Lowtech Graph lists low-tech options for every need of a home. Here you can compare them, find tutorials to build them, and link them together into a circular system. Why low-tech?
Compact rectangular footprint
Passive · New build only
One of 9 ways to meet this need. Cost, carbon, footprint and rankings are relative to other solutions for the same need, not absolute.
A simple, compact house plan, close to a square or a short rectangle, without wings or recesses. For the same floor area, a compact shape has less outside wall and roof through which heat can escape. It costs nothing extra and makes the house cheaper to heat.
Build it
Nothing separate is built here: this is a choice about how the home is designed or used.
Cost
Low
Upkeep
None
Skill to build
None
Lifespan
Matches structure lifespan (a form/massing choice, not a wearing component)
Embodied carbon
None
Space / material use
None
Output timing
None
Skill to repair
None
Regulation (FR example)
Part of the structure or footprint: covered by the building permit (permis de construire) for a new dwelling. Rural sites are additionally constrained by the commune's PLU zoning, outside a constructible zone, a new dwelling is generally refused.
Levels are relative to the other options for this need, not absolute. Fewer dots is lighter.
Compact rectangular footprint (This page) Can I use it? Not in a flat · New build only What does it cost me? Upfront cost: Low · Skill to build: None · Upkeep: None · Change to daily life: None · Works without the grid: Yes Choose it if you want the cheapest house to build and to heat for its floor area.
Vault or dome shell (walls and roof in one) Can I use it? Not in a flat · New build only What does it cost me? Upfront cost: Low · Skill to build: Intermediate · Upkeep: Light · Change to daily life: Occasional · Works without the grid: Yes Choose it if you want a whole building in earth, with no timber or metal needed for the roof.
Kerterre (small hand-sculpted hemp-lime building) Can I use it? Not in a flat · New build only What does it cost me? Upfront cost: Low · Skill to build: Intermediate · Upkeep: Light · Change to daily life: Way of living · Works without the grid: Yes Choose it if you want to build small rooms or a shed by hand, cheaply, with no frame and no moulds.
Roundhouse (round timber frame with a reciprocal roof) Can I use it? Not in a flat · New build only What does it cost me? Upfront cost: Low · Skill to build: Intermediate · Upkeep: Light · Change to daily life: Occasional · Works without the grid: Yes Choose it if you want a round home from local timber, straw or cob, with a roof that needs no central post.
A-frame house Can I use it? Not in a flat · New build only What does it cost me? Upfront cost: Low · Skill to build: Intermediate · Upkeep: Light · Change to daily life: Occasional · Works without the grid: Yes Choose it if you want a simple form you can build from a kit, that sheds snow easily.
Geodesic dome Can I use it? Not in a flat · New build only What does it cost me? Upfront cost: Medium · Skill to build: Intermediate · Upkeep: Regular · Change to daily life: Occasional · Works without the grid: Yes Choose it if you want a light, strong shell built from short timbers that are easy to handle.
Earth-bermed house (earth banked against the walls) Can I use it? Not in a flat · New build only What does it cost me? Upfront cost: Medium · Skill to build: Intermediate · Upkeep: Light · Change to daily life: None · Works without the grid: Yes Choose it if you want far less heating without digging the house into the ground.
Yurt (round lattice-frame dwelling) Can I use it? Not in a flat · New build only What does it cost me? Upfront cost: Low · Skill to build: Intermediate · Upkeep: Regular · Change to daily life: Way of living · Works without the grid: Yes Choose it if you want a home you can put up in hours, move, and live in without a foundation.
Underground courtyard house (sunken pit dwelling) Can I use it? Not in a flat · New build only What does it cost me? Upfront cost: High · Skill to build: Specialist · Upkeep: Light · Change to daily life: Way of living · Works without the grid: Yes Choose it if you have flat, firm, dry ground in a warm climate and want a private home around its own courtyard.
Sources
No sources recorded yet.
Limitations of this page
We don’t list sizing or quantities, as the yield of each technique depends on the quality of its build. The catalogue compares options but doesn’t dimension them. Regulatory notes are indicative, with a French example, and need to be confirmed locally.