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Conference Explores
<br />Diverse Aspects of
<br />U-g Building
<br />
<br />At a recent conference on large-
<br />scale underground and earth-sheltered
<br />building, participants and presenters
<br />discussed underground space use from
<br />a wide variety of perspectives. The
<br />conference, sponsored by the Under-
<br />ground Space Center of the University
<br />of Minnesota, featured presentations
<br />by engineers, researchers, legislators,
<br />regulatory agency officials, architects,:
<br />construction company owners, and
<br />developers of underground-space.
<br />Jean Boulin, from the Office of
<br />Building and Community Systems of
<br />the Department of Energy (DOE), dis-
<br />cussed DOE's proposed Building Ener-
<br />gy Performance Standards (BEPS).
<br />According to Boulin, the adoption of
<br />the BEPS will make earth-sheltered and
<br />underground construction an increas-
<br />ingly attractive alternative to conven-
<br />tional building techniques.
<br />Under the new heating and cooling
<br />standards, new buildings must be de-
<br />signed to use no more than a pre-
<br />scribed number of British thermal units
<br />(BTU's) of heat per square foot per
<br />'year. According to Boulin, "Once we
<br />have a situation where new structures
<br />must meet minimum performance
<br />standards, a demand will be created for
<br />a certain type of building-namely,
<br />earth-sheltered or underground-that
<br />can. best meet those standards."
<br />The new standards for conserving
<br />energy through building design were
<br />mandated by Congress in the 1976
<br />Energy Conservation Standards for
<br />New Buildings Act. States and Iocali-
<br />ties have been asked to adopt the
<br />BEPS in 1980.
<br />[Regional hearings on the BEPS will
<br />be held in January in the following
<br />cities: Washington, D.C. (Jan. 28, 29,
<br />30); Atlanta, GA and Kansas City, MO
<br />(Feb. 4, 5,~eJes, CA and
<br />Boston, M~(F:el~.X'~r';" '- -"'~'11';%.2x',~13). For
<br /> {.ci -' ,. :\
<br />more in}~?hation .about th~'.~hearings
<br />and pro~ed stanaards~onta~ James
<br />L. Bm~,~_y Off~:~' q~Buil~s and
<br />
<br />200
<br />
<br /> Earth Shelterinq Goes Hollywood/
<br />
<br />Attend Center's Film Premiere
<br />
<br /> On December' 10, the Underground
<br />Space Center hosted a special premiere
<br />of its new movie, Grass on the Roof.
<br />About 200 people-invited because of
<br />their demonstrated interest in earth-
<br />sheltered housing--attended the ~how-
<br />lng at the St. Paul Arts and Science
<br />Center.
<br /> Funding for the 28-minute film--
<br />which is planned for distribution ~to
<br />libraries, schools, and television--was
<br />provided by the Control Data Corpora-
<br />tion. It introduces the concepts and
<br />techniques of earth shelterintj through
<br />the eyes of Mortimer, a man who in-
<br />herits an earth-sheltered house. With a
<br />little help from the ghost of his Aunt
<br />Emma, Mortimer is guided through a
<br />variety of earth-sheltered houses, and
<br />in the course of his travels discovers
<br />the advantages of "going under."
<br /> Director Slavko Nowytski, head of
<br />Filmart Industries, describes the film as
<br />
<br />Slavko Nowytski (center), director of
<br />Grass on the Roof, is assisted by
<br />photography director Tom Ramsay and
<br />assistant director Rita LaDoux.
<br />
<br />a "dramatized documentary." Al-
<br />though the movie teaches viewers
<br />about earth sheltering, Nowyt~ki says
<br />Grass on the Roof is "conceptual, not
<br />didactic. Rather than doing a step-by-
<br />step process-'see, this is the way you
<br />build an earth-sheltered house'--I try
<br />to create a mood in the film that re-
<br />flects the whole idea of what it's like
<br />to build and live underground."-
<br /> AlthOugh Nowytski didn't know
<br />much about specific earth sheltered
<br />building techniques when he began
<br />making the film, his ethnic and profes-
<br />sional background had provided him
<br />with .an understanding of the basic
<br />concepts and principles involved in
<br />underground space use. "My parents
<br />came to America from .the Ukraine,"
<br />he explains, "so I grew up hearing stor-
<br />ies about 'zemlianki,' which are the
<br />Ukrainian equivalents of America's sod
<br />houses." The making of Reflections of
<br />the Past, a documentary about Ukrain-
<br />ian immigration to the United States in
<br />the late 1800s and early 1900s, con-
<br />tributed to the filmmaker's understand-
<br />ing of the pioneers' uses of the earth
<br />as a defense against invaders and to
<br />protect themselves from climatic varia-
<br />tions.
<br /> The idea for the movie sprang from
<br />Lance Belville, who wrote the script
<br />for the film. According to Nowytski,
<br />"One day Lance was reading a news-
<br />paper article about the things the
<br />Underground Space Center was doing
<br />with earth-sheltered housing and he
<br />said to me, 'Listen, why don't you see
<br />about doing a film on underground
<br />houses?' So I approached the Under-
<br />groul~d Spacb Center with the idea."
<br /> After Control Data decided to fund
<br />the film project in early 1979, Under-
<br />ground Space Center staff outlined the
<br />basic concepts and technology that
<br />they felt should be included in such a
<br />film. Then Charles Lane, research asso-
<br />ciate for the Center, "got together
<br />everybody who would be involved in
<br />
<br /> continued on page 2
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