HUNDERTWASSER'S GRASS ROOFS

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The people who live in the building are very happy and their children say to their classmates, "We have a proper roof, not a tin one." In New Zealand, you see, roofs are mostly made of tin. Thus, what the children mean is, "We have a proper living roof, not a dead one like yours." The idea has penetrated the children's consciousness.

PIT HOUSE

In some parts of China and in Tunisia at the edge of the Sahara, there are underground towns and villages. These "houses in negatif" are arranged around courtyards sunk into the ground, and the dwellings open into the courtlike pits. I have visited such homes myself in Tunisia and, despite the African heat, it was so cool inside I had to wear a sweater. These dwellings are perfectly air conditioned: Cool on the hottest day and warm during the winter months.

If you take a walk "in" one of these villages . . . you don't see the village. This is quite unusual. In order to see the houses ... you must look down, not up as you are accustomed to doing. A traveler passing through such a town sees smoke, but no houses.

THE ADVANTAGES OF A GRASS ROOF

[1] A grass roof produces oxygen.

[2]A grass roof catches city dust and dirt and changes it into soil.

[3] You feet sheltered-body and soul-under a grass roof.

[4] A grass roof is soundproof. It creates quietness and peace.

[5] Grass roofs work like air conditioners. They save fuel in the winter and do away with the need for air conditioning during the summer.

[6] A grass roof provides protection against all kinds of fallout, radiation, and fire.

[7] A grass roof can purify water. Polluted water can become 95% clean and can be reused after it has seeped through plant roots and foliage and the earth.

[8] Such a natural roof can also produce food in limited quantities. In Scandinavia cattle, sheep, and goats graze on grass roofs. Vegetables, even fruit trees, have been planted on roofs in Vienna and New York City. Besides, a cherry harvested from your own roof is worth ten times what the same fruit is worth from a store.

[9] A grass roof is an ideal depository for the humus soil taken from a household composting toilet. It makes it possible for you to recycle your own wastes into something valuable again. A house with a grass roof can be a closed recycling circuit.

[10] There is nothing more beautiful than a grass roof. BEAUTY IS ITS MOST IMPORTANT FEATURE. PUT ONE ON YOUR HOUSE AND WATCH THE BUTTERFLIES COME BACK.

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