A Review of Underground Building Towards Thermal Energy Efficiency and

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A review of underground building towards thermal energy efficiency and

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Article in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews · January 2016

DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2015.12.085
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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 60 (2016) 692–713
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser
A review of underground building towards thermal energy efficiency

and sustainable development
Saqaff A. Alkaff, S.C. Sim n, M.N. Ervina Efzan
Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Multimedia University, Malaysia
art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t
Article history: Global warming has posed a great challenge to the survival of mankind. The increasing atmospheric
Received 15 May 2015 concentration of carbon dioxide is widely recognized as the largest contributor of global warming. Hence,
Received in revised form world-wide attention towards energy conservation has grown markedly to reduce the carbon dioxide
10 October 2015
emission. In the context of building energy performance, the ancient wisdom of using the earth as
Accepted 17 December 2015
Available online 8 February 2016
temperature moderator against harsh weather has impressive potential to become a solid solution
against the energy inefficiency of Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning system (HVAC) in building.
Keywords: This creative and traditional passive cooling technique has been also made it possible to achieve most
Passive cooling criteria of sustainable development concerning the world's growing housing demand, climate change,
Earth sheltered technique
fossil-fuel depletion as well as limited land area and resources.
Sustainable development
In this paper, underground buildings were reviewed from preliminary aspects such as historical
Building envelope
Underground building background, classification and subsequent thermal energy performance criteria. It has tried to elaborate
the thermal performance variables, and conduct further study of benefits and drawbacks of this passive
cooling technique toward different perspectives of sustainable development. With intention to gain wide
acceptance in the modern society, this paper has proposed a conceptual design of earth sheltered home,
which incorporated different types of the building techniques.
Eventually earth sheltered buildings worldwide were summarized in a well illustrative form to
highlight the different designs, applications, locations, timelines and climates. In addition, a deductive
model is graphically represented for the virtual overview of underground structures that set the foun-
dation to further investigate sustainability of this building envelope technique.
& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Contents
1. Introduction and historical review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 693

1.1. Miyagi prefecture in Kamitakamori, Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 693
1.2. Vernacular sunken courtyard in Matmata, Tunisia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 693
1.3. “Yao Dong” in Shanxi Province, China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 694
1.4. Underground cave homes at the foot of Mountain Sahand, Iran. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 694
1.5. Ancient underground city in Cappadocia, Turkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 694
1.6. Historical City in Petra, Jordan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 694
1.7. Underground City of Edinburgh Vaults, Scotland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 695
2. Design classification and energy performance of underground buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 695
2.1. Atrium/courtyard plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 695
2.2. Elevational plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 696
2.3. Bermed plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697
2.4. Thermal energy performance properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697
2.4.1. Design typology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697
2.4.2. Deep below the ground surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 698
n
Corresponding author. Tel.: þ 60 12 6301582.
E-mail address: ssc_benjamin@yahoo.com (S.C. Sim).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.12.085
1364-0321/& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
S.A. Alkaff et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 60 (2016) 692–713 693
2.4.3. Ventilation system and air infiltration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700

2.4.4. Soil thermal properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 701
2.4.5. Insulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702
2.4.6. Altitude above sea level. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702
2.5. Heat transfer model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702
3. Overview from perspective of sustainable development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704
3.1. Environment perspective. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704
3.2. Society Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704
3.3. Economy perspective. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 706
4. Future development of underground building towards sustainability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 707
4.1. University of Minnesota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 707
4.2. Terraset Elementary School. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 707
4.3. Geodome at Missoula, Montana, USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 708
4.4. Earth sheltered building at Vals, Switzerland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 708
4.5. Hockerton Housing Project at Nottingham, United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 708
4.6. Aloni House at Antiparos, Greece . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 708
4.7. Conceptual project of underground building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 710
4.7.1. Earth scrapper in Mexico, United Stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 710
4.7.2. Alice city, Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 710
5. Case study of earth cooling method in Malaysia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 710
5.1. CoolTek House in Malacca, Malaysia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 710
5.2. A case study of ground cooling system at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 710
6. Proposed modern model with integrated design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 710
7. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 711
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 712
1. Introduction and historical review recorded historical data can help us to emerge with relevant skills
and an enhanced capacity for critical thinking.
Earth sheltered home is an ancient technique to combat harsh
weather. The fact is that earth temperature of the subsurface is
1.1. Miyagi prefecture in Kamitakamori, Japan
lower than the ambient air temperature in summer and higher in
winter. This is due to the soil thermal properties which can be
In one of the earliest cases, a human habitation which known
applied as a heat capacitor for moderating indoor temperatures. In
as Miyagi Prefecture was discovered in a deposit of earth
the year 1983, the pioneer researcher of earth sheltered technique,
approximately 600,000 years old in Kamitakamori, Japan. The
Hait has described his concept of Passive Annual Heat Storage
habitation could have been utilized as a shelter to rest, a post
(PAHS) as “… heat can be collected, stored and retrieved over the
for hunting, a room to store tools or to conduct religious
entire year, without using the energy robbing mechanical equip-
ceremonies [3].
ment” [1]. This earth covered buildings is then referred by Maja
Staniec as “…which may be simply described as concrete con-
structions partially covered with soil” in his experimental research 1.2. Vernacular sunken courtyard in Matmata, Tunisia
in year 2009 [2]. In the year 2012, Professor Anselm has stated
that, “ …earth sheltered can now be defined as structures built In Tunisia, traces of inhabitants of Matmata were found in
with the use of earth mass against building walls as external artificial caves for centuries. Individual rooms were scooped into
thermal mass, which reduces heat loss and maintains a steady the soft rock to build an atrium dwelling which had a few exca-
indoor air temperature throughout the seasons” [3]. In this mod- vated rooms of 4 m to 10 m high as illustrated in Fig. 1 [3,7]. The
ern era, its merits really have prompted new meanings for its original objective to build below the ground level in this verna-
tactics. This paper clearly reviews all aspects of thermal energy cular courtyard home was to shelter the residents from the
conservation and sustainable development through earth shel-
tering which are noteworthy in history and in future development.
According to recorded history, underground structures were
originally found to be built for shelter, warmth and security
against animal attack [4]. Indeed, these ancient underground
homes are mostly located in hot and arid countries, which means
that earth sheltered technique was initially applied for cooling
rather than heating [5].
The wide application of underground buildings in hot and arid
regions could result from the fact that more than 30% of the
world’s land mass (approximately 4.7 million km2) is located in
hot and arid climate, and only 12% of the zones are located in
temperate climates (approximately 1.55 million km2) [6].
In order to gain a real grasp of how an underground building
works, it is vital to unfold the human record and review the his-
torical background of underground building. With objective
oriented awareness, this cumulative skill in interpreting the Fig. 1. Bird-eye view of underground house at Matmata [3].
694 S.A. Alkaff et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 60 (2016) 692–713
Fig. 2. (a) Northern Chinese province of Shanxi “Yao Dong” – atrium type; (b) elevational type of “Yao Dong” [7,8].
Fig. 3. Subsurface structures of Sahand Mountain in Iran [10,11]. Fig. 4. Cappadocia, ancient underground Turkish city [11,12].
intensive heat of day and night time coldness, especially in this

desert region [7].
1.3. “Yao Dong” in Shanxi Province, China
In addition to Matmata at Tunisia, similar subsurface structures

have been discovered in northern Chinese province of Shanxi
known as “Yao Dong” as illustrated in Fig. 2(a) [8].
The designs are diversified around this province according to
people’s need, local environment, and availability of material [9].
Hence, all three main plans of underground building can be
spotted at this region, for example elevational plan as illustrated in
Fig. 2(b). People in this area are still living in this cave home.
1.4. Underground cave homes at the foot of Mountain Sahand, Iran

Fig. 5. Petra historical city with subsurface structure with water storage function
[13,14].
Situated in north-east Iran near to Sahand Mountain, is another
well-known underground structure in a hot and arid region. The
This underground city was built around 7th century because
structure is more than 700 years old [10]. These cave homes are carved
the Christians intended to hide from persecution from the Roman
from volcanic rocks, which were already located on site [11] ( Fig. 3).
Empire. Turkey is full of underground cities, in part because the
volcanic rock in the region is easy to carve out [12].
1.5. Ancient underground city in Cappadocia, Turkey
While the civilization process evolved into more complicated 1.6. Historical City in Petra, Jordan
and various functions, some subsurface structures are found built
beyond the purpose of merely providing residential and food Similarly, in Petra Historical City, some similar underground
storage. For example, Cappadocia in Turkey, which is an ancient building of 6th century B.C was discovered in the year 1812 as
Turkish city and cave church could house up to 50 thousand shown in Fig. 5. Also located in a hot desert area, this underground
people, reached eleven stories below ground as illustrated in Fig. 4. structure was investigated and expected with a distinct purpose to
prevent the impact of flash flooding and to store water for pro- 2.1. Atrium/courtyard plan
longed periods of drought [13,14].
This atrium or courtyard plan concept is usually constructed
with the whole building structure fully submerged into the ground
1.7. Underground City of Edinburgh Vaults, Scotland and appears in harmony with the landscape. This atrium plan is
best suited in flat terrain sites that have permeable, dry or well-
Another famous underground structure is the Edinburgh drained soils which are far from a ground water source [5,19].
Vaults. These underground cities are a numbers of vaults con- With reference to the traditional underground buildings which
structed in the nineteen arches of the South Bridge in Edinburgh, constructed in arid climatic regions, some do not even require any
Scotland, which was built in 1788 [15]. For period of 30 years, the supporting walls because the land conditions are well-resourced
vaults as illustrated in Fig. 6 were used to house taverns, cobblers with naturally compressed soil that provides great structural sta-
and storage space for illegal goods. The businesses gradually left bility [20].
the area primarily due to soggy and deteriorated air quality and In Matmata, Southern Tunisia, the underground building is
eventually only the poorest of Edinburgh's citizens shifted in commonly semi-circular in shape from range of 5–10 m in dia-
around year 1820. meters with a depth of 10 m from the upper-floor level to the base
of the exposed courtyard as illustrated in Fig. 7(a). In Bulla Region,
northern Tunisia, the sunken courtyard homes of the Romans
were akin to Matmata, however the depth is just approximately
2. Design classification and energy performance of under- 5 m [21].
ground buildings However, in China, the courtyard design is about 9 m in depth
and built either square or rectangular with width of 9–13 m [20].
Although techniques of this underground architecture have not Most of the courtyard designs in China were noticed to incorporate
yet a formalized knowledge, research into its energy-efficiency some tree planting in the courtyard which further improves the
principles definitely relates to the classifications of design typol- cooling effect as illustrated in Fig. 7(b).
ogy as preliminary methodology. As illustrated in Fig. 8, the entrance type of courtyard building
The building design method in different typology will not only in China comes in various forms such as stair entrance, straight
determine the energy performance but will also influence the entrance, slope entrance and a combination of stair and slop
structural integrity. Referring mainly to Roy [16], DOE [17], and entrance. This is mainly due to the terrain of landscape and space
John Hait [18], the three major concepts of underground buildings considerations.
can be classified as the following: With individual unit design solution which gradually preferred
by town planning creativities, a sunken town that exists below the
Atrium/courtyard plan. ground level is finally achieved as demonstrated in Fig. 9a for
Elevational plan. sunken city in Tunisia [21] and Fig. 9b for sunken city in Shanxi
Bermed plan. province, China [20].
Fig. 6. The Edinburgh Vaults or South Bridge Vaults [14,15].
Fig. 7. (a) Vernacular sunken courtyard in Matmata, Tunisia [19]; (b) Square courtyard design in Shangxi province, China [18,19].
Fig. 8. Various types of entrance for square courtyard plan [21,28].
Fig. 9. (a) Sunken city in Tunisia [17] and (b) for sunken city in Shanxi province, China [21,28].
Fig. 10. (a) Elevational type of underground building [18]; (b) Elevational plan with passive solar heating concept by Hait [17,18,28].
2.2. Elevational plan into with impunity. Type of soil and angle of repose are critical to
the structural integrity [16]. This type of house built on stable and
Elevational plan in the context of underground buildings are uninterrupted earth with slight slope does not require strong
commonly well suited to hilly or mountain sites. In this elevational ground piling works, and the excavated soil can be reused to
plan as illustrated in Fig. 10(a), all walls are bermed within earth moderately alter the window facing or backfill as roof
except the south facing wall in cold regions, and the northern wall members [22].
in hot climatic zones. Some of the oldest examples of this eleva- In view of the structural integrity, general guidelines show that
tional type could be found in the Petra historical city in Jordan and when soil is moisturized or frozen or when the houses are buried
at the foot of Sahand Mountain in Iran where they are both carved more deeply into the ground level, it will require stronger struc-
from volcanic rock [14,12]. Most of the materials wanted to build tural walls with waterproofing [3]. In comparison with atrium
them were already available on site. plan, elevational plan type of underground construction provides
In this type of underground construction at a hilly site, the stronger structural stability to withstand the soil pressure, espe-
slope steepness will also determine the suitability either to build a cially for the roof structure which is usually the inspiring part of
single storey or double stories. A steep sloop should not be dug the entire structure for any type of underground building [18].
With reference to design concept introduced by Hait [18], such conservation. This is due to the soil thermal properties which can
buildings are most suitable for the in-situ integration, and in be treated as a thermal reservoir for modulating interior tem-
addition benefits from passive solar heating as shown in Fig. 10(b). peratures [25].
A popular misconception is that the earth is a good insulation
2.3. Bermed plan material. However, the earth has high value of heat conductivity,
particularly when compared to commonly-used construction
In addition to the energy conservation perspective, the material insulation materials. However, even a poor insulator can produce
choice will be also critical in consideration of the structural excellent insulation when the thermal energy losses transfer
resistance to possible defect of support members. In this case of across vast spaces. Hence, this makes the earth become a capacitor
bermed plan, the earth-soil will be selected and used as major to store heat and moderate heat at different meteorological con-
building material, and the building structure stability is fully ditions as shown in Fig. 12 [16].
determined by the soil strength characteristic which also influ- This gains superior significance, mainly in terms of cooling
ences the building resistance to rain and storm erosion. The energy reduction in hot and dry climatic regions which have a
foundation, walls and roof are noteworthy structures in bermed
wide daily range of temperature and extreme radiation. Latest
plan type of earth shelter construction [3].
researches concluded that the electricity consumed for indoor
While not all soils are adequate for underground construction,
cooling requirements accounts for at least 70% of the total elec-
sand and gravel are well accepted because these soils are well
tricity generation in such hot countries [26].
compacted to bear the load of the building materials. During the
Therefore, it is of prime importance to shed light upon the
soil medium selection through professional soil test for under-
fundamentals which impact the energy conservation achievement
ground construction, soils such as clay should be avoided because
within underground buildings. A preliminary review of related
they are cohesive and have poor permeability, which may expand
when wet [23,24]. literature pointed out the following factors to recognize thermal
In bermed type of construction, earth is loaded up against behavior [17,,27]:
exterior walls and piled to incline downwards away from the
house. As suggested by Roy Bob [16], the retaining walls are tied (1) Design typology.
with the earth berm by horizontal timber as demonstrated in (2) Deep below ground surface.
Fig. 11(b). (3) Ventilation system.
In the design of most underground buildings, the roof is widely (4) Soil thermal properties (Specific density, thermal conductivity,
recognized as the most attractive part and also most challenging thermal diffusivity).
part in architectural consideration. A frame should be also solid (5) Insulation and infiltration.
enough to withstand the dead weight resulting from soil overlay, (6) Altitude above sea level.
rain, snow and ice loads to which the roof is subjected [19]. The
roof may be fully earth covered or built with window openings 2.4.1. Design typology
which could be more than one side of the shelter. As most of the In 1983, John Hait related underground building with a relevant
construction is aboveground, fewer moisture problems are related thermodynamics principle in which heat always flows from a
with bermed plan than other types of construction plan [19]. warmer system to a cooler system as illustrated in Fig. 13 [1,18].
As a summary for typology, according to a review paper done
by Dr. Anselm [3], besides differences in construction concepts and Table 1
Design factor of different typology of underground building.
structural integrity, the energy conservation values within bermed
type and true underground type also change based on climate and Factor Bermed type or Elevational Atrium
physical challenges to individual typology as shown in type
Table 1 below.
Passive solar potential Excellent Less effective
Thermal stability Less effective Excellent
2.4. Thermal energy performance properties Natural lighting potential Excellent Less effective
Wind protection Less effective Excellent
It is well-known that earth temperature is higher than the Noise protection Less effective Excellent
ambient temperature in winter and lower in summer. Being lar- Visual convenience Excellent (one directional Poor (only open sky
view) view)
gely enclosed by earth, earth sheltered buildings gain benefit of Appropriate climate Effective for temperate Effective for arid zone
the earth's thermal mass towards the achievement of energy
Fig. 11. (a) Bermed plan earth sheltered structure [18,19]. (b) The retaining walls are tied to earth berm by horizontal timber structure [15,16].
Fig. 12. Earth provides constant temperature as heat capacitor which absorbs heat during summer and released heat during winter [15,16].
Fig. 13. The heat slowly soaks into the soil from the soil surface into 6 m depth and returns the heat to earth surface during winter as stated in thermodynamic principle
[17,18].
The influence of design typology on the heat modulation effect of direct contact with the earth mass and, in contrast, 80% of Atrium
underground building can also be described through this principle. design exterior area is in contact with the earth mass and hence
In general, this passive annual heat storage concept uses sur- become underground building type which offer better indoor
rounding earth to help control the micro-climate within the conditions for both summer and winter temperatures [28,29].
building. In another words, contact surface area of building with
the earth and the depth the structure penetrates into the earth
play a key role in heat transfer. The larger the percentage of con- 2.4.2. Deep below the ground surface
tact surface area, the more the structure will gain in terms of In addition to the influence of surface area in contact, the depth
thermal energy conservation. the structure penetrates into the earth will also greatly affect the
With reference to Table 1 in Section 2.3, the design typology is indoor temperature of the subsurface structure [30].
obvious because of its dominant influence on the depth below In 1983, the concept of Passive Annual Heat Storage (PAHS) was
ground level, and contact surface area of building with the earth. In
published by Hait [1]. With experimental data from Hait’s working
addition to the comparison in Table 1, Akubue Jideofor Anselm
sample known as Geodome in Montana USA, he managed to
performed a thermal analysis in two major designs, elevational
observe the constant temperature at 6 m depth in the ground with
design and courtyard design, for true underground building, which
are mainly influenced by its design typology [28]. reflection to an average annual air temperature at 21 °C as illu-
The study of Anselm calculates the thermal flow pattern in the strated in Fig. 15.
different earth shelter designs while investigating the different In the context of soil temperature prediction, the depth of soil
effects of the earth's Passive Annual Heat Storage (PAHS) on the is an important variable. The annual variation of daily average soil
elevational designs as shown in Fig. 14(a) and atrium designs in temperature at different depths can be estimated using a sinu-
(b). About 50% of the elevational structures exterior facade is in soidal function from the theory of Dr. Nofziger [31,32]. The model
Fig. 14. Effects of passive cooling on earth shelter indoor space in summer: (a) Elevational design and (b) atrium design [21,28].
Fig. 15. Monthly natural underground temperatures are averaged of the whole year's temperature changes and become a single average at 6 m [17,18].
Fig. 16. Soil climate zone and proposed soil grouping in Malaysia [56,57].
is governed by Eq. (1): where T(z,t) is the soil temperature at time t (d) and depth z (m), Ta
is the average soil temperature (°C), A0 is the annual amplitude of
2πðt t o Þ z π the surface soil temperature (°C), d is the damping depth (m) of
Tðz; tÞ ¼ T a þ A0 e z=d sin ð1Þ
365 d 2 annual fluctuation and t0 is the time lag (days) from an arbitrary
Fig. 17. Three dimentional heat transfer model with consideration of energy balance of boundary condition [6].
Fig. 18. Sustainable principles concept in prism [62,70].
starting date (taken as January 1 in this software) to the occur- 2.4.3. Ventilation system and air infiltration
rence of the minimum temperature in a year. The damping depth Ventilation is one of the vital criteria direct linked to energy
is given by: use in buildings [19]. It is even stated in most local Indoor Air
1 Quality Act and building codes in order to avoid sick building
2Dh 2
d¼ ð2Þ syndrome and ensure a desirable and healthy environment [33].
ω
The intake rate of fresh air to be supplied into the buildings is
where Dh is the thermal diffusivity and directly related to the number of occupants and the application of
1
ω ¼ 2π=365d ð3Þ the building [34,35].
Fig. 19. University of Minnesota [75,82].
Fig. 20. (a) Terraset School bird's-eye view based of the construction model and (b) Terraset School cut-away view [75,82].
Fig. 21. (a) Geodome, Rocky Mountain Research Center [18,86] and (b) beautiful underground building at Vals, Switzerland [89,95].
Although mechanical ventilation below soil level could easily developed a deductive model to study air movement in subsurface
result in more energy, it is interesting to discover that the tradi- building [19,38].
tional underground building units are usually incorporated with
various types of passive induced ventilation techniques [36]. These
techniques offered cost effective natural ventilation alternatives 2.4.4. Soil thermal properties
and added the energy efficient value to the whole underground In addition, soil type or more precisely soil’s thermal properties
building design process [37]. will be another dominant parameter to predict heat transfer in soil
In the concept of Passive Annual Heat Storage (PAHS), John N. [39–42]. In his research paper, Boguslaw reviewed the method to
Hait also suggested passive earth tube ventilation system to pre define the heat capacity per unit volume by governing thermal
cool the fresh air that enters the building [1]. Dr. El-Fiki has also conductivity and thermal diffusivity of soil [43].
Fig. 22. Hockerton Housing Project [90,97].
Fig. 23. (a) Exterior view of Aloni House Greece and (b) interior view of Aloni house [91,98].
Staniec and Nowak performed a research with 5 types of soil important design criteria to properly insulate from moisture but
including sand and clay and three types of medium sand differing allow the best thermal comfort effect [51–53].
in their moisture concentration. Thermal conductivity, volumetric Several types of insulation material were suggested by U.S.
heat capacity and thermal diffusivity were adopted for the analysis Department of Energy, especially for underground structure pur-
of their influence on the heating and cooling energy demand of pose such as Rubberized asphalt, vulcanized sheets, Poly-
underground building. Staniec and Nowak concluded that the urethanes, and Bentonite which are applied together with biding
lower the value of thermal conductivity and diffusivity the better agent [17].
the energy performance [6].
However, another important factor that greatly affects the soil 2.4.6. Altitude above sea level
thermal diffusivity is the moisture content [44,45]. The effect of Elevation or altitude above sea level plays an important role in
soil types and moisture content on the soil temperature were also determining the soil temperature [53], which is one of the primary
thoroughly studied and described by Leong and Tarnawski in their indicators to explore the potentiality of underground building in
research on ground heat pump performance [46]. Malaysia. As illustrated in Fig. 24, the annual soil temperature for
Several studies also pointed out this heat-transfer relation [47]. the Isothermic soil at elevation range from 1500 m to 750 m ran-
In short, moisture will negatively impact the damping effect of soil ged from 15 °C to 22 °C [54,55].
[48,49]. This could be the reason that underground buildings do This soil climate survey is carried out by Paramananthan in the
not have good preference in the past due to our hot and humid year 2009 and indirectly identified the potentiality of local soil
climate while moisture insulation technology is still not available. temperature which is slightly higher than 22 °C within the range
of 300–750 m could be ideal for a comfortable indoor temperature
2.4.5. Insulation of around 23–28 °C in an underground building [56].
Nevertheless, with the aid of modern insulation technology, a Since humans have already heavily populated the coastal
building structure could be easily insulated from moisture by lowlands, which ranges on the west [57], highland areas could
using Polyethylene, mastic or silicone, epoxy, or polyurethane [50]. soon be a preference for future development with consideration
In the context of insulation, Staniec and Nowak have also provided on the low risk of flood in lowland areas.
some technical research on the effect of insulation thickness
applied to an underground building as prevention for ground 2.5. Heat transfer model
water and moisture intrusion [2]. Their analysis of the experi-
mental data suggested that the thinner the thermal insulation, the Heat transfer modeling and simulation method is widely used
better cooling effect gained from soil [2,6]. The application of to assess the energy performance of the design [58–60]. In year
insulation in the underground building becomes one of the most 1989, a technical manuscript was conducted under the project of
Fig. 24. Conceptual project of underground building (a) Earth scraper in Mexico [67,74] and (b) Alice city [93,99].
“Basic Research in Military Construction” by Bahnfleth and this a simplified steady-state method that is based on 24-h cycle [63]
paper is titled as “three-dimensional modeling of heat transfer (Fig. 16).
from slab floor” [61]. Bahnfleth stated that most numerical models In this context of heat transfer model as illustrated in Fig. 17,
have employed either finite difference (FDM) or finite element the boundary condition is generally to be defined with certain
(FEM) methods. He clearly explained the process of simplification assumption. The distribution of heat in the soil around under-
for the model of the three-dimensional transient heat conduction ground buildings, both horizontal and vertical boundary condition
equation by excluding the negligible effect of heat source, moist- can be described as the thermal balance of the grounds at the soil
ure and phase change. This governing equation of three-
surface [6]. This energy balance is considered that the energy
dimensional dynamic heat conduction, which had also known as
absorbed by soil is equal to the sum of an absorbed incoming
the Fourier's Eq. (4) as below:
shortwave sun radiation and longwave sky radiation, outgoing
∂t ðx; y; z; τÞ ∂ ∂t ∂ ∂t ∂ ∂t longwave soil surface radiation, the energy due to convection and
cðx; y; zÞρðx; y; zÞ ¼ λ þ λ þ λ ð4Þ
∂τ ∂x ∂x ∂y ∂y ∂z ∂z latent evaporation plus longwave radiation.where:
where GH (V)-energy absorbed by horizontal (vertical) soil surface, W/
cðx; y; zÞ is the specific heat of point. m2 ,
SRH (V)-shortwave sun radiation energy absorbed by horizontal
P ðx; y; zÞ; J=ðkg:KÞ ð5Þ
(vertical) soil surface, W/m2,
Nevertheless, Bahnfleth also pointed out that most research via RskyH(V)-longwave sky radiation energy on horizontal (vertical)
numerical modeling and simulation has been restricted to two- soil surface, W/m2,
dimensional analysis in late 1980 due to the limitation of com- RsurH (V )-longwave horizontal (vertical) soil surface radiation,
puter aided software [61]. In the modern era, by using the same W/m2,
equation in an isotropic body, Maja Staniec have performed a CEH (V )-energy due to convection on horizontal (vertical) sur-
calculation of soil thermal energy transfer with the finite-element face, W/m2,
package FlexPDE and incorporated with building energy con- LEH (V )-energy due to latent evaporation of horizontal (vertical)
sumption which was further calculated by the EnergyPlus software surface, W/m2,
[2,6]. LRH–V-longwave radiation between both horizontal and vertical
Liu, Jiang and Jin, have performed a research at Taiyuan Hotel,
surfaces, W/m2.
which located in Nanjing, China with a buried depth of 1.5 m by
In conjunction with the far-field boundaries and the infinite
using a numerical model which was developed using MATLAB. In
depth condition [61], the European Standard EN ISO 13370 has also
their research, the result shows that the simulation in MATLAB is
defined the bottom and the vertical as an adiabatic condition or
applicable and feasible with the relative difference limited to 10%
[31]. By adopting the finite element (FEM) methods suggested by perfect insulators. As a result, heat exchange is equivalent to zero.
Wang [62], Liu has used Multiphysics software COMSOL to per- Noteworthy that this zero flux assumption can only be applied
form the numerical simulation of heat transfer in the underground with the circumstance where no heat source and no water bank in
structure with double layer wall [25]. ECOTECT is another com- a finite depth.
plete building design and environment tool that covers many In view of the internal boundary condition, the internal air
simulation and analysis functions. ECOTECT uses the CIBSE temperature is not consistent in time, and the heat exchange
Admittance Method to calculate heating and cooling loads and it is between external environment and interior environment may be
represented by a simplified Eq. (6) as follows: [70]. This concept in prism of sustainability is adopted in this
Q ext ;int ¼ UðT ext –T int Þ ð6Þ review paper as a guideline to further judge the advantages and
disadvantages of sustainable development.
where,
Q ext;int , is the heat flux between exterior environment with 3.1. Environment perspective
interior environment, W/m2,
Tint, is the interior environment temperature, K, Heat storage capacity is another important criterion of sus-
Text, is the exterior environment temperature, K, tainability to thermal standards of an earth sheltered construction
U, is the thermal transfer coefficient of medium element, [63,71]. This is because of the high density and quantity thermal
W/m2.K. medium of the surrounding soil. In combination with the soil
Finally, thermal transfer between interior building envelope thermal properties which can be treated as a heat reservoir,
and the floor slab can be approximated by equation of form: underground buildings are therefore capable to regulate indoor
Q int;f loor ¼ UðT int –T f loor Þ ð7Þ temperatures [27].
Reduction of solar heat gain is achieved mainly from three
By setting the boundary condition, the modeling and simula- aspects. Direct solar radiant heat can be greatly reduced by earth
tion can be simplified but the accuracy of the result is remained sheltered roofs [64], while window opening of underground
highly controversial among the researchers. For example, the structure is also naturally lessened by design compared to
specification of soil properties for a given site can only be achieved aboveground building. Lastly, the vegetation above the roof can
through experiment specifically the soil composition and moisture effectively absorb a significant amount of incoming radiation
distribution [24]. through the process of evapotranspiration [72,,73].
The surrounding earth soil at floor level and side walls can be Commonly, preservation of land use through the underground
considered as a perfect insulator by some simulation software spaces is the result of a lack of land area in highly populated cities.
which is indeed a misconception [16] and to be taken note during In this context, placing a building underground can preserve a
the analysis. The heat transfer shall also take place between the unique historical feature where an above ground modern con-
earth soil and the interior environment using Eq. (7). There is an struction would be damaging [74]. Allowing an unobtrusive sub-
absence of simulation software which dedicated to earth coupled surface structure can conserve the natural value of sensitive
heat transfer application and allows a user to perform this detailed scenery locations [75]. In addition, by removing the physical bar-
energy simulation with passive cooling effect. riers within price, geological, and space restrictions to design a
In most research on soil temperature prediction, the annual facility in three dimensions, many undesirable buildings undesir-
variation of daily average soil temperature at different depths is able such as public utilities, stores, car parks can be placed
generally estimated using a sinusoidal function as described in underground [76].
part 2.4.2. Nevertheless, there are very few studies of soil tem- This application of underground building is in consideration of
perature in Malaysia which is located at the equator and the actual noise pollution that may harm the activity or balance of human or
annual variation ambient temperature is obviously varies from animal life [77]. Soils that cover underground buildings are very
sinusoidal function [64]. Besides, the soil temperature prediction effective at protecting the building’s interior environment from
generally faced problem as well on the moisture content of the vibration near the ground surface or any transmission of airborne
soil, altitude of the land, and evapotranspiration of vegetation on noise with depth below the ground level. Also, it can serve the
the earth's surface. The moisture exist in soil will evaporate away purpose of diminishing the noise from the building function itself
the heat that kept in the soil. This becomes a challenge where the such as manufacturing facilities or transit systems that generate
soil thermal properties will be changed and impact the whole heat undesirable noise to the neighborhood environment [78].
transfer model. Nevertheless, an underground building could pose a great risk
In short, while we noted that there are still many challenging of water contamination particularly if the subsurface construction
area to be further studied in order to improve the accuracy of the is below the underground water table level [23].
simulation result, we could also noticed that the modeling and
simulation is indeed evolved rapidly from the two dimensional 3.2. Society Perspective
model by Shipp [65] and Speltz [66] in early 1980 into recently
three dimensional model with the available of computer aided Indeed, earth sheltered structures are also recognized as
software such as TRNSYS [67]. This improvement and evolution of superior fire-retardant structures compared to conventional con-
heat transfer model and simulation is reviewed and present in struction. This is because the soil can be treated as natural silicon-
Table 2. based fireproof material. In case of urban planning with the
underground building concept, the only medium which exists
between the adjacent buildings is soil. Since there will be no
3. Overview from perspective of sustainable development flammable material available, it can effectively prevent the spread
of any fires within the neighborhood. In case a fire occurs, the earth
While sustainable development is the ultimate goal to be sheltered homes are likely to suffer less fire damage [79].
achieved, the impact of underground building should be weighed Earth-sheltered housing offers a uniquely safe living environ-
carefully along the three common dimensions of sustainable ment in the face of natural disasters in comparison to conventional
development as follows [60,68,69]: homes. The reinforced structure of underground buildings which
are surrounded by earth provides maximum protection from high
Environment winds, hail storms, lightning strikes, tornadoes and other natural
Society disasters [80]. Because underground buildings always have
Economy restricted access, security surveillance becomes more comprehen-
sive. Its isolation from the surface is preferable in order to safely
This representation as illustrated in Fig. 18 is a concept in prism store emergency food, fuel supply and manuscripts [73].
of sustainability which combined the concept from Valentin and Despite all the benefits, several social and psychological pro-
Spangenberg, as well as concept from McDonough and Braungart blems will need a leap of faith solution if earth sheltered technique
Table 2
S.A. Alkaff et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 60 (2016) 692–713
Earth coupled heat transfer model and simulation works by different researchers.
Author (year) Modeling method Simulation software Remarks Ref
Shipp (1979) Two-dimensional transient FDM N/A Investigations by a host of others connected with the Underground Space Center at the Uni- [65]
versity of Minnesota
Wang (1979) Two-dimensional, transient FEM model N/A Investigate of basement and slab-on-grade heat loss. The model was very detailed with respect [62]
to the description of the foundation and the model of soil heat transfer. Phase change of
moisture in the soil was simulated too in his model.
Speltz (1980) Two-dimensional, transient FEM model N/A Particularly notable for its detailed treatment of the ground surface boundary condition The [66]
energy balance at the ground surface included convection ,solar radiation, infrared radiation and
evaporation.
Wu and Nofziger (1999) Sinusoidal temperature variation JAVA By using sinusoidal function (Hillel, 1982) to create software to predict soil temperature at [32]
different depth and damping depth estimation with soil thermal properties. Compare the
accuracy with actual measurement at Hebei Province, China.
Anselam (2008) Three-dimensional dynamic heat transfer PHOENICS-VR fluid-flow simulation Perform thermal analysis compare atrium type and elevational type. Using simple framework [28]
model environment for assessing its efficiency at the initial planning stages.
Staniec (2009) FEM model, 3D transient heat conduction Finite-element package Soil heat transfer was calculated using FlexPDE and adaptive mesh refinement method. Then the [6]
equation in isotropic body FlexPDEþEnergyPlus result exported to EnergyPlus to simulate and investigate energy reduction compare to compare
with aboveground building.
Liu (2009) FEM model, 2 dimensional transient heat con- COMSOL To analyze heat flux and temperature variation on the different building material of under- [25]
duction equation ground building
Mazarron (2008) Exponential sinusoidal model N/A To predict the indoor temperature variation of underground cellar by using the sinusoidal model [30]
Liu (2012) FEM model, three-dimensional dynamic heat MATLAB To investigate soil depth at constant temperature and the layer of wall [31]
conduction
Dronkelaar, (2013) 3‐Dimensional finite difference model BESTEST case 900 are simulated using To verify energy reduction potential of underground buildings with compare to above ground [67]
TRNSYS building.
705
is to be materialized on a global level. Aughenbaugh claimed that best suited to hilly site is proposed in chapter 6 because having
the greatest difficulty in the acceptance of underground housing is great potential in gaining public acceptance.
that developers and town-planners believe the public will reject In Malaysia, hill side development has grown tremendously for
earth-sheltered dwelling concept on a psychological level [81]. It is last 15 years, but landslide issue has brought great attention from
thought-provoking to realize that most challenges are psycholo- engineers, especially after the collapse of block 1 of highland
gical instead of economic or technical [26]. tower. The researcher suggested that filling on slope shall be
Majority of people have subconscious negative response when prevented to maintain stability of slope [87]. From this perspec-
earth sheltered homes are introduced. Following explanations tive, the elevational type of underground building has also pre-
have been suggested [26,73]: sented to have both merits of energy conservation and landslide
prevention.
Death and burial due to cultural belief.
Association with poorly ventilated basements which are damp and 3.3. Economy perspective
undesirable.
Sense of confinement or claustrophobia. With smaller heat load and peak load requirements, the
Fear of collapse or being trapped as the exit route is upward Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems can be
rather than downward, in which some exceptional occupant designed for smaller capacity and consequently lower installation
safety issues may occur. cost [88]. Although there is some debate as to the capital cost of
underground building, there is no disagreement about the savings
In fact, a noteworthy social impact which should be carefully in the long run which have been proven in countless circum-
considered is the social health issue of being subjected to radon stances [89].
concentration. Especially while ventilation is poor, underground However, underground building could require heavier and
buildings built in radon hazard zone without radon treatment can more expensive structures to withstand lateral earth pressures on
be much worse than the poorest outdoor urban smog in terms of underground walls. It is also crucial to predict the physical char-
health [82]. Radon is a chemical element with symbol Rn and it is acteristics of the ground and soil pressure imposed on the
a radioactive, colorless, odorless, tasteless gas which produces by underground structure. Any misjudgements can result in serious
indirect decomposed product of uranium or thorium [83]. Radon additional cost due to timeline delay and defects. Consequently, a
can get into the soil and the atmosphere through the formation detailed and costly geological survey will need to be included in
fault zone, and subsequently leak into the indoor environment pre-investigations [71,83].
through any crack [83,85]. Underground buildings have no limitation in design solutions
In order to overcome the psychological barrier, the researcher and subsequently the difference in each design concept will lar-
and designer shall emphasize on the following aspect: gely impact the investment cost as well as the energy cost saving.
Through integration with other renewable energy approaches,
Light adequacy,
Natural view and open view,
Ventilation and room humidity,
Entrance strategy and evacuation route,
Drainage system,
Structure stability.
In addition, the words “underground” itself has a deep-rooted

negative image in public psychological perception. Instead of the
words “underground”, this subsurface structure is proposed to be
named as “earth sheltered”, “green roof”, or other terms which
related to eco-living. Another reason to avoid using the words
“underground” is that the society generally looking forward a
higher land area to build a dwelling because it represent higher
society status, level of wealth, exclusiveness, scenery and less
polluted environment [86]. Therefore, the elevational type which Fig. 26. The earth tube cooling fresh air system of the Cooltek house [95,102].
Fig. 25. Temperature variation of underground soil with depth for typical days in
Malaysia [94,101]. Fig. 27. Air chamber for CoolTek House while installation in progress [95,102].
earth sheltered technique can fulfill most criterion in LEED The popularity of earth sheltering technique was advanced
guidelines and Zero Energy Building (ZEB) calculation methodol- generally by research of energy saving in residential building and
ogies towards LEED Gold standard building or Zero Energy Build- its evolution through technologies gradually led to the creation of
ing (ZEB) [90,91]. customized earth dwellings all across the globe. Furthermore,
In 1977, the Minnesota State legislature funded a program to several conceptual projects across the globe have marked the
conduct research on the practicality of underground construction development of underground buildings towards full concept of
and identified two major impediments as [27]: sustainability.
Lack of public acceptance and

Lack of available data on the energy performance of earth- 4.1. University of Minnesota
sheltered structures.
The University of Minnesota is the building that received the
Khair-el-Din [27] and Terman [92] concluded from these find- 1983 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award from the
ings that the behavior of unidentified, long-term soil temperature American Society of Civil Engineers [82]. As illustrated in Fig. 19,
variations in different climate zones and thermal transfer through nearly 95% of the volume of the building is below ground level,
walls were main factors of uncertainty. In fact, this uncertainty has and approximately 30% of the floor space is positioned in sub-
further lowered the confidence of the public to accept under- surface mined space, 33 m below the surface of the earth.
ground buildings due to the higher initial cost against uncertain
long term cycle cost saving [27].
4.2. Terraset Elementary School
During the 1973 oil embargo, architects Davis, Smith and Carter
4. Future development of underground building towards worked on construction plans with an energy conservation con-
sustainability cept for the Terraset Elementary School in Reston, Virginia [93].
The first thing they decided was to bury it in a hill. The earth cover
The interest in earth as an element for a building's energy is expected to serve as an energy reservoir and delay the impact of
performance began to grow markedly with the imposition of the outdoor temperature changes on the 6400 m2 educational build-
oil embargo in 1973 [6], and since then, underground buildings are ing as illustrated in Fig. 20(a).
often built with energy conservation as the core purpose. Interior structure of concrete with four learning centers, media
Most of these underground structures in the past were built by center and other facilities were demonstrated in Fig. 20(b) as cut
people unschooled in any kind of formal architectural design. away view. In September 1976, this underground building was
Without identifiable building techniques, the builder depended on completed with classes for 990 students, faculty and other staff
the belief that the earth cover on building could provide shelter, total of about 50 persons and achieved 30,000 US dollars in energy
warmth and security. cost saving per annum.
Fig. 28. Experiment model built for ground cooling system research at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia [64,96].
Fig. 29. Experiment result trend of temperature from the investigation of 25 m long Polyethylene pipe buried at 1.0 m deep underground [64,96].
Fig. 30. Proposed elevational type underground layout which incorporated with other building technique to optimize its benefits toward sustainable development in
modern era.
Fig. 31. Side view of proposed elevational type underground layout and the passive ventilated method of earth tube ventilation and solar chimney.
4.3. Geodome at Missoula, Montana, USA 4.5. Hockerton Housing Project at Nottingham, United Kingdom
After the oil embargo in 1973, the earth sheltered building The original concept of this Hockerton Housing Project located
concept has gained attention from researchers around the world. in Nottingham, UK was that five families should commit to an
Nevertheless, John Hait becomes the first who published the ecologically sensitive way of life in a rural setting where they
concept of Passive Annual Heat Storage with his working example would be self-sufficient in food, water and energy [96]. The
named Geodome as shown in Fig. 21(a). The accomplishment of orientation of the houses allows maximum winter solar gain as
the Geodome led to the founding of the Rocky Mountain Research shown in Fig. 22. A south-facing conservatory runs the full width
Center [18]. of each dwelling, and all rooms are south facing.
4.4. Earth sheltered building at Vals, Switzerland 4.6. Aloni House at Antiparos, Greece
Moving forward to modern underground building structure, An award-winning example of underground structures as illu-
artistry, lighting adequacy, healthy ventilation, air quality and strated in Fig. 23(a) is the Aloni House which is located in a
lifestyle began to be emphasized and moderately incorporated similarly rugged coastal landscape [98]. The Aloni house is built
into architectural designs [94]. While environmental conservation with stone walls prevent erosion and to make the cultivation of
has been refined to be inclusive of reuse and recycle, an out- the steep land easier. This project has shown great achievement in
standing subsurface structure as shown in Fig. 21(b), known as the artistic and lighting adequacy presented in the interior as
Vals in Switzerland which was built when the rare opportunity demonstrated in Fig. 23(b) which challenge the myth that an
was granted to construct a new dwelling with stone which were underground building must be poorly ventilated, dark and
thrown away from the famed Vals thermal baths [95,96]. confined.
Table 3
Summary of design features for proposed design with respect to different aspect of improvement.
Features of design Description note Ref Aspect of improvement
A Elevational and Atrium Combination of the benefits of both plan which gain benefit from all aspects. [28] Passive solar potential
B Large soil contact area Each space/compartment has a large soil contact area to gain better thermal performance. [28]
C Orientation The window facet shall avoid facing of east and west. The actual orientation subjected to the locality of the building. [2,16]
S.A. Alkaff et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 60 (2016) 692–713
D Double glazed glass window/wall Double glazed glass wall with high reflectivity and low emissivity. The air gap between the glasses acts as heat insulation and [103,104] Thermal stability
panel provides thermal stability to the interior.
E Shading The building is designed such a way that the east and the west side is extended out. This provides a shading effect to the front [37]
façade which made of double glazed glass.
F Umbrella The umbrella is used as a separation of wet soil, which exposed to the weather because the evaporation of moisture in soil [1]
will greatly impact the thermal stability. Besides, this is an important feature to avoid moisture intrusion through the
structural wall. The material proposed for the umbrella is a thin layer of Polyethylene sheet in order to have high heat
conductivity and provide good moisture insulation.
G One directional higher view Benefit from the elevational layout, most of the space in the building has an esthetic view from a single direction from higher [86] Visual convenience & Natural lighting
altitude. This is important to avoid the psychological feeling of underground building.
H Large window area The large window area is to harvest the natural light and reduce the energy used in lighting. This can avoid the light adequacy [96,98]
problem of conventional underground structure. However the window is proposed to function only for visual convenience
and not for ventilation which could lead to undesired infiltration.
I Sunspace Subjected to the infiltration through the entrance, the sunspace is designed to serve as the heat distribution and control. The [38] Ventilation, Humidity, Radon
angle, operable vents and plantation activity of sunspace is a key factor for such control. Concentration
J Solar Chimney and Wind Catcher This ventilation method has integrated the Solar chimney which works based on “buoyancy force” and wind catcher, which is [1,19]
a stack-effect or “Venturi effect” which, caused by wind pressure. This passive ventilation method provides the air change per
hour required to maintain the healthy condition of the building. The solar duct selected as a circular duct to optimize the solar
heat gain.
K Earth tube ventilation Based on the same concept earth coupled passive cooling concept, the earth tube ventilation is proposed. The mechanical [1]
aided ventilation might be required depending on the wind pressure and wind direction. The strategy location of the air
intake is important. The material selected is shall be high heat conductivity and non-corrosive. The insect and pest prevention
shall be taken as well.
L Air Chamber The air chamber serves as a buffer tank, which provides stability of air flow and promote the heat transfer between soil and [101,102]
intake air before supplying to the indoor environment.
M Original Gradient To prevent the landslide and ensure the structural stability. The interior space shall be excavated from the original soil. The [87] Structural Stability
construction works shall have minimum filling up on the slope gradient and suit to the original contour. This design feature
foreseen to reduce the cost incurred in the foundation.
N Dome shape structure The dome-shape structure is proposed to withstand the soil pressure on the perimeter wall. In addition, the dome shape [16]
allows the hot air flow freely to the solar chimney. This dome structure can replace the conventional roof truss structure with
minimum additional cost impact.
O Instant access/exit The proposed layout attempt to allow the resident to instantly access to the exit in case of any emergency. This layout also [73] Entrance and exit
overcomes the negative feeling of being trapped in the underground building.
P Drainage The drainage is important to prevent the landslide and leakage issue, especially in rainforest country which has substantial [73,87] Storm water management
rainfall throughout a year. This drainage will also function as gutter for the green roof.
709
4.7. Conceptual project of underground building underground building against ground cooled ventilation. None-
theless, the data also provide critical clues for further exploration
In the 21st century, two of mankind's most unrelenting issues, of the potential of underground buildings.
the energy crisis and the world's growing housing demand,
urgently need a creative breakthrough to preserve diminishing 5.2. A case study of ground cooling system at Kuala Lumpur,
resources. Several technologically advanced countries have pub- Malaysia
lished some conceptual mega underground projects which have
attracted the attention of researchers and engineers at an Another synthetic stream of local Ph.D. research which was
international level. carried out by Aliyah is about the ground cooling system with
supporting experimental model built as illustrated in Fig. 28 [64].
4.7.1. Earth scrapper in Mexico, United Stated In this experiment, the ground pipes were buried at different
As illustrated in Fig. 24(a), the enormous complex named
depths under the soil level to investigate the earth tube cooling
“earth scrapper” is aimed to get around the city's planning laws,
effect.
whereby the buildings cannot exceed the height of eight storeys.
Based on the experiment done by Aliyah, Fig. 29 above is one of
This innovative idea to build the structure deep into ground is also
the charts from Energy Plus program showing the trend of tem-
because Mexico City is full of historical architecture, which cannot
perature from the investigation of 25 m long pipe buried 1 m deep
be relocated [74].
into the ground. Wide range of aspects such as existing cooling
method, the hot and humid climate conditions of Malaysia, ther-
4.7.2. Alice city, Japan
mal comfort factor, depth of buried pipe, soil temperature differ-
Indeed, different land-uses have recently taken place under-
ence between wet season and dry season, pipe diameter and pipe
ground in Japan. Japan Taisei Corporation has designed a project
length, humidity of outlet air were also discussed.
called “Alice City,” in view of the foreseen population explosion
Aliyah’s study provides valuable local climate information of
and many advantages which are rapidly discovered when oper-
dry bulb temperature, relative humidity, air velocity, precipitation,
ating a subsurface city with a full range of function and application
[99,100]. Alice City includes multi-storey car parks and subway solar radiation, and soil temperature to access the feasibility of
stations with many administrative and commercial services as in underground building application. In the conclusion, she sug-
Fig. 24(b). This tactic is commonly known as subterranean archi- gested that the soil surface be shaded to obtain cooler soil tem-
tecture in Japan. It is defined as sustainable, ecological and perature for better energy performance. These experimental data
environmentally-conscious which promote natural plantation, will also provide the most significant data for the verification of
rationalizing the energy performance. the potential of local underground building applications.
5. Case study of earth cooling method in Malaysia 6. Proposed modern model with integrated design
5.1. CoolTek House in Malacca, Malaysia After review the different design and perspective of the tradi-
tional and modern model of subsurface building, a conceptual
In Malaysia, even though we have limited underground struc- model is proposed in this paper as illustrated in Fig. 30 and 31.
ture built for the cooling effect, we managed to notice some local This model has incorporated numerous of design feature with
research papers related to earth-tube cooling. In the research of collective idea and knowledge from different researcher and arti-
energy efficiency based on geo-cooling system in CoolTek House, cle. The description of the design and its aspects of improvement
Alam discussed the relation of temperature variation with depth of are tabulated in Table 3. The proposed design features are also
soil for a typical day of tropical countries [101]. In his paper, he carefully related to the drawbacks of previous works and hopefully
mentioned that the underground soil temperature remained
constant and less than the ambient outdoor temperature after the
depth of 5 m as illustrated in Fig. 25.
The original concept of this CoolTek House was supposed to
have the heat passively ventilated out by solar chimney, and draw
in the cooled air from ground cooled duct as illustrated in Fig. 26
[102].
On the other hand, Reimann continuously observed the earth
tube cooling effect by the use of data loggers, which measure
temperature, humidity and CO2 levels in two operation modes,
namely passively ventilated with buoyancy force by a solar
chimney and actively ventilated by small auxiliary fan [102].
Reimann’s experiment gives a good indication of the flow direc-
tion in the ground cooled air duct across the day, and the cooling
load of the air conditioning system were also measured. Never-
theless, as a conclusion in Reimann's research, the potential for
ground cooled ventilation is commented as relatively small in
tropical Malaysia, because the bulk of the cooling load is latent
whereby the air from ground cooled air duct was found com-
paratively high in humidity.
The high humidity air intake could be due to the air chamber
and piping material of concrete without moisture proofing as
illustrated in Fig. 27. This again pointed out some important con-
ceptual differences between the applications of soil in Fig. 32. Deductive model for a review of underground building.
to overcome the negative social impression with this earth cou- graphically represented in Fig. 32 to visualize the four major
pled building. aspects of underground building discussed in this review paper.
The additional capital cost of the proposed design can be offset The four major aspects which are discussed and analyzed in the
with the elimination of the installation cost of mechanical air hope of shedding light into the common question that arises in the
conditioning system, external wall painting cost, roofing structure discourse of underground building include:
cost, and also expected lower foundation cost. Hence, it is
recommended to perform a detailed financial analysis on the Classification and design typology,
proposed design in the future research works. The detailed Thermal performance properties,
financial analysis report can further convince the public in the Advantages and disadvantages towards sustainable development,
acceptance of subsurface structure to achieve energy conservation. Development and functionality.
With information collected through worldwide research from

7. Conclusion mentioned aspect, it is then likely for designers in world-wide to
have fundamental access to a practical conceptual model for the
In conclusion, through this review of previous assessments and thermal performance properties of earth shelter structures at the
study of existing earth sheltered buildings, a deductive model is initial design stage [105]. The subsequent result can later be
Fig. 33. (a)–(d) Summary for the underground building.

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A review of underground building towards thermal energy efﬁciency and

Article in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews · January 2016

Ervina Efzan Saqaff Alkaff

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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

A review of underground building towards thermal energy efﬁciency

1. Introduction and historical review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 693

2.4.3. Ventilation system and air inﬁltration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700

intensive heat of day and night time coldness, especially in this

1.3. “Yao Dong” in Shanxi Province, China

In addition to Matmata at Tunisia, similar subsurface structures

1.4. Underground cave homes at the foot of Mountain Sahand, Iran

Fig. 6. The Edinburgh Vaults or South Bridge Vaults [14,15].

Fig. 8. Various types of entrance for square courtyard plan [21,28].

Fig. 18. Sustainable principles concept in prism [62,70].

Fig. 19. University of Minnesota [75,82].

Fig. 22. Hockerton Housing Project [90,97].

Author (year) Modeling method Simulation software Remarks Ref

In addition, the words “underground” itself has a deep-rooted

Lack of public acceptance and

Features of design Description note Ref Aspect of improvement

With information collected through worldwide research from

Fig. 33. (a)–(d) Summary for the underground building.

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