Whitehawk Slideshow Professor Sharp’s greenbuilt town

History of the Whitehawk cooperativeIn 1977, my parents bought some land in a

community of 85 acres of homes that were intended to be built underground. We lived off of solar power and wind power. I lived without conventional electricity until I was about 13 years old – then the community decided to allow electricity. Without air conditioning, the house was so hot in the summer. The weather was perfect in the fall, winter and spring, but the summers were brutal. It was a great community of caring people – everyone pitched in to help build each other’s homes (at first). The community still exists today.

The house started as a 6ft hole in the ground. The dirt was later used to cover the house. The house was made of a cement foundation and rebar and mesh walls.

Cement is then used to put on top of the rebar mesh frame to complete the walls and ceiling

The roof of the domes being cemented and our windmill generator (this is Prof. Sharp as a little girl)

On the left are many of the members that had these types of houses. The cork they are standing on was a type of insulation used. The right picture is what the house looked like in 1981 after the dirt was put on top of the house and grass grew on top.

Peter Fonda made a movie called “Split Image” in 1982 and it was made at a person’s house at Whitehawk. He is in the blue shirt/white pants.

Peter fonda is again at the bottom picture and the top right is Lillian Carter – President Jimmy Carter’s mother who came to visit the place. My brother, Dennis, is sitting next to her.

The house improved over the years, and my parents have added new rooms, a roof (so it wouldn’t leak anymore) and it has made the home more comfortable.

The inside of the house. These are the living room/den pictures. The ceiling fans run off solar power.

Solar panels were added to the top of the roof. We used to have a windmill generator too. Stucco was used on the outside for more sealing and insulation of the house.

The kitchen area on the left. My mom tiled all the kitchen herself. A bedroom photo on the right.

Newest additions to the home

Here are some more homes in the neighborhood. Each house is built and designed by the original owner.

Some new owners have added their own style/rooms to the existing structure. The idea of these homes was to have it buried to keep it warm in the winter and cool in the summer. They should have dug 12 ft deep instead of 6ft to get the geothermal temperatures that were desired. Some places in the cement walls had holes in it, so over time, the houses leaked. This was a great way to live “off the grid” but it had it’s challenges. They are a POA cooperative, so they vote on what is allowed on the property. They had to vote to get undergound telephone wires (so no wires could be seen in the trees) and then voted for underground electricity in the late 1980’s. Some houses out there still do not have conventional electricity (hydropower plant).

Underground house with wind power and solar panels

Other homes….

Most Houses have propane tanks – the gas is used for stove cooking and some fridgerators. The house on the right has a compost toilet for their bathroom toilet.

Houses with only the cement walls – it has not been buried or insulated.

Greenbuilt communityThis community started when a few people

realized they didn’t want to live in town or use the city’s water/electricity anymore. This was called “living off the grid”. The idea was to build a home from scratch and pay it off bit by bit, so there was no monthly payment of a mortgaged home. The POA (association) made rules, like no loud motorized vehicles, no fences, monthly dues and taxes, and they have monthly meetings to talk about issues and enforcements and repairs needed in the community.