Helical Earthbag Shelter for Desert Shelter

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Helixa was designed by Ward Karet and constructed by herself along with the help of other students, friends and family. All of the materials were walked in or moved by a wheelbarrow in order to minimize impact on the desert, and all construction took place within 2 feet of the shelter’s final footprint.

The earthbags were made using a collapsed rammed earth wall from a former student shelter, and the chimney is reinforced with a small (~8%) amount of concrete to ensure stability.

The form of the earthen shelter is like a seashell, which opens up to the light of dawn and provides shade from the hot desert sun with a half-dome awning. The earthbags and adobe walls provide thermal mass to soak up the heat and release it back at night as the desert cools down. A protected sleeping area sits at the center of the shelter’s spiral, and seating at the opening of the shelter provides space to socialize.

Ward-Karet wanted to gain some real world experience in the earthbag construction method while building in a manner that was in keeping with the surroundings. With a budget of $1,000, she designed and built the Helixa Shelter using earthbags, adobe, sunbrella fabric, and scraps from the architecture school.

source: inhabitat, mayawk, taliesin

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