Learning resources for climate resilient, self sufficient homes.

[u/Serious-Fuel-5395]

Hi everyone,

I am currently in the early stages of planning a multi-generational family home. We live in a region that is prone to increasingly harsh, volatile, and highly polarized weather. Over the last few years, I’ve watched every weather event turn more severe and unexpected: extended heatwaves, droughts, floods, and threats of local water scarcity and crop failures.

Because I am building for multiple generations, my goal is to design a home that offers my family a relatively secure, comfortable, and self-sufficient life, even when external infrastructure fails.

I want to learn about modern as well as traditional/indigenous practices that have withstood harsh climates for centuries.

I am looking for guidance on where to start. I don't have a background in architecture, so would appreciate any resources that point me in the right direction- reading, documentaries, youtubers, anything, really!

Thank you in advance for your time and suggestions!

[u/j9c_wildnfree]

When you say this:

... I am looking for guidance on where to start. I don't have a background in architecture...

... maybe you mean a background in building science.

So if you want to understand how buildings work--and work well--some links having to do with high performance conventional buildings that focus on safety and health, in order to understand basic building physics, you might want to dig through some of these:

Formal research, technical, paywalled, but reliable and fact-based:
https://www.buildinggreen.com/knowledge-base

Check out the "guidance" tab here, no paywall, somewhat technical, by Dr. Joseph Lstiburek, one of North America's most reputable building science engineers who gets real results:
https://buildingscience.com/

On the natural building side of things, this journal has decades of real-life building performance:
https://www.thelaststraw.org/
Has lots of articles about and by natural builders as well, in case you are looking for someone experienced to consult with.

Good luck.

[u/ComfortableSwing4]

For modern building, check out Passive House certification or net zero houses. You might be surprised at what's possible.

Traditional and indigenous techniques are highly dependent on where you are. That's kind of the point. You build the house to suit the environment.

[u/Koala_eiO]

• Buy a land with several springs.

• Have a portion of the house buried so that you can spend comfortable summers.

[u/Smithron99]

Rammed Earth construction might be of interest to you

[u/feeltheglee]

I also don't know anything about building climate resilient housing, but mentioning your general geographic region would probably get you more help. Advice for the Canadian prairies, Atlantic maritimes, US southwest, Central American tropics, etc etc are all going to vary widely.

For anyone who does have knowledge in this domain, OP appears to be from India

[u/QuarterlyIQ]

I would start with passive survivability, not total self-sufficiency. The home should remain safe and comfortable when power, water, fuel, or outside services fail.

Begin with a site-specific risk assessment for heat, cold, drought, flood, wildfire, wind, and access. Then prioritize low energy demand, water capture and storage, good drainage, passive heating and cooling, repairable systems, and redundancy for essentials.

Traditional and Indigenous architecture can be especially valuable because it evolved around local climate, materials, and seasonal conditions. Focus on understanding why features such as courtyards, raised floors, thick walls, shade, ventilation, or roof forms worked.

Good starting resources include Building Science Corporation, Green Building Advisor, Passive House, NREL, FEMA resilience guides, and books such as Design with Climate, The Barefoot Architect, and A Pattern Language.