What do you think of this house design?

There's this style in the Mediterranean places. And I don't see how come there's no homes like this in, say, Toronto. Well, absence of money and architectural taste could be the reason.





Ok, say we have a lot without a house. The perimeter of the lot will be the outside wall of the house. Then 5 yards from the outer wall we build and inner wall.





The remaining space inside is a garden. Wall on the inside can have big windows that can slide open. Outside windows are typically very small for privacy and heat reflection.





Kind of like this


http://www.marco-dan.com/P1010002.JPG





Building material is brick.What do you think of this house design?
I ';think'; in 2009 you would be lucky to find anywhere in the world that would let you build what's in that picture because of modern standards on a new build.





The earthquake in Italy a few month ago had many buildings like that destroyed and I'm guessing will be rebuilt as in the picture for heritage reasons.





But I can't see anyone in Italy being able to build new like that again IMO.What do you think of this house design?
I like those kind of houses, but you'll have to fight hard for zoning easements and changes in regulations to permit you to build on the property line- there are a variety of required set-backs from the property lines.





I would also not use bricks, which requires a lot of energy to produce, but instead choose CEBs, compressed earth blocks.





These are basically adobe earth blocks produced by powerful hydraulic presses, and the earth can often be taken directly from the build site, another energy savings. Adding some fly ash can great strengthens the blocks- it acts as a cement- and helps dispose of the ash from various industrial processes, like coal fired electric plants.





Regardless of whatever you build with, you need a minimum of R-20 insulation in the walls and at least R-40 in the roof, but I'd double those figures- insulation saves, while energy costs are rising and will rise more.





Have a look at using Stabilized Insulated Rammed Earth walls, or S.I.R.E. walls: this is a new method of building rammed earth walls with a core of rigid insulation. See the link for this.





And, of course, the same effect can be produced by designing and building a straw bale house- the bales are just large bricks, covered with a lime or cement render or plaster.





The R- value of these walls will be between R-40 and R-45, depending on how dense the straw ( or hemp stalks, which are available in Ontario) are compressed, but can run upwards to R-68 if you choose to build with 36'; wide ';Jumbo'; bales.





For more info about SB construction in Ontario, see the Ontario Straw Bale Builders' Coalition pages (OSBBC link.)





http://www.osbbc.ca/





There are quite a few straw bale houses in Ontario, and at least one of the growing number in Quebec is in downtown Montreal.





While at the OSBBC site, check out the video to see what happens to a straw bale house during a serious earthquake (hint: not much.)





Back to your question: I like this kind of neighbourhood, and you will find them in the old parts of Quebec City and Montreal. These are true Canadian heritage styles, which can be updated to net-zero energy capabilities.





Cheers,


StrawCat.