If you’re wondering if there is any way you can afford a second home, MARIA SOCRATOUS checks out earthships
SOME call them the ‘New Robinson Families’, others ‘New Age Hippies’. But to the people involved it is a lifestyle choice. If you happen to pass through Taos County, New Mexico you may come across what looks like a settlement of Extra Terrestrials. Funny looking dwellings, which in some cases barely protrude over ground, are scattered around this predominantly Hispanic territory.
This unusual form of building started more than a quarter of a century ago in New Mexico but it has really spread out as far as Japan. “To learn the basic principles of radian solar energy, observe a dog. In the summer he lies in the shade. In the winter he lies in the sun. As simplistic as this concept seems, it is often ignored in contemporary building designs where the prevalent view is that any issue of comfort can be solved through the use of more electric or fossil fuel energy. A great percentage of energy is used to cool, heat or light our buildings.” So says Michael Reynolds, the architect and inventor of Earthships.
According to his principles, those living in ‘earthships’ harness the heat of the sun and the ground for a more ecologically-friendly lifestyle. Reynolds, through his many books, introduces readers and followers to the construction principles of passive solar homes in general.
For the uninitiated, Earthships are half buried houses made from recycled materials such as tyres. All buildings face south for maximum solar gain, collect rain water for their daily needs and use waste water for growing plants. They are sustainable housing that offers global benefits. “The tyre house is a very practical method of building a passive solar residence using mostly renewable and “free” building materials that draw little from the Earth’s energy resources. They are easy and pleasant to live in, though quite a bit different than normal houses. They are also low maintenance and cost effective to construct,” said one earthship resident.
“I did a lot of reading before embarking on this challenge of building our new home. My wife and I even went on a Michael Reynolds DIY seminar and having worked in aerospace for 25 years I was able to use my knowledge and construct a house as close to perfect as possible,” the resident added. He now has a consulting company on how to build such a house.
Earthship Biotecture was set up by the Earthships pioneer architect and it is committed to educating and empowering people to create their own independent houses. Their drawings are designed to meet standard building code requirements but they cannot guarantee that they will qualify for a building permit. “This is because before granting a permit, building code departments sometimes require changes or additions to architectural plans that have been submitted and if this is the case we are more than happy to modify them for you and mail them once again,”, EB suggests.
The company promises to deliver the drawing kit anywhere in the planet and to adapt the plans to local climate. Also it modifies size and design from affordable housing to luxury full amenities homes. Typical construction materials needed include earth rammed tyres, straw bales, concrete or adobe. Electrical supply is achieved through solar electricity with capabilities of a wind, gas generator or conventional utility back up. Rigid insulation around the building creates a thermal wrap and stabilises the comfort of the interior space. As for water supply, a roof catchment water system supplies the storage cistern with also the capability of a well or the community water back up. Grey water can be treated and distributed through the system with the capability of a conventional septic or community sewage connection. For heating, cooling and ventilation the Earthship residence relies on solar energy with the option of a fireplace or gas as a back up in the case of heating. As far as appliances go only the basics: gas cooking, gas or solar electric refrigerators.
There are four types of Earthship:
The “Packaged” is the most economical and versatile in terms of construction and building of the four designs
The “Modular” Earthship provides more sculptural rooms and greater variety of spaces than the first one. Because every room surrounds you with thermal mass, the rooms provide an embracing thermal stability. The purpose of this type of design is to promote owner/builders with the most user-friendly construction guidelines and details for building their own house – one step at a time
The “Hybrid Earthship” combines the drawings of the two previous ones. This way it can create dynamic large earthships and allows for more conventional layouts. Anything is possible with this combination
The “Custom Earthship” can customise earthship biotecture to meet the needs of the local climate and aesthetics. One of many suggestions is the “Nautilus” which is a spiral design based on a sea shell.
Earthships can be viewed and experienced as nightly rentals at the Greater World Community in Taos, New Mexico. Or visit the many sites available on the internet (www.tirebalehouse.com, www.geocities.com). www.earthship.org this is Michael Reynolds’ Earthship site or try [email protected]
For the sceptics among us, remember that people used to believe the earth was flat.
