Built

Nové Mesto nad Váhom

A house that does not try to stand out: it settles into a garden neighbourhood, keeps the mature trees and returns well water, cleaned, to the ground.

Earth-sheltered house in Nove Mesto nad Vahom, long glazed facade facing a lawn, grasses and wildflowers on the roof, exposed concrete wall at left.

You can come and see it.

141 m², four rooms, class A0.

4 roomsliving room with kitchen2 walk-in wardrobescellarcarport and workshop 50 m²

Nové Mesto nad Váhom · built 2020–2021

From 425 000 €

Angled concrete wall of an earth-sheltered house in Nove Mesto nad Vahom rises from a sloped, planted garden at dusk.

Nothing to leak.

Walls and roof are cast as one watertight piece. The concrete itself is the waterproofing, so there is no membrane that ages, tears and one day has to be dug out.

No roof covering to replace.

Grass and low shrubs grow on the roof. There is no covering that would need replacing every few decades, and the rain stays on the plot.

Earth-sheltered house in Nove Mesto nad Vahom, grass roof with concrete overhang above terrace and sunken garden.
Detail of an earth-sheltered house in Nove Mesto nad Vahom: grasses on the roof edge above two dark windows in a rust-toned wood-textured wall.
  • 141 m² + carport and workshop 50 m²
  • A0
  • €33 / month
  • 2020–2021

Energy €33 a month for 141 m².

Earth-sheltered house in Nove Mesto nad Vahom, terrace beneath grassy roof edge, wood-clad corner and glazed doors.

Its own well and a reed-bed treatment system.

The house needs neither mains water nor a mains sewer, so a plot without utility connections will do.

Earth-sheltered house in Nove Mesto nad Vahom, glazed front, grassy roof merging into sloping lawn and trees.
Glazed front

Winter sun into the living room.

The main windows face south. The concrete overhang above them shades them in summer and lets the low winter sun deep into the house.

  • Earth cover

    The house is covered by a layer of soil that insulates it, evens out temperature swings and protects the shell from sun and frost.

  • Green roof

    The roof surface is alive. It holds back rainwater, cools itself by evaporation and gives back to the plot the green space the house took up.

  • Watertight concrete

    The concrete is the waterproofing. There is no separate membrane to age, crack and need digging out years later.

  • South-facing glazing

    The main windows face south. In winter the sun reaches deep into the house; in summer the overhang keeps it out.

Neighbours see grass.

Earth-sheltered house in Nove Mesto nad Vahom, low sun on the glazed front, grass growing over the concrete roof edge.
Earth-sheltered house in Nove Mesto nad Vahom, grass-covered roof over a shaded terrace, low concrete wall by the lawn.
Bare concrete corner of an earth-sheltered house in Nove Mesto nad Vahom, roof edge planted with grasses, camera and light fixed below the overhang.

From around the plot you see only the green roof and the slope. The mature trees were left standing.

  • Set into the existing terrain

    The shape of the house follows the shape of the plot, not the other way round.

  • Hidden from the street

    From the road you see the landscape, not the house.

  • Private well

    The house has its own source of drinking water, independent of the mains supply.

  • Reed bed treatment

    Wastewater is treated in a reed bed on the plot, with no connection to the mains sewer.

  • No roof coveringThere is no roofing to replace every two or three decades.
  • Monolithic shellThe walls and the roof are cast as one continuous piece. There is no joint in the shell for water to pass through.
  • StoreroomA cool, stable room for food and water, with no need for refrigeration.
Earth-sheltered house in Nove Mesto nad Vahom, sloped concrete wall meets a glazed facade, roof edge planted with grasses.
From the lawn
Wood-panelled corner of an earth-sheltered house in Nove Mesto nad Vahom, camera under the concrete roof overhang, window with plants.

A gentle slope is enough.

The house stands on a gently sloping plot in an allotment-garden area, with a view and privacy. The authorities look favourably on a house that blends in with its surroundings.

Facade corner of the earth-sheltered house in Nove Mesto nad Vahom, concrete roof edge above wood-look wall cladding.
Edge of the green roof

Shade without blinds.

The roof overhang shades the glazed walls from the high summer sun, so the windows need no blinds.

Wood-panelled entrance of an earth-sheltered house in Nove Mesto nad Vahom, concrete roof edge with grass and trees above.
Concrete roof overhang of an earth-sheltered house in Nove Mesto nad Vahom, security camera under eave, glazed corner window below.
Entrance corner of an earth-sheltered house in Nove Mesto nad Vahom, two green doors, grasses on the roof edge and a planted rocky slope beside a terrace.

A passive house is the starting point for us. But we want a house with simple, reliable technology.

Miro, owner

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