Underground homes come in all shapes and styles and budgets… Here is a very nice example designed by Scott Allen Architecture and built into the side of a cliff in the harbor…
This is not what most people think of when they hear “underground house”…
If the picture above doesn’t look much like an underground house, let’s try looking at it from the front. Imagine pulling up this driveway and just seeing this glass box instead of a house…
The “front door” of the Cliff house… The grass is above the living area below.
Here is another view showing access from the front yard down to the courtyard below…
This is a “sunken” courtyard, at least relative to the front yard.
You may need to go back to the first pic to see how these areas all fit together. My younger son couldn’t wrap his head around it. He kept saying, “so they are just pretending it is underground, but its not, right?” It is really beautiful home. If you want to see more, check out the architects site.
Even with all that glass, I bet the concrete structure and protection of the cliff keeps things relatively calm inside during a storm.
I am guessing they were not as focused on efficiency as I am, but still, it is a really cool example of the flexibility of earth sheltered homes.