The Spirit House There are a few regions in world that have model-sized homes dedicated to the house spirits and ancestors. I decided building a spirit house would be an appropriate final step in my academic studies and practices of natural building and design, and was lucky enough to be in a place which allowed me the space, tools, and materials to build it. This house is dedicated to the Deva, spirits, and ancestors of this earth and of the household of Valle de Sensaciones. For this reason it is planned according to the 7 directions: The first four through setting the sleeping to the north, waking in the east, green/bathing house and kitchen facing the south, relaxing and sunset watching to the west, with the entry in the In-Between where veils are thinnest; and set in the trees between the lands of spirits and wellness. I first made a couple human models, as suggested in Hand Sculpted House, by Ianto Evans; a half-inch:one foot scale, one standing,one sitting. Rahma and Sol each made one too. Based on a house I would build for myself, its small; but I imagine the spirits enjoy different-sized aspects of themselves. Before building, I found a base strong enough that would fit in the trees, then stuck in a bunch of nails to hold the small, south-facing mountain of earth I put on top. Once that was dry, I carved out 3 levels, for the north-side entry, down to the main room, and down again into the south-side, attached greenhouse ( I wanted the house to be sunk into the ground all around). I dug the foundation and drainage trench then filled it with clay-slipped stones, bringing these up above ground, into a stem-wall, to protect the cob walls from water. Added load-bearing log framing, most of which weren’t needed as cob walls in themselves are load-bearing. The cob walls were built up from the top of the stem-walls. Thinking about it now, I think I would’ve liked to try out the “light-clay” tech- nique (mixing large quantities of straw, wood chips, cork, hemp, or minerals); this would make for lighter construction, and provide better insulation. The windows were cut and placed; colored glass for the meditation alcove. I incorporated the drainage that would carry the kitchen’s greywater, out past the built-in, sunset watching, outdoor bench, and into the indoor greenhouse (in the right corner), then out again with the tub water (which is in the greenhouse), to a water-reclamation pool (planted with beings that will help to purify the greywater once again). Only use substances that will bio-degrade or bio-nurture! I laid down pebbles for drainage and to line the pool. I’m pretty sure I’d actually want to walk on pebbles in my indoor- greenhouse. I just realized, of course, that the tub water should have gone through the greenhouse first. North-face entry, with the tool space to the left, and plant medicine space to the right - which is the back part of the kitchen. Those lines are shelves. Though I didn’t quite get THATdetailed, the design calls for cooling boxes built into the kitchen floor; in-cupboard, step-tab bins for compost, recycling, and rubbish; and shelves that serve double as drying racks: innovative solutions at the Valle. East-face, with wood storage on a platform that will drain water downhill to the water reclamation pool. The clear bed alcove window is to the left and the green meditation alcove window is to the right. The meditation alcove, with another green window between it and the bed. Center is marked with jewels. The fireplace opens to the center, the bed alcove, and to the window seat. To the left , the back wall of both the tool space and the meditation cove, is part of the big, plane plane wall I’ve been coveting in a home of mine, to stretch my canvasses across. South-face indoor green/bathing house and outdoor pool. West-face outdoor bench, with kitchen greywater. And indoor window seat, big enough to lay down. This is Up. A (removable) loft that provides a lower ceiling for the more intimate areas of the house: the plant medicine space, the entry, the tool space, the art studio, the meditation alcove, the bed alcove, and part of the fireplace. It has pull-down stairs. There will actually only be enough space to stand toward the center, but laying down will provide a view of the night sky. Down from these stairs there is, mentally at this point, is a trap door leading to a cellar. To build the structure of a removable roof, I tied the first rafter to a support post in the center (removed later), then each consecutive rafter to the one before. I was attempting the mandala roofs they used here in the kitchen and Octagon; but, I couldn’t get it to work...so I left the last one un-entwined with the first one. Studying them later, I realized that each rafter wasn’t tied as close to the end of the last as I had thought. I used tried Caña for the shingles, dismantled fruit boxes for the shingles, and staples to hold it all together. Sure there’s plenty of engineering issues here, but there’s still a skylight for star gazing, and that’s what counts here. That’s the stove pipe sticking out of the fireplace, up though the loft floorboards and the roof. I need to cut it shorter and color it black... So there, the basics and a few of the details are there. I’ll leave to it the spirits and caretakers of land to add the landscaping, cellar door, kitchen innovations, and other embellishments with their continued attention. Natural Building: Abroad Thursday, June 5, 2008