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?
Geodesic dome
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.
What your site needs
None specific.
A dome made of a lattice of short timber triangles, light but strong because the load spreads over the whole shell. It encloses the most space for the least surface, which saves material and heat. As a home it is hard to keep watertight at its many joints, and furniture fits badly against curved walls.
Build it
No build tutorial recorded yet.
Cost
Medium
Upkeep
Frequent
Skill to build
Intermediate
Lifespan
Limited by the seams rather than the frame: water getting through the joints is what degrades wooden domes.
Embodied carbon
Low
Space / material use
Low
Output timing
None
Skill to repair
Intermediate
Regulation (FR example)
Size decides the formality. A construction of 5 m² or less of footprint and floor area needs none (Code de l'urbanisme, art. R421-2); one over 5 m² and up to 20 m² needs a déclaration préalable (art. R421-9); anything larger needs a permis de construire (art. R*421-1). The commune's PLU zoning still applies: 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.
Geodesic dome (This page) 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.
Compact rectangular footprint 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.
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.
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.