Creating scale models is a great way to learn earthbag building techniques and help visualize your future home. Tim Merritt sent me some pics of models he’s been working on and I was so impressed I wanted to share them with other readers. Tim used modeling clay for his models. Kelly Hart created models for his house using miniature sandbags sewn to scale. See his Miniature Bag Kit.
Clay Model of Earthbag Dome
Tim got the idea for this dome by studying a section view of the Pantheon in Rome. One possibility for this design is to use a half vault as a buttressing wall instead of a complete vault. This would work like a flying buttress on a cathedral to provide horizontal strength. I would experiment with deleting the buttresses shown in the first picture (except possibly those against the flat, back wall). Creating buttresses on the outside of the vault is another option. The main point is modeling makes it easy to try out various configurations to see what looks and works best. Thanks again Tim for contributing this interesting and creative design.
Finished Clay Model of Earthbag Dome
Earthbag Building Blog 
i love your sites and thanks for sharing your life and works
what are the green bars for on the clay models
Tim is using the green bars to help support the vault. In reality, you would need more extensive formwork to construct a vault.
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Excellent model. Thanks for the inspiration. I am trying to use google sketchup to combine my container cabins with an adobe earthbag home. I will instead go to hobby lobby and get myself some clay! :)
thanks!
great model