Familie wohnt im Erdhaus: Nachhaltiges Wohnen mitten in der Stadt | ARD Room Tour

Anna and Jens live with their family in an earth-covered house—a sustainable and natural way of living, right in the middle of the city. The family cares deeply about the environment. So when they decided to build their own house ten years ago, one thing was clear: they needed a solution that was as sustainable as possible. When Anna stumbled upon a manufacturer of earth-covered houses, the decision was made quickly: the two of them wanted to live in an earth house as well. For around 180,000 euros, they ordered their “kit” for an earth-covered house, which was first prefabricated in a carpentry shop and then delivered by a large truck to Püttlingen in Saarland. The structural shell of the earth house was up within a week, but everything else was still missing: doors, windows, walls. So Anna and Jens got to work. They had to invest another 90,000 euros for the interior work and the heating systems. They did almost everything themselves. The young couple laid the walls of the earth-covered house themselves and built nearly all the furniture according to their own designs. It was a major challenge, as neither of them was a professional—Anna is an occupational therapist and Jens is a teacher. The couple also placed a strong emphasis on sustainability when it came to the interior construction of the earth-covered house. They avoided using new wood almost entirely, relying instead on scrap wood that Jens had gradually collected. After about a year and a few setbacks, the earth-covered house was finally finished. The family’s unusual house received a mixed reception from their neighbors in the housing development. While some were enthusiastic about the earth mound house and compared the new structure to a hobbit house from “The Lord of the Rings,” one immediate neighbor tried to stop the project. He feared for the value of his property if an “eco-shack” were built next to it. In the end, even the Püttlingen City Council reviewed the earth mound house and ultimately gave it the green light. Today, Anna and Jens live in the earth house with their two young children and enjoy low heating costs in the winter and a pleasant climate in the summer. The layer of earth on the roof acts as a natural insulation layer, ensuring extremely low heating energy requirements and keeping the earth mound house comfortably warm even in the winter. In summer, on the other hand, the house stays pleasantly cool thanks to the earth and the green roof. Anna and Jens have never regretted their decision to build their earth mound house. A film by Tobias Seeger (editor, camera, sound, editing). Produced by SR. 00:00 Sustainable Earthen Mound House 00:21 Roof 01:22 Living Area 02:33 Kitchen 03:27 Workshop 04:37 Spiral Staircase 05:12 Living Room 06:48 Bedroom 07:10 Children's Room 08:01 Bathroom 08:47 Garden On the ARD Room Tour YouTube channel, people open the doors to their unique homes. During a very personal tour, they share details about the renovation, interior design, and architecture, and talk about their philosophy on life. Subscribe to our channel so you don’t miss an episode! https://www.youtube.com/@ARDRoomTour?... Room Tour is also available in the ARD Media Library: https://1.ARD.de/RoomTour?yt=caption Legal Notice: https://www.swr.de/impressum Comments are welcome—but please follow our netiquette guidelines: https://www.swr.de/netiquette Privacy Policy: https://www.swr.de/datenschutz #EarthHouse #Family #RoomTour