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?
Underground courtyard house (sunken pit dwelling)
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
Flat ground, soil that stands when cut or an engineered retaining structure, a way to drain the courtyard, and a warm, dry climate is easiest.
A house dug below ground around an open courtyard, its rooms opening off the courtyard walls for light and air. The surrounding earth keeps the rooms at a steady temperature. It suits flat, warm, dry ground with firm soil, and is hard to keep dry and bright.
Build it
This is contracted work rather than a self-build.
Cost
High
Upkeep
Occasional
Skill to build
Specialist
Lifespan
Matches the structure where the soil stands and the waterproofing is kept up; the membrane and the courtyard drainage are the wearing parts.
Embodied carbon
Medium
Space / material use
High
Output timing
None
Skill to repair
Specialist
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.
Underground courtyard house (sunken pit dwelling) (This page) 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.
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.
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.
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.