Don’t you love the early stages of any project? All the research, playing with ideas, planning, dreaming and scheming. Next week we will all get together to share our ideas. Right now, I am inspired by the roundhouses of Dr Owen Geiger. Building out of earthbags, filled with a mix of earth and cement, seems to provide both the mass we need to absorb the heat (possibly generated from a wood gasification stove), and is still relatively easy to lay and uses local materials, while also being moistureproof.
We are in a damp, cool country. The woods are beautiful but Scotland is not sunny! Daylight hours are short in winter. On the other hand, there is little wind so when it is sunny it does get very warm. but solar and wind power are not a great investment here! Owen suggested wood gasifiers which would be perfect. We have plenty of wood and this is a way to get it to burn cleanly.
I guess it would help to outline the Plan! A central building that we could all share. To cook and eat together. To hang out. Play music. The practical aspect. A laundry. (Who really needs one washing machine per couple?!) A pantry or stores. Unless you want to keep your bicycle and two years of jam in your own lockup! Perhaps it could look like this:
Main building idea adapted from Triple Roundhouse Cluster © Dr Owen Geiger