Homegrown Sundwellings

by Peter Van Dresser

This book is the outgrowth of two years of research and experimentation by a team of architects, engineers, physicists, designers and builders, funded by the Four Corners Regional Commission, under sponsorship of the Ghost Ranch Conference Center, Abiquiu, N.M. The major thrust of this program was the development of low-cost, low-technology, solar-heated dwellings suitable for construction by owner-builders using native materials. A number of demonstration cottages were built and will be monitored during several heating seasons by the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. The main purpose of this book is to show how solar energy can be harnessed by simple methods, and how the use of renewable energy sources can help ease the fuel crisis, improve economic conditions, and protect land, air and water against the menace of pollution -- not only in New Mexico but wherever the sun shines.