Jason Marlow

Looks awesome. Just backed it. Hope you exceed your goals!

And Ty, I really like your design. One of the main criticisms I have for some of these Wofati designs is just how small they are, which is fine for most people but others (such as myself) have rapidly expanding young families. And in colder months it's nice to have some room so occupants may retain some personal private space.

I have an idea for a circular wofati with a greenhouse dome/atrium in the middle. It would be 6 wofaties arranged in a hexagonal pattern, where it slopes away from the center. The sloping sides would have gables pointing downward and away from the greenhouse. This way, in the cold ourdoor months, you can still have some "outdoor" space with plenty of sunlight and also extend your growing season. I know that greenhouses can be somewhat controversial among permaculturalists, but they're also a nice way to maximize the output of your land and control every variable of growth, resulting in the capability to farm lucrative rare herbs for sale to the nutriceutical industry.

I'd like to share the design once I have it more developed. I call it the "Earth Mothership!"

So they are two separate structures entirely!? Wow, you guys put them up pretty quick, then.

It's my understanding that 0.7 and 0.8 are the same structure only with enough modifications to alter the thermal performance. Can anyone verify?

That sounds great. Keep us posted on the results. I'd be very interested in hearing how it goes.

You're right, it'll only rot if there's water. But I'm also worried about the degradation over time by people standing on the surface above the house. With each step there would be flex and that would wear the straw down, too. But rot is still a concern because you can't always control the factors, especially if there's capillary action from below. When earth get's wet it isn't AS big a deal so it's more forgiving.

It's not all about r-value. Thermal mass is also very important and in an earth-integrated design like a wofati, it is KEY. Dale is right, the straw would rot. As it does so it would shrink and collapse. It would also feel less solid over time as you walk on it. And it would only insulate the indoor climate of the house. The thermal mass ENSURES temperature consistency by acting as a thermal battery. The thermal mass itself moderates the temperature by either radiating or absorbing heat depending on the time of the year. Straw bales don't do that, they only insulate.

Roots only go where there is moisture. As soon as it hits a surface that is dry the plant won't waste any energy trying to penetrate through it. So when roots come into contact with pond liner or polyethylene it will detect that no water is in that material and so it will begin to try to find away around it. It's kind of like what happens when you take mature plant out of a flower pot and all the roots are tangles up but retain the shape of the inside of the pot. It's the same principle.