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Intermediate 2: Reading Practice

Reading Intermediate 2

Look carefully at the picture on the flipchart. In pairs, what do you think of a house like this?

Read the text on the next page and answer the questions below.

1. Why did Peer Vetsch start designing Earth Houses?

2. Which two words describe buildings which are sympathetic to the countryside around?

3 Which word describes using building materials which do no


damage, are in good supply and are renerable?

4. Which word describes energy saving strategies?

5. List four benefits of the Earth House

6. Is it necessary to build Earth Houses completely underground? Y/N

The United Kingdoms international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.
Earth Houses

Earth Houses is a project designed by Peter Vetsch and is an idea to balance the need for

houses in areas of natural beauty with the increasing world population.

These houses are designed to be environmentally friendly i.e. they fit in with their

surroundings. They are ecological, using only materials that are plentiful and the architecture

is progressive; totally new ideas for the future!

This is not a new idea. Many ancient cultures used natural resources as homes as we can

see in Petra and the USA.

The house in the picture is located in Dietikon, Switzerland. Compared with traditional

residential houses built on the ground, the aim of building an earth house is simply to live in

harmony with our planet. The earth-house concept is very economical because it saves

energy by using the ground as an insulating blanket that efficiently protects it from rain, low

temperatures, wind and natural abrasion.

An earth house does not have to be built completely under the ground, it can be placed

naturally onto a mountain side or hillside extending partially into the ground but with the front

of the house made with windows to take advantage of natural light. The earth house concept

uses its surroundings as an advantage the surroundings are not adapted to the building,

the house is shaped to fit the natural environment and can be built individually, according to

the wishes of the owners. They allow us to experience closeness to nature beyond the

usual four walls and their right angles.

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