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Gallery: From buried bunkers to hobbit homes - a look at underground living
Aloni House sits in a natural gully between two sloping hills. Much of the structure nestles under the ground making it nearly impossible to grasp its true scale
decaARCHITECTURE
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The Bolton Eco house is buried into the landscape and has six exposed nodes all pointing towards the underground centre of the home
Make Architects
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The Bolton Eco house is buried into the landscape and has six exposed nodes all pointing towards the underground centre of the home
Make Architects
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The Bolton Eco house is buried into the landscape and has six exposed nodes all pointing towards the underground centre of the home
Make Architects
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The Bolton Eco house is buried into the landscape and has six exposed nodes all pointing towards the underground centre of the home
Make Architects
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Edgeland House, modeled on the Native American Pit House, is buried 7 ft below ground level and is divided into two clear halves - sleeping and living sectors
Bercy Chen Studio
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Edgeland House, modeled on the Native American Pit House, is buried 7 ft below ground level and is divided into two clear halves - sleeping and living sectors
Bercy Chen Studio
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Edgeland House, modeled on the Native American Pit House, is buried 7 ft below ground level and is divided into two clear halves - sleeping and living sectors
Bercy Chen Studio
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Edgeland House, modeled on the Native American Pit House, is buried 7 ft below ground level and is divided into two clear halves - sleeping and living sectors
Bercy Chen Studio
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Called The Great Wall of WA, this giant rammed earth structure houses 12 apartments cleverly embedded into the natural landscape keeping the internal spaces cool in the hot Western Australianenvironment
Luigi Rosselli Architects / Edward Birch
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Called The Great Wall of WA, this giant rammed earth structure houses 12 apartments cleverly embedded into the natural landscape keeping the internal spaces cool in the hot Western Australianenvironment
Luigi Rosselli Architects / Edward Birch
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Called The Great Wall of WA, this giant rammed earth structure houses 12 apartments cleverly embedded into the natural landscape keeping the internal spaces cool in the hot Western Australianenvironment
Luigi Rosselli Architects / Edward Birch
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Called The Great Wall of WA, this giant rammed earth structure houses 12 apartments cleverly embedded into the natural landscape keeping the internal spaces cool in the hot Western Australianenvironment
Luigi Rosselli Architects / Edward Birch
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From Aires Mateus Architects this home is simple called ‘House In Leiria’. Almost all of the house is built underground with a doorless, and windowless monolithic impression of a house standing above the ground
FG+SG – Fernando Guerra
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From Aires Mateus Architects this home is simple called ‘House In Leiria’. Almost all of the house is built underground with a doorless, and windowless monolithic impression of a house standing above the ground
FG+SG – Fernando Guerra
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From Aires Mateus Architects this home is simple called ‘House In Leiria’. Almost all of the house is built underground with a doorless, and windowless monolithic impression of a house standing above the ground
FG+SG – Fernando Guerra
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From Aires Mateus Architects this home is simple called ‘House In Leiria’. Almost all of the house is built underground with a doorless, and windowless monolithic impression of a house standing above the ground
FG+SG – Fernando Guerra
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Completed in 2009 Villa Vals is a remarkable space, completely hidden in the mountainside. Access is only achieved through an underground tunnel from a nearby barn
Villa Vals
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Completed in 2009 Villa Vals is a remarkable space, completely hidden in the mountainside. Access is only achieved through an underground tunnel from a nearby barn
Villa Vals
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Completed in 2009 Villa Vals is a remarkable space, completely hidden in the mountainside. Access is only achieved through an underground tunnel from a nearby barn
Villa Vals
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Completed in 2009 Villa Vals is a remarkable space, completely hidden in the mountainside. Access is only achieved through an underground tunnel from a nearby barn
Villa Vals
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Completed in 2009 Villa Vals is a remarkable space, completely hidden in the mountainside. Access is only achieved through an underground tunnel from a nearby barn
Villa Vals
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In France sits Casa Jura, a residential home built into the surrounding hill leaving just a couple of small outcrops to allow light in
JDS Architects
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In France sits Casa Jura, a residential home built into the surrounding hill leaving just a couple of small outcrops to allow light in
JDS Architects
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In France sits Casa Jura, a residential home built into the surrounding hill leaving just a couple of small outcrops to allow light in
JDS Architects
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In France sits Casa Jura, a residential home built into the surrounding hill leaving just a couple of small outcrops to allow light in
JDS Architects
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In France sits Casa Jura, a residential home built into the surrounding hill leaving just a couple of small outcrops to allow light in
JDS Architects
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Peter Vetsch, a dominant force in earth house architecture, has built over 90 energy saving underground houses, with a strong nod to the organic forms of Gaudi
Vetsch Architecture
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Peter Vetsch, a dominant force in earth house architecture, has built over 90 energy saving underground houses, with a strong nod to the organic forms of Gaudi
Vetsch Architecture
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Peter Vetsch, a dominant force in earth house architecture, has built over 90 energy saving underground houses, with a strong nod to the organic forms of Gaudi
Vetsch Architecture
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Peter Vetsch, a dominant force in earth house architecture, has built over 90 energy saving underground houses, with a strong nod to the organic forms of Gaudi
Vetsch Architecture
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Hobbiton in New Zealand is the location of the Hobbit houses built for the Lord of the Rings movies. They aren’t exactly functional houses, with most just acting as facades but they certainly inspired a new generation of underground designers. Today they have been repurposed into sheep abodes (Credit: tara hunt / Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0)
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Hobbiton in New Zealand is the location of the Hobbit houses built for the Lord of the Rings movies. They aren’t exactly functional houses, with most just acting as facades but they certainly inspired a new generation of underground designers. Today they have been repurposed into sheep abodes(Credit: tara hunt / FlickrCC BY-SA 2.0)
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Hobbiton in New Zealand is the location of the Hobbit houses built for the Lord of the Rings movies. They aren’t exactly functional houses, with most just acting as facades but they certainly inspired a new generation of underground designers. Today they have been repurposed into sheep abodes(Credit: tara hunt / FlickrCC BY-SA 2.0)
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Hobbiton in New Zealand is the location of the Hobbit houses built for the Lord of the Rings movies. They aren’t exactly functional houses, with most just acting as facades but they certainly inspired a new generation of underground designers. Today they have been repurposed into sheep abodes(Credit: tara hunt / FlickrCC BY-SA 2.0)
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Aloni House sits in a natural gully between two sloping hills. Much of the structure nestles under the ground making it nearly impossible to grasp its true scale
decaARCHITECTURE
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Aloni House sits in a natural gully between two sloping hills. Much of the structure nestles under the ground making it nearly impossible to grasp its true scale
decaARCHITECTURE
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Aloni House sits in a natural gully between two sloping hills. Much of the structure nestles under the ground making it nearly impossible to grasp its true scale
decaARCHITECTURE
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Aloni House sits in a natural gully between two sloping hills. Much of the structure nestles under the ground making it nearly impossible to grasp its true scale
decaARCHITECTURE
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Biesbosch Museum Island is a spectacular green-covered building that blends anartificial structurewith an organic quality. From certain angles you wouldn’t even know there is a building there
Studio Marco Vermeulen
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Biesbosch Museum Island is a spectacular green-covered building that blends anartificial structurewith an organic quality. From certain angles you wouldn’t even know there is a building there
Studio Marco Vermeulen
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Biesbosch Museum Island is a spectacular green-covered building that blends anartificial structurewith an organic quality. From certain angles you wouldn’t even know there is a building there
Studio Marco Vermeulen
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Biesbosch Museum Island is a spectacular green-covered building that blends anartificial structurewith an organic quality. From certain angles you wouldn’t even know there is a building there
Studio Marco Vermeulen
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Biesbosch Museum Island is a spectacular green-covered building that blends anartificial structurewith an organic quality. From certain angles you wouldn’t even know there is a building there
Studio Marco Vermeulen
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This refurbished WWII bunker originally was designed for publicity but was so popular it remained open as a rental accommodation. It’s undeniably Spartan, it is a war bunker after all
B-ILD Architects
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This refurbished WWII bunker originally was designed for publicity but was so popular it remained open as a rental accommodation. It’s undeniably Spartan, it is a war bunker after all
B-ILD Architects
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This refurbished WWII bunker originally was designed for publicity but was so popular it remained open as a rental accommodation. It’s undeniably Spartan, it is a war bunker after all
B-ILD Architects
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This refurbished WWII bunker originally was designed for publicity but was so popular it remained open as a rental accommodation. It’s undeniably Spartan, it is a war bunker after all
B-ILD Architects
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This refurbished WWII bunker originally was designed for publicity but was so popular it remained open as a rental accommodation. It’s undeniably Spartan, it is a war bunker after all
B-ILD Architects
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Called The Earthscraper, this is an upside-down skyscraper proposed for Mexico City. This inverted building was suggested a way to enhance urban density without crowding the city skyline
BNKR Arquitectura
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Called The Earthscraper, this is an upside-down skyscraper proposed for Mexico City. This inverted building was suggested a way to enhance urban density without crowding the city skyline
BNKR Arquitectura
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Called The Earthscraper, this is an upside-down skyscraper proposed for Mexico City. This inverted building was suggested a way to enhance urban density without crowding the city skyline
BNKR Arquitectura
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Called The Earthscraper, this is an upside-down skyscraper proposed for Mexico City. This inverted building was suggested a way to enhance urban density without crowding the city skyline
BNKR Arquitectura
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Called The Earthscraper, this is an upside-down skyscraper proposed for Mexico City. This inverted building was suggested a way to enhance urban density without crowding the city skyline
BNKR Arquitectura
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Called The Earthscraper, this is an upside-down skyscraper proposed for Mexico City. This inverted building was suggested a way to enhance urban density without crowding the city skyline
BNKR Arquitectura
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The Lowline in New York City is an ambitious proposal for an underground park. Utilizing an abandoned underground space already present the design creatively uses mirrors to enhance the spread of sunlight from above
NYCEDC
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The Lowline in New York City is an ambitious proposal for an underground park. Utilizing an abandoned underground space already present the design creatively uses mirrors to enhance the spread of sunlight from above
NYCEDC
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The Lowline in New York City is an ambitious proposal for an underground park. Utilizing an abandoned underground space already present the design creatively uses mirrors to enhance the spread of sunlight from above
NYCEDC
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The Lowline in New York City is an ambitious proposal for an underground park. Utilizing an abandoned underground space already present the design creatively uses mirrors to enhance the spread of sunlight from above
NYCEDC
Over the last few decades architects and designers have been busy burrowing. Rammed earth structures, reclaimed war bunkers, and homes dug into hills have turned buildings inward instead of upward. Here we present a gallery featuring the most fascinating, weird, and experimental underground designs from recent years.
As well as offering the energy-saving benefits of the surrounding earth acting as insulation, many of these compelling structures seem to disappear into their environments. From the grass-covered pyramids of the Biesbosch Museum Island to the Great Wall of WA in Australia, many of these buildings sit in perfect harmony with their surroundings.
On the other hand some are truly mind-boggling designs that completely stand apart from their environment, whether it's the upside-down Earthscraper, an underground skyscraper proposed for Mexico City, or the gorgeously minimal House In Leiria, a windowless house that disguises a large underground residence.
Take a look through the gallery for a trip through the best of underground architecture.
