They consulted various architects and looked at a number of designs before finally deciding on one.

他们咨询了各种建筑师，在最终选择一个设计方案前看了很多。

As I've said, it was a design for a sort of underground house, and it was built into the earth itself, with two storeys.

正如我所说的，它是一种地下房屋的设计，它被建在地里，有两层。

The north, east and west sides were set in the earth, and only the sloping, south-facing side was exposed to light.

北边、东边和西边都建在地里，只有斜边和朝南的面光。

That was made of a double layer of very strong glass.

那是用高强度的双层玻璃做的。

There were also photovoltaic tiles fixed to the top and bottom of this sloping wall.

在斜边墙的顶部和底部还都固定了光伏砖。

These are tiles that are designed to store energy from the sun.

这些都是设计用来从日光中存储能量的砖。

And the walls had a layer of foam around them too, to increase the insulation.

这些墙面也有一层泡沫环绕，以加强保温效果。

Now, what is of interest to us about this project is the features which make the building energy-efficient.

现在，我们对这个项目感兴趣的是使建筑节能的特点。

Sunlight floods in through the glass wall, and to maximise it there are lots of mirrors and windows inside the house.

阳光透过玻璃墙进来，并且为使它最大限度地增强，房屋里有很多镜子和窗户。

That helps to spread the light around.

这帮助光线散播。

So that's the first thing - light is utilised as fully as possible.

所以，这是第一件事–光线被最大程度利用。

In addition, the special tiles on the outside convert energy from the sun and generate some of the house's electricity.

此外，外部的特殊砖面转化太阳能，并发电供给一部分房屋用电。

In fact, and it's possible that in future the house may even generate an electricity surplus, and that the owners will be able to sell some to the national grid.

事实上，在未来的房子可能会产生电盈余，业主可能会把一部分卖给国家电网。

As well as that, wherever possible, recycled materials have been used.

同样，只要可能，循环使用的材料都被利用了。

For example, the floors are made of reclaimed wood.

比如，地板是再生木材所造。

And the owners haven't bought a single item of new furniture - they just kept what they already had.

并且，业主也没有购买任何一件新的家具，他们只保留了他们所有的。

And then there's the system for dealing with the waste produced in the house.

然后，房屋里有一个处理产生的垃圾的系统。

This is dealt with organically - it's purified by being filtered through reed beds which have been planted for that purpose in the garden.

这是被有机处理的，它通过芦苇地进行过滤净化，这些芦苇地是为此目的被种植在花园里。

So the occupants of the house won't pollute the land or use any damaging chemicals.

因此，房子的居住者不会污染土地，也不会使用任何有害的化学物质。

It's true that the actual construction of the house was harmful to the environment,mainly because they had to use massive amounts of concrete - one of the biggest sources of carbon dioxide in manufacturing.

房子的实际建筑是对环境有害的，这是事实，主要原因是需要用到大量水泥，制造业中最大的二氧化碳来源之一。

And, as you know, this is very damaging to the environment.

并且，你们知道的，这是对环境特别有害的。

In total, the house construction has released 70 tons of carbon dioxide into the air.

总的说，房屋的建设已经向大气释放了70吨的二氧化碳。

Now that's a frightening thought.

现在这是个可怕的想法。

However, once the initial 'debt' has been cleared - and it's been calculated that this will only take fifteen years - this underground house won't cost anything - environmentally I mean-because unlike ordinary houses, it is run in a way that is completely environmentally friendly.

然而，一旦最初的“债务”已被清除，根据计算这将只需要15年，这座地下屋将不会花费任何东西，我说的是环境方面，因为和普通房屋不同，它的运维是一种完全环境友好的方式。

So, eco-housing like this is likely to become much more ...

因此，这样的生态住宅有可能会变得更多……