Carmody and Ellison Design and Construction

From 1977-79, between stints at the University of MN, John and Tom Ellison formed a partnership to design and build earth sheltered homes. At the height of the Energy Crisis, they addressed energy conservation as a system of factors, considering solar orientation, shading, prevailing winds, seasonal change, and optimal siting.

They collaborated on a number of projects, such as the earth-sheltered “Burnsville House”. It was one of seven underground homes built as a Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (MHFA) demonstration project featured in 1979 home demonstrates the use of passive solar design in an earth-sheltered home, while keeping costs low. The beauty of the home emerges from their intention to work with environmental forces, bringing the atmosphere outside into the atmosphere with daylight and natural circulation.

The technology was challenging, but we were really interested in the architecture.
~Tom Ellison

After John went to work for the University full-time, Ellison continued to consult with him on earth-sheltered designs.

The goals of the Center were to serve as a focal point for the planning of underground space use, to carry out research in areas affecting the use of underground space, provide an information and reference service on all aspects of underground utilization, and to serve as the base for international cooperation and research and information transfer.
~Underground Space Center publication (1988)

John Carmody was an architectural consultant for the University of Minnesota Planning Department and Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering from 1973-76 and again from 1979-1984. He was appointed Associate Director, Underground Space Center at theUniversity of MN in 1985. He served in that capacity until the center closed in 1995. It was during this period that John began exploring the design of underground space in earnest.

John’s years at the Underground Space Center marked the first time that he combined his environmental values, technical knowledge, and writing skills to share new solutions to emerging problems.

A Demonstration 110 ft. Below Ground

The Civil and Mineral Engineering Building at the University of MN was designed to demonstrate energy conservation and the use of underground space. The 150,000 square-foot structure was designed by BWBR architect David Bennet, AIA. The majority of the building is located 110 feet beneath the surface. You can see the building’s iconic cupola out the east window of the HGA Gallery—home to this exhibit.

John was a prolific communicator, translating technical knowledge and case studies into accessible formats that architects, clients, and the building industry could understand. He wrote and co-wrote six books during his time at the Underground Space Center that achieved world-wide circulation. These books include:

• Carmody, John C. and R.L. Sterling, Earth Sheltered Housing Design, 2nd Ed. Van Nostrand Reinhold, April 1985, translated into Japanese, 352 pages.

• Carmody, John C. and R.L. Sterling, Underground Building Design, Van Nostrand Reinhold, October 1983, translated into Japanese and Russian, 254 pages.

• Sterling, R.L., W. Farnan, and J. Carmody, Earth Sheltered Community Design: The Design of Energy-Efficient Residential Communities, Van Nostrand Reinhold, October 1980, translated into Spanish, 270 pages. Received an award from the Association of American Publishers.

• Sterling, R.L., R. Aiken, and J. Carmody, Earth Sheltered Housing: Code, Zoning and Finance Issues, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982. Originally published as a report to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, April 1980, 143 pages.

• Sterling, R.L., J. Carmody, et al., Earth Sheltered Housing Design: Guidelines, Examples and References, First publication February 1978. Published by Van Nostrand Reinhold in 1979. Translated into Chinese, French, Spanish, and Russian, 318 pages.

John’s drawings explore the vertical integration of campus systems transit, utilities, circulation routes, and stacked program areas along with strategies to optimize energy efficiency and land use.

Although largely unbuilt, the University’s Elmer L. Andersen Library on the West Bank was realized based on the plan with Carmody and Sterling consulting. It is home to the University of MN's Archives and Special Collections Department and Digital Library Services.

Designed by Stageberg Beyer Sachs, Inc., and completed in 2000, this underground archive is carved out of sandstone and shale, with a ceiling of limestone. The cavern is over 600 feet long, 70 feet high, and has 106,000 square feet of storage.

Upon excavation, the subterranean site was an almost ideal 57 degrees Fahrenheit with 70% relative humidity. The completed storage structures are maintained at 62 degrees Fahrenheit and approximately 50% relative humidity, considered optimum conditions for preserving paper, film, and videotape.
~University of MN Libraries website: www.lib.umn.edu/spaces/andersen/building

Twin Cities Underground

The exploration of underground space utilization extended beyond campus. Plans for both Minneapolis and Saint Paul were developed in the late 1980s. The illustrated summary of the Minneapolis Mined Underground Space Master Plan is demonstrative of these efforts.

In the preparation of the Underground Space Design book, John had the opportunity to research deeply the issues surrounding people using and working in underground spaces and from this, he was able to clearly and effectively organize and present the major principles behind creating successful people-oriented underground spaces. While not becoming a coffee-table book like Earth Sheltered Housing Design, this book became a landmark work in its own right.
~Raymond L. Sterling, Ph.D., P.E., F. ASCE, co-author, recalling John’s contributions in a 2020 ITA-AITES newsletter

In layout and detail, the book is a hallmark of John’s communication style. In it, he clearly defines design objectives and patterns to establish best practices and illustrates them with real-world examples. A sample of pages below includes the table of contents; chapter heading; typical pattern layout; and chapter summary.

International Impact

International interest in underground space design was strong, particularly in east Asia where population density in urban areas is high. John consulted and spoke extensively around the world promoting underground space design.

A life of comfort and safety is the perpetual desire of humanity. To achieve this desire, suitable space is required for dwellings and workplaces as well as for various necessary functions such as energy production and storage, mobility, and many others. However, fulfilling this need for suitable space is becoming more and more difficult in many areas of the world due to a growing shortage of urban land. Also, concern has been rising over the social cost of above-grade construction.

…many underground projects have already been proposed and successfully carried out worldwide, and extension research and development plans have been implemented. In Japan, interest in underground space utilization has increased significantly since the late 1980s.
~Yorihiko Ohsaki, EVP Shimizu Corp, Foreword to Underground Space Design

Taylor specifically recruited him to work with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to complete the Foundations Handbook, which was intended for national distribution across the building industry.

The handbook is one of many publications on sustainable building technologies that John would shepherd—a legacy that would eventually transform energy conservation in the building industry. John’s gift for drawing is on full display with page after page of meticulously produced details.

Looking back, Sam Taylor notes that, “John’s management skills made completing the handbook possible” describing him as “a steady train where everyone gets on board.”

The handbook led to a second project, The Moisture Control Handbook, that John wrote with noted building scientist Joseph Lstiburek.

The two projects came near the end of John’s time at the Underground Space Center and set up a transition for a new direction for John’s work into the early 1990’s. Impressed with John’s abilities, Taylor recruited him to work on a residential windows book, allowing him to apply the technical and publishing skills that he had gained in the first 20 years of his career with new purpose.