No, this isn’t George Clinton’s weekend home. Green architect and off-grid design expert Michael Reynolds and his Taos, New Mexico based architectural firm, Earthship Biotecture, have been thinking outside the box for 40 years or so.
Their Earthship design incorporates recycled tires for wall construction and insulation; rammed earth for heat and cooling effects; wind + solar energy; recycled, found and indigenous materials; greywater systems; a greenhouse and a rainwater capture system.
Features: uses rainwater/snow melt 4 times, eliminates utility bills with solar and wind energy systems, sewage runs through indoor and outdoor treatment cells and is reused in food production etc., construction insures comfortable living temperatures in any climate without wires or pipes.
Plans include designs for one, two and three bedroom Earthships. Come to think of it, this might be just far enough off-grid for George Clinton.
Related: previously on altCon,
Green Building (entire category)
(2007/04/17) green-home-building-part-one/
(2007/01/27) rammed earth – natural building
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I SO WANT TO LIVE HERE!
…is it because of the house or the location?
How do I apply for an internship? I loved the idea of recycling tires. And the house design is absolutely great!
Hello to anyone reading,
I recently just watched the documentary Garbage Warrior and it instantaneously furthered my interest in sustainability. I would really be honored to work along side Mike and his crew to help build homes for underdeveloped countries in need. I am in the process of tracking him down, but if anyone could lead me in the right direction that would be absolutely amazing. To start I really just need to get a hold of an e-mail address, or a phone number…
Thanks for anyones time, I look forward to any reply
Hi Roxanne,
You can find the contact email for Mike on the bottom right of the Earthship homepage – link below.
http://earthshipbiotecture.com/
Earthship crew,
I am a French passionate student in Grenoble architecture school. I am 18 years old and bilingual.
I am not looking for work, I am not trying to waste your time.
My purpose was to try and find a way to build sustainable and cheap buildings, to contribute to the world’s need of priceless respectful houses towards the environment. And this purpose has been following me for many years.
I have recently found your documentary : garbage warrior, on internet. After viewing it, after listening to Michael, i realized that I was going to spend my whole life folowing his path.
I am sure that you have many e-mails like this one. And i know how hard it is to get into Michaels life.
The thing is that I am ready to work for free, as hard as 18 hours a day, even if it consists in making tea all the time. I am ready to travel to wherever the crew may be, using my savings.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post.
I will be waiting, with great enthusiasm, for your response.
Best regards
Luc Franco
Ps: I apparently am a very good tea maker.
Hey Luc,
Thanks for reading our blog. If you want to contact Michael Reynolds, you have to go to their site or blog. Good luck, and thanks for stopping by…
I am a city attorney for a medium size city in the St. Louis metropolitan region. We are in the process of rewriting our comprehensive zoning plan; and, after hearing Michael Reynolds, I have proposed an experimental building zone. However, I am virtually ignorant of architecture. So, I was wondering if there was some help out there to persuade a group of well meaning, but unenlightened zoning commissioners. Any help would be appreciated. The good news is that I have made some headway with the staff.
Robert,
We’re fans of his work, but you need to contact Michael directly via his website.
all the best…