra thermal gain in colder climates.

[@forappsuseonly8783]

And the cork makes the house fire resistant too

[@stephenverchinski409]

If you have a cinder block home you can insulate the exterior and use a south wall with an overhang and install a vertical hot air collector as I did in 1982. The system still operates and despite freezing night temperatures here in mile high Albuquerque my house has been at between 58.8 degrees to 70 plus degrees in the morning. Plus, adding exterior insulation moves all the thermal mass to the interior making it even cool in the summer.

[@Klehan]

Amazing! It really makes me think just how much the environment could and should affect the architecture of a building. I hope more architects start thinking like this in their designs.

[@stephenverchinski409]

Systems think architects have been building well for a few generations now. They can be found.

[@susie9893]

Yeah this chic is a visionary. There should be more like her!

[@ToxicVaccines_HivHoax]

6:03 That "Trombe Michelle" thermal wall seems like a great idea! 👍🔥

[@marsrover001]

Very special house, passive heating and cooling is definitely the future. Even when paired to conventional heat pumps it can reduce energy usage so much.

[@KhanAndMrPointyEars]

Cellular concrete is awesome. Also known as foam concrete, light weight concrete, aerated concrete, or AirCrete (used to make the DomeGaia homes). =)

[@Ifailedtopickanick]

Yes! And its production is totally environmentally friendly (lot, its not)! The whole house is a sham - she've used that photodegradable cork, which in addition, probably, is not very moisture resistnat without some sealing and resealing being done, where it was not most imortant, but've used cellular concrete, manufacturing of which produces a lot of c02, dor structural integrity. Fantastic! That video would impress only the people who uninronically read abc, cbs and other such infochannels.

[@loftsatsympaticodotc]

@@Ifailedtopickanick you sound like a cynic. PLEASE observe- if foam concrete is 1/3 the weight of solid concrete- you have saved 2/3 the CO2 otherwise used to make 3 times as much poured concrete in a foundation of regular style .

[@JS-df5vy]

@@Ifailedtopickanick Your grammar, misspelling/misuse of irony, and abuse in comments need some correction too.

[@mg4861]

@@Ifailedtopickanick Do you know that "is the sum that makes the total"? Depends how much co2 is produced in the fabrication and how much is produced-saved using the product for its duration. I don't know how you can guess the final result only watching this, or others, video.

[@rattusnorvegicus4380]

@@JS-df5vy There`s no signal in multi-kisses cave, so their spellcheck`s down.

[@jumbajambaddada191]

Phenomenal build. The passive strategy implemented here is so brilliant in its simplicity. Just harnessing what the planet gives us for free.

[@oumarh.gassama8063]

Awesome, and so inspiring! The passive rammed earth wall heating system is simply great. All the clever design features of this house are very thought provoking and truly inspiring. However, I'm not surprised they went for cork: Portugal is not so far away, and the biggest percent (50%) of the world's cork production comes from Portugal, with Spain itself being second - so as the material needs less transport, this choice was really a quite emission conscious choice - which is greatly appreciated.

[@williamleoppky661]

Just imagine a world where this was the norm. Such cleaner living!

[@danielmconnolly7]

Romans were using these techniques thousands of years ago. Ambient heat/cooling.

[@lorenzo3987]

When there are budget constraints instead of millions and the will to build efficient buildings the results can be incredible.. this is architectural work at its best, whether you like the design or not. A truly thoughtful process by the architect.

[@vyvienvp3413]

A very instructive video, particularly the heating brick & conductive method. This cork cladding is also so beautiful. (I recently found out cork is now used to insulate roofs in Portugal, where summers can bake but winters are rainy and pretty chilly). In the 70's it was used as tiles on bathroom floors - as a child I never forgot how soft and warm it felt when you got out of the bath!

[@stiaininbeglan3844]

Awesome!

[@eekay3646]

That is beautiful. I don't know why, but ever since I was a young child, I was fascinated with swimming pools.....

[@kloatlanta]

Lovely property. This type of green home should be a model for future homes.

[@SuzanneWho]

I have seen the chimney effect mentioned before. If you have a vent(s) at ground level on the cool side of a house and another (or a solar fan) up high, it will suck the cooler air up and displace the hot air. This is a great video to get folks thinking! I have also seen smaller versions of the heating wall. MotherEarthNews had some articles years ago on these heating walls, some were even portable.

[@sophiesto6122]

Any original victorian home in san francisco has the chimney design. I can cool or heat my house passively to the rate of 5F in 30mn.

[@SuzanneWho]

@@sophiesto6122 That’s fascinating. I lived in SF but in an apartment so we didn’t have that option. But all the years I lived there it never got hot enough to think about cooling. With the fog and the wind (we were near top of a hill) it was always cool.

[@ErikOosterwal]

@@SuzanneWho - "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Fransico."

[@ErikOosterwal]

During a family trip many years ago we stopped at a rest area that used the chimney effect to heat/cool the interior of the concrete building. In that design they used long intake tubes buried under ground where the heat was transferred between the air in the tubes and the ground around the tubes before the air exited the tubes into the building. The warmer air in the building rose and exited vents near the top, so there was a constant circulation of air without needing fans. It wasn't perfect, but it was efficient enough to keep the inside air in the mid 70s (F) even though the outside air was in the upper 80s (F).

[@SuzanneWho]

@@ErikOosterwal Mark Twain?

[@myfavs253]

Another completely unique house tour. I love your videos. If I was younger I would incorporate some of these systems into a tiny house(500sq ft). A lifetime of greatly reduced heating and cooling costs would add up over the years.

[@stiaininbeglan3844]

It's never too late to save money. 😜

[@M.P.T.1.2.3]

Back in the 70's or 80's here in Portugal it was very frequent to see apartaments with cork floors instead of tiles or wood parket. Specially in the bedrooms for comfort. Lime paint was used um all construction (houses and outside/gardens/properties walls as paint. No mold ever! And i believe it is also anti fungus. I remeber when we were Kids scratching our tonges on those walls to kill tinny "fungus" on our tonge saliva "spots" (sorry for not knowing apropriate words). And shortly after we were healed. Thank you so much for sharing this vídeo😊

[@SapioiT]

I said this and I will say it time and time again: Add metal-sheet mirrors to reflect more sunlight onto the walls in the colder seasons. It's also very cheap, although it needs either glass above it, or some other transparent coating, to remain a good mirror for longer. And you can also have metal-sheet mirrors on a side, too, to reflect even more sunlight onto the trombe wall solar chimney when needed or wanted. Also, simply adding metal shelves to the wall would allow plants to be dried inside, which would also work as a natural perfume for the room. The shelves would need to be metal or metal sieve, to transfer heat from the trombe wall to the plants being dried.

[@mucsalto8377]

what a brilliant idea to spoil the natural environment around your house with big shiny metal sheets. Someone will take care of and clean them on a regular basis and turn them into the right angle to the sun several times a day. Very good idea.

[@ResistanceIsUsefull]

It would be interesting to see how thermally efficient these homes are if you could incorporate using a Thermal camera into your future home reviews. If you could incorporate the thermal images into the videos periodically to show the thermal efficiencies of each home you tour in your future videos. I think everyone who watches your videos would greatly appreciate this information about all of these very unique and beautiful homes!

[@CNile-se9xw]

WOW, such a brilliant design & implementation, brought about by the special blend of forward-thinking people with a common goal. 👍❤️ The only thing I'd change would be to use aluminium instead of steel for the inspection lid of the under driveway water storage. This video should be made essential viewing for architects & town planners.

[@kayphillips4950]

Thank you, Kirsten for all the videos you present to all of us. You have increased my understanding of alternative housing lifestyles 100 fold! I often wish for a smaller carbon footprint..

[@jerrywensus1954]

This is by far my favorite design ive seen on this channel. Thank you.

[@michawodarczyk4811]

i wish they will council housing like this for comunities

[@BailelaVida]

Fantastic video. This should be shown to every single architect student. It is informative, entertaining, interesting and most importantly, this type of building process helps to save our current environment from degradation and destruction. Congrats to the lovely and clever owners, the brilliant architect who obviously knows what she's doing, and to Kirsten - for yet another very poignant and pleasant vid. Thanks y'all... Keep it up, folks!

[@cem_baysan]

i like the way that they plant deciduous non evergreen tree in front of the black walls so the tree cover the wall in the summer for heat with shade and in the winter it will get warm as the leaves fall to the ground.

[@noellerose3453]

I love this channel, thank you for showcasing all these wonderful passive homes.

[@Kofi.86]

Before watching I like the video u guys always deliver with some unique buildings and architecture

[@kirstendirksen]

That is a very kind pre-comment:)

[@MM-sf3rl]

I wonder how they heat the domestic water. Great ideas. Seems more practical than some passive houses with so much mechanical equipment.

[@markpashia7067]

That under drive cistern for the rain collection shares a wall with the living room. That is a massive temperature leveler. A huge heat sink for both heat in the winter and cool in the summer. Makes a lot of sense. Sure wish you had done some on the second floor space and the walk out area with the garden boxes. Also roof on first floor and is it the same as the second floor but just without the gravel? And how much solar plus where are the batteries and controller located? Fantastic walk through but so much more to see. I will say, thank you for what you showed. Lots of great ideas.

[@Angus1million]

Fantastic convection heating/cooling system. Genius!

[@maxjosephwheeler]

*This was good, lots of ideas we can implement on our own homes!*

[@Samthemancharles]

Your vids are getting more interesting for me. This is almost an earth house but so nice looking. I learned about Trombe walls in the 70s in N Mexico when they were on the forefront of passive energy designs. So happy to finally see it used in a relatively commercial house.

[@chriskincaid2923]

This is a beautiful project... in so many ways - thanks for sharing it!

[@Botanica2012]

Absolutely beautiful! Changed the way I see cork.

[@maunykaseburg7969]

My parents had cork floors in the ‘50s ....was fabulous!!

[@larsstougaard7097]

Did they drink a lot of wine 🍷 🤔?

[@maunykaseburg7969]

@@larsstougaard7097 lol...well one glass a night....but in those days cork was kinda 'advanced' - my dad constructed the model of our house (based on his admiration for Frank Lloyd Wright) out of balsa wood and paraffin while he was serving in a field hospital in Germany (1953-54). It was a BEAUTIFUL house.

[@larsstougaard7097]

@@maunykaseburg7969 wow thanks great sharing 😊. There are probably other good natural materials in the world, we need to explore and build more passive houses. Would be good for both man and climate 😁🙏🌏

[@krisg3984]

I liked the pool, cork cladding, cellular cement walls, water collection & tank, and the thermal mass wall -very good ! I’d do cork on the flooring too, for myself but that’s just because cement floors aren’t my thing. - I only have one question -and that’s about the Windows were They double or triple panes ? also,The air flow method for natural ventilation is such a good idea too 💕

[@apscoradiales]

As a Passivehaus, I'm sure they would be triple glazed.

[@sagrenreddy3746]

Thank you for finding this. This architect is amazing!

[@beverlyness7954]

This is an amazing home. It's incredible that all natural resources are being used. This is how we can build sustainability and replace our need for energy at the expense of our world resources. It's so well thought out and executed. It's not just budget friendly, it's working with nature to provide for our basic need of warmth and shelter, and still be one with nature. Thanks for giving us a tour. I'm thrilled to see this kind of ecosystem home being built. And I love the swimming pool. What a dream come true!

[@charlotpaddingtonbr]

I like idea of cork and the aircrete for tiny home on wheels, as lightweight. Also neat way to approach the glass sun radiation idea, similar to earthship for passive climate control. Feel more detail is needed to fireproof house like rammed earth.

[@susie9893]

Depends where you live I guess. Certainly in this location I imagine

[@1sm08]

I think the thicknesses of cork & aircrete block required for effective insulation would preclude using them for tiny spaces like thows, but it's definitely food for thought & innovation. I would like to know how this system performs regarding thermal bridging.

[@avienated]

I am not sure what you mean by "fireproofing", but cork is quite flame resistant, so it should already be quite fireproof.

[@sashastarshanti3599]

Absolutely beautiful home and setting. I love the architecture, and the natural pool is especially cool! The cork is beautiful, and I love the use of the porous cement blocks. I hope this sort of building technology will become more widespread. It just makes so much sense.

[@perrydebell1352]

In 1976, I was one of a sales team for Bostik industrial adhesives division. One of my customers purchased gallons of liquid applied waterproofing membranes as they constructed cold stores insulated with slabs of cork 1000 mm X 500 mm up to 190 mm thick. Earlier that year, I had purchased a house that faced a railway terminus. The house required internal alterations, rewiring, new plumbing & gas fired central heating & took about 3 years to finish. Our bedroom was priority & the first room to be completed. We had decided to put thin decorative cork tiles on the wall facing the railway, but after a little negotiation with my customer, I purchased a sufficient quantity of 100 mm thick slabs instead. I coated the internal wall surface with the waterproofing membrane to stop moisture penetrating the bricks & mortar & proceeded to bond the cork slabs to the wall. There were two single glazed, wood sash windows that I internally framed with timber around the cork window reveals. To double glaze the sashes, I taped clear plastic sheeting around the timber frames & slid them into position against the sashes. No noise, no draughts & very, very cosy. The cork slabs were like these in the link below. www.insulation-info.co.uk/insulation-material/cork-insulation

[@critters16]

Beautifully blending & brilliant design!💗

[@L0wBap]

I think Spain has huge cork production as well? So this should be made with local materials too, I guess :)

[@MrDzdevil]

Absolutely stunning home. I love how the Architect used drama to uplift the design. Very very impressive! Also wonderful editing as always, thank you for sharing!!!

[@9mann315]

This is another thoughtful video. Thank you for your interviews, information and videos

[@SustainerNYC]

This gave crazy fuel to my THOW Passive House aims. ¡Muchas Gracias, as always, Kirsten!

[@emblemcc]

..so gorgeous, all of it! The only thing I do not like is the in house acoustic which they have a great solution for it already .) Other than that, so many good solutions, really inspiring.

[@marsrover001]

Acoustics could be easily treated with foam panels. I suspect the owners might not have as good hearing and don't notice.

[@emblemcc]

@@marsrover001 I would not use foam in this case, when they have the cork outside and works for them well as and acoustic insulation there it will do the same job inside. Any plasticy solution would be bit silly in this house. Some people simply don't care. If you stay silent the whole day and don't talk to people who would like to leave not tired away from the constant reflections - with their brain running high speed while it process all the voices bouncing their ears, than the reflection might be a good think.. maybe they like to sing in bathroom .) Nevermind just a notice. That this thing is the only thing that is left to perfection. It won't be easy to treat this house acoustically with all the flat walls and floor, concrete ceiling and glass all around. They just need more stuff, another sofa and heavy paintings and all ... just to tame down the early reflections and bring bit more peace to their minds.

[@tonyceeone]

This is amazing I’m going to incorporate this

[@lancedaniels]

Thanks for posting and sharing. Very wonderful to see this home.

[@C2yourself]

Thank you for sharing this. What a beautiful design on many levels

[@petalss5325]

Great video. This is so inspiring. The material, its property and the science behind this build is incredible. A quick question, will the cork cladding work the same way in a climate with hot and humid summer? How does it cope with humidity?

[@samsmom1491]

More homes need to be built like this one. The cooling and heating system is genius and can be adapted to almost any climate and/or geographic area. The reduced dependency from fossil fuels is the direction we need to go.

[@PR1975ABCDF]

Kristen your videos are the best, I love your channel, and this one in particular is fantastic, thanks for it and keep up the good work

[@frankindustries356]

Great to see a local build. This sort of home is becoming increasingly popular here.

[@douglaspohl1827]

Kudos Kirsten... you have found another diamond to share with us... architect designed, aircrete, rammed earth, trombe walls natural convection, cork, wood stove ... FANTASTIC!

[@jag0dver]

amazing house, amazing concepts, amazing architect! This definitely goes in your top 10 videos.

[@4316rodney]

Loving your increasing focus an passive heating and cooling. Thanks!

[@Jmunoz1675]

I just love your videos. I'm a huge fan. Thanks again for another great video.

[@VEC7ORlt]

Corkitect, thats the word you were looking for!

[@geomonabe]

Wow just wow for the view

[@kirstendirksen]

Yeah, kind of incredible they found a spot at the edge of the national forest like that.

[@gwendajakobs5498]

Nice house. I would have love to see more from upstairs and the big roof terrace. Would love to see the house in a few years. Maybe they can introduce the cork in the house. The interior and the garden missed something.

[@WhirledPeasFursure]

the first time I saw that passive heating/cooling idea, the house had a 60-65 degree angled giant rock wall that the sun shown on,, in a room about 18 to 20' wide X 6 or 7' deep and about 12' tall,, with giant windows letting the sun shine on a boulder rock, giant wall that went the full length of the room.. (with a recycling trickling water run falling down the full height of the room in one section).... with the venting system, the room never got "hot" so it was a great sun room during the winter.. and a great place to sit, among the cool rocks in the summer when the sun is in the north.. ............. as I remember (3 decades after reading the article), they ran the venting system back to the room, under the floor so they recycled living space air instead of using outside air at the bottom of the windows like in this fabulous house video... GREAT VIDEO,, GREAT HOUSE,, GREAT INTERVIEW.. THANKS

[@veeveeleo9713]

Keeping a senior citizen in mind I wish the house was constructed handicapped friendly… that is the only thing I think was missing…

[@johngriffiths118]

I noticed the stairs with no handrail . Not ideal for the owners

[@krestovozdvizhenskiy]

Natural pool is fine. But those plants won't stop blue-green algae from blooming in case wind brings some of it. Moreover , natural pool requires water circulation .

[@benjamingray5680]

I was thinking about that too because they didn’t mention anything about how to control mosquitoes and other insects

[@ClayHales]

Add to it that there isn't anything to kill coliform bacteria that swimmers bring in.

[@catherinerose1146]

I just wanted to say that I have been loving the impressive content you have been putting out for the last two difficult years. I found your channel years ago when I was looking to make sauerkraut at home. I was so happy to see your other work and subscribed. You are a pretty amazing woman doing amazing things and taking your family along for so much of it. Thank you for all the hard work.

[@richardwasserman]

This is a lovely house. Kudos to the architect.

[@Gioinsel]

I loved the idea of radiation solar system. A real sustainable architecture example. 👌🏼 Bravo to all who worked for this amazing project!

[@conman4119]

I was expecting a house from Ireland (County Cork) .. Very funny!

[@Nissehultan]

Me to! :D I was like damn that's alot of forest and mountains to be ireland but quickly realised it was not in ireland :P

[@conman4119]

@@Nissehultan took me a minute too, not helped that the owner has a hint of an Irish accent. Hopefully they will visit Ireland some day.

[@Soonik22]

I really enjoyed this episode and learned a lot. thank you!

[@BlaxKid22]

Kirsten, I’ve enjoyed a lot of your videos over the years. This is one of my favorites. I love fair companies. Thank you for what you do.

[@marissaalonzo7997]

I would love to know the winter temperature ranges please! I'm in Southwest Colorado, 7,000 ft, 10 in of rain per year. Cold winter, 300+ sunny days, hot summer and arid. I'm thinking some of the construction may crossover...

[@zia_kat]

i'm in new mexico and wondered the same. based on their northern view of montserrat and an estimated elevation i think their winter lows are in the low 40s f and highs in the high 50s f. my winters are substantially colder and i am building a solar hot air collector on the roof of my adobe. i hope to use my wood stove as supplemental heat once it's finished for next winter. i know someone in taos who has a large house that is kept warm that way.

[@gmgish]

Average max and min temperature during winter months in Monistrol de Montserrat, that might be closeby: November 16-10, Dec 14-8, Jan 13-7, Feb 12-6, March 15-8… Celsius degrees.

[@marissaalonzo7997]

@@zia_kat Yes, ours can get down low but mostly stay 30-40 F daytime, it's nighttime however that is in the 20s consistently throughout. I'm thinking about that window heat exchanger. I think I could rig something like that up. I'm in a manufactured home, south facing but I bet I could easily punch something through the walls...

[@marissaalonzo7997]

@@gmgish Thank you! I thought back to her comments about looking at the mountain so did a search on the region. I wonder at the elevation of her house.

[@marissaalonzo7997]

@@zia_kat I'm actually going to experiment with a lean-to makeshift greenhouse on my south side this winter to see if I can create some heat to bring in through existing windows. We have a wood stove but I would rather just use it in the evening. Right now, I wear extra layers inside but it still says my energy a bit.

[@parvuselephantus]

Please help - I won't trust it works until I understand it :) Regarding A/C - I understand how it could heat. But should it work the opposit way too (7:53)? If hot air goes out, then there must be some air getting in... which comes from outside... which will be hot during the hot day. How does it work then? How does cork work - won't sun damage it? I imagine it will stay there for years, but after all it will get burned as everything else, will it? Regarding pond - it's great, but I feel it's kind of missunderstanding between 'natural' pond and water that you can drink.

[@myfavs253]

I'm thinking the water is ok because they use only biodegradable soaps. The plants filter any impurities. I read somewhere once that you can put raw sewage without chemicals in a river and let it flow down 10 miles and the water will be drinkable.

[@bobbobbitybobinbobington6440]

You're correct only if the temperature stays very hot for very long, enough for all the thermal mass to reach steady state. But in reality night is much cooler than day and the house is well-insulated, so likely the cool of the night is enough to regulate the temperature of the thermal masses and keep it comfy. This design is simplest in a temperate climate like Northern Spain!

[@parvuselephantus]

@@myfavs253 It seems it's all about what 'drinkable' is :)

[@parvuselephantus]

@@bobbobbitybobinbobington6440 Aaah - it's Northern Spain, that gives some explanation. So in fact it's only matter of warming and well insulating the thermal mass. That makes sense. Thanks!

[@Claythargic]

the hot air is exiting on the hot south face at the top, the cool air is being pulled in from the far cooler north face of the house presumably at ground level.

[@TheCuddlebun]

Thank you, Kirsten!

[@mikhellen3267]

This has got to be my favorite, out of all of the ones that you have displayed, my very favorite house.

[@cherylcarlson3315]

Kristen, I love and hate you. I love seeing all these incredible ( and wildly expensive) ideas that work but I hate that I am trying to translate how to use things on 114yo dutch colonial in midwest US on a budget that is largely imaginary with an eye to sustainability and making this house last another 114 yrs in great style. I am having multi layer dissonance.thanks. : )

[@stevepailet8258]

figure simple is always nice. Am working on the plans to my last home. Plan to keep it as simple as possible to keep it affordable

[@Dogsnark]

So inspiring. If these energy conserving principles could be adopted by the home building industry, it would go along way toward helping us meet carbon reduction goals…and create homes that are less expensive to live in and maintain.

[@chrisk7118]

One of the most thoughtfully designed houses I've seen. Bravo!

[@JT-iw2cw]

This may be the best one you've reviewed, beautiful.

[@Theballonist]

“EPDM is the most natural rubber on the market” this statement is baffling to me. Yes EPDM is a very useful product. But calling it natural is the furthest thing from the truth. Its resistance to degradation is good if it is used wisely, but if you drop a sheet of it in the wrong place it will be a totally impermeable layer for centuries. It is made from ethylene and propylene, two products that we commonly source from Fracked gas, so buying it funds devastation of vast areas across the planet. But sure, it won’t directly poison the two people who swim in this pond and the downstream areas. That’s good. You know what else could have done that? Clay.

[@stevepailet8258]

clay is good. bentonite is commonly used for ponds

[@avienated]

Good info, she might just not know better I suppose.

[@brunodesrosiers266]

This is one of a few quite non-scientific assertions this video contains. I burst out laughing when they compared the temperature of two surfaces by touching them.

[@avienated]

@@brunodesrosiers266 even if they brought measure instruments, which frankly seems over the top, it would only be a measurement of the efficiency that particular day with that weather, humidity etc. Measuring by hand was sufficient to notice a notable difference, which I think is enough for 99,9% of the people who watch this video.

[@brunodesrosiers266]

@@avienated - You are thinking in the same manner as those who believe that heavier objects fall faster than lighter ones. I know there are some of those among us, but 99.9% seems an obvious exaggeration.

[@PhysicsPolice]

Is this lady trying to say her cinderblocks are made of special concrete with "very little cement"? Come on. They're still cinderblocks. The mental gymnastics she goes through to try and fit these with her obsession over natural building materials is amazing. It's okay. Not everything has to be natural.

[@jerseyman99]

Err these are aircrete blocks mentioned about 10 times in the vid. About as far removed from American Cinderblock as you can get.

[@PhysicsPolice]

@@jerseyman99 They're not found in nature, though, are they? They still emit CO2 during production, right? They're a very good type of cinderblocks. I agree. But they're still a type of cinderblock. Get over it.

[@TSC369]

Kudos to the architect! Amazing form and functionality. 🙏

[@charmsurprise]

SMOKES! I reallly love this. This has become my favorite so far. wow. Thank you for sharing.