A "Not-So" New Trend in Sustainable Building: A Lifecycle Analysis of Earth as a Construction Material in Canada's Challenging Northern Climate

The implementations of earth-based structures in Canada's North can address the current state of housing issues plaguing many communities. The aim is to illustrate that earth-based structures are a culturally appropriate building approach that are beneficial to the environment, and the social and economic standards in Canada's Northern communities. Using a life cycle analysis, the sod home, earth-based structure in comparison to conventional housing structures addresses reduced energy demands, global climate change, human health, and social living issues, even though there is a variety of alternative construction methods and designs. These earth-based structures accomplished this through local availability of materials and labour, the minimum need for processing and transporting raw materials, as well as achieving the ability to recycle and reuse materials.