2. Stand alone Designs
This is a set of designs which came about from such
questions as “How would I manage my gray water and
toilet waste?” and “how would I build a low impact
house?”
They are in not intended for a specific site, they are
simply a demonstration of the best possible design
conclusions I could come up with if everything were
perfect, like I had a south facing hill side and no money
restrictions etc
I know that it is likely that these designs would not fit
exactly into our land when we have it but I felt it was a
good design exercise to see how, ideally, I would
resolve these questions.
3. Stand alone Designs
Water conserving waste management design
This design is for a south facing hill side and incorporates a dry compost toilet with a
bath / shower room with the option of solar (for summer) or rocket stove (for winter)
hot water and a washing house. All liquid waste (urine and grey water) drains to a
reed bed which then filters through to an open ring of trees encircling a mandala
keyhole raised bed and then the remaining ground water drains though the ground
into an aquaculture pond which acts as a reflective solar catchment, creating a super
warm micro climate for the trees and veggies on the raised beds.
Slope
4. Stand alone Designs
Water conserving waste
management design
•Compost loo with a view: taking all
dry solids into a twin chamber system
that can each accommodate roughly 6
months to a years worth of humanure
eliminating the need to, in any way,
deal with partially composted faeces.
There is a urine separator in each loo
which take this precious nitrogen rich
fertiliser to be mixed with the grey
water coming from the central hand
washing basin (and all other grey
water) on it’s way out to the reed
bed system.
5. Stand alone Designs
Water conserving waste
management design
•Bathroom with year round hot water:
Sunk in deep bath / shower space with
room for two, seats at either end
which also function as steps to get in
and out, and a plug hole in the centre.
Summer (solar) and winter (rocket
stove) water heating both storing hot
water in the same insulated water tank
inside the bathroom situated above
the bath, doubling up as room heating
and towel / clothes drying rack. All
grey water from bath / shower and
sink is piped to the reed bed system.
6. Stand alone Designs
Water conserving waste
management design
•Scrub tank wash room: This, as of yet,
has no fancy design as we have still
not yet found the ideal ecologically
sound, quick and easy clothes washing
technology. We have heard a lot
about pedal powered washing
machines though not personally seen
one in practise but, to us, the obvious
one, if there is a river on site, is to
somehow harness the energy of water
along with it’s cleaning power to wash
our clothes. We are still working on
this! Whichever method used, the hot
water comes from the same source as
the bathroom and the water which
drains from here, likewise, mixes with
all other waste water and is cleansed
through the reed bed system.
Decomposed
All liquids
solids
7. Stand alone Designs
Water conserving waste
management design
•Reed bed wet land water filtration
with all gray water coming into the
reed bed though a spreader pipe with
many holes into the gravel pit which
ranges from large stones at the
bottom, gravel, coarse sand, fine sand
and a thin layer of earth at the top. All
the way through the reed bed there
are many baffles taking the water
above, below, above, below to slow up
the flow and allow time for the
cleaning process by the microbial life
on the plants roots. At the end of the
reed bed there is a small water level
keeping tank with a man hole cover.
8. Stand alone Designs
Water conserving waste
management design
•Ring of fruit producing trees encircling
a keyhole mandala raised bed: After
the water has come out of the tree
bed, it is channelled in gravel filled
trenches firstly to the fruit and nut
trees. Any excess to what they require
funnels into the centre of the raised
bed through the gravel paths and is
absorbed into the beds.
9. Stand alone Designs
Water conserving waste
management design
•Waney edged aquaculture pond with
varying depths, increasing solar gain
and habitat diversity: All overflow from
the raised beds and surrounding land
collects in the pond. This has a small
fish stock consuming the last
remaining nutrient content from the
system and fertilising the water which
can then overflow to irrigate other
surrounding crops. The pond,
mandala raised beds and tree circle
are orientated in such a way that it
creates a very beneficial microclimate
to support life turning waste water
into an abundant variety of valuable
produce.
10. Stand alone Designs
Water conserving waste
management design
Summary
•Earth Care
•The main principle of this design is
Produce No Waste as all such potential
pollutants are turned, through biological
means, into a cornucopia of yields
(Obtain a Yield)
•Optimized use of Edge and Natural
Pattern: In the undulating shape of the
pond, edge is maximized to create more
pond side growing space and in keyhole
mandala edge is minimized to cut down
on path needed.
•Pond serves Multiple Functions of
ground water storage, sun reflector,
aquaculture, wild habitat.
•Important function of heating water
served by Multiple Elements in year
round solar or rocket stove water heating.
•Problem is the Solution: Resolving the
problem of what to do with human
In this system, before implementation, careful attention must be given
excretion by using all outputs in such a
way that they become beneficial, nutrient as to the amount of people likely to be using it regularly and each
giving resources, urine adds nutrients to element be scaled according to quantity of grey water flow and
the water flow and Composted humanure humanure entering the system.
becomes a powerful soil enhancer
around the fruit trees.
11. Stand alone Designs
Low the principles of passive solar heating and cooling
This house mainly demonstrates
impact house
using as natural materials as possible, wherever possible.
There is a lot more to the low impact house that, as of yet, I have not gone into. It
seemed more important to me to get, first of all, the right arrangement of
harmoniously compatible and cooperating elements to form the initial structure. Once
this arrangement is found, it is easy enough to have a warm house in winter and a cool
house in the summer. This is the basis of comfortable living. Other low impact
attachments can easily be added on, for example, solar panels, an efficient, multi
functional wood burning stove etc.
12. Stand alone Designs
Low impact house
•In this design there are 3 main elements:
greenhouse/kitchen, central octagonal living
space/bedroom and shadehouse/veranda
which are joined in such a way that there is no
real border between them. They gradually
blend into one another forming one single
structure which is both very functional and
comfortable whatever the weather outside.
• Shade side Shadehouse/veranda: this space
becomes most comfortable in the summer
when it is just the right place to spend the
midday hours relaxing . With door and
windows open, helps to cool down the central
octagon.
On each of the up right support poles would
be deciduous fruiting climbers growing up
and on to the roof, further helping to keep the
house cool.
This space also provides a covered outside
space, invaluable in the winter for children to
play, for drying clothes and for enjoying the
rain without getting wet.
13. Stand alone Designs
Low impact house
•Sun side Greenhouse / kitchen:
This 6.5 / 3.5 meter structure creating nice
warm space on those cold winter days and
by freely opening out into the central
octagonal living space, it shares some of that
heat with the rest of the house.
• It also has two roof rain water storage tanks
that act, once full, as a large thermal mass
collecting the winter suns heat of the day
and slowly releasing it through the night.
They also double up as work surfaces for
both kitchen and greenhouse jobs or bum
warming benches.
•In the summer the tanks are emptied, the
large doors at the end of the greenhouse
opened as well as windows and door to the
shade house and a convection of cool air will
be drafted through the house.
•Along the outsides of the greenhouse there
would be more deciduous fruiting climbers
covering the entire greenhouse in summer.
•The whole house would ideally be situated
within deciduous woodland which would
also shade the greenhouse in summer.
