Idaho modern oldtimer builds underground solar 50 houses

Mike Oehler lived for over 30 years in an underground home that he built for 50 (and expanded for 500) on his land in Northern Idaho near the Canadian border. Now in his seventies his arthritis keeps him from hiking up to his home, but he continues to write and proselytize In 1968 like thousands of other San Franciscans hoping to go back to the land, Oehler bought property and began to build a homestead. After spending a winter freezing in a small cabin, he designed a home that would use the earth as insulation. With his first attempt he fell into the easy errors of what he calls a first thought house: a hole cut into a hillside with southfacing windows. Gradually he began to innovate with subterranean design, creating better ways for letting light in: among them the Hollywood Wing, the Royer foyer, gables and mostimportantly the uphill patio (which also provides space for an earthsheltered greenhouse). He also created an inexpensive, lowtech approach to basic design br, br,