Nested between two areas of the garden, the ‘Gardener Earth House’ is a 15 sqm bedroom with a double bed and a private room. It offers enough space for those who wish to relax, work on a computer.

The story… We wanted to build this room in an area with no shade from trees or bamboo, to show the guests it is possible to make a room interior cool by using a few other techniques. The construction was done by BaanDinDoi team, several workers, and workshop participants who learnt how to build through a real case.

• Earth walls: adobe (earth bricks dried in the sun), wattle-and-daub
• Double-roof: Outer thatch roof above the inner metal sheet roof. A 20 cm gap allows hot air to be pushed outside
• Foundation: concrete (30 cm above ground level). It is a reliable barrier against termites and effectively bears the weight of the building. A more eco-friendly option would have been more time-consuming and probably not mastered by local workers.
• Pole and beam structure: steel bars
• Plastering: Outside: earth plastering. Inside: earth plaster (base coat) and earth paint (white clay applied with a brush).

Bio-climatic design

• Thick earth walls bring thermal mass
• Cross-ventilation for air flow (several openings)
• Double-roof
• One electric fan inside the bedroom
• The bathroom placed in the south acts as a partial sun-screen (thermal buffer)

Cost: 72,000 Thai baths (2,200 USD ; 1,900 Euros)

• Materials (including electrical items, doors and windows; except furniture) 36,000
• Labour 18,000
• Foundation 9,000
• Steel Structure 9,000