Taos, New Mexico is the unofficial (or perhaps official? How do they determine these things?) home of the “Earthship” movement. Earthships are ecologically friendly homes that are heavy on solar energy and use lots of recycled products in their construction. Some earthships even use recycled stuff like tires, cans, etc. A lot of them are actually partially built into the ground.
The company Earthship Biotecture takes the concept of an earthship to a new level. They define their construction technique in the following manner:
Earthship n. 1. passive solar home made of natural and recycled materials 2. thermal mass construction for temperature stabilization. 3. renewable energy & integrated water systems make the Earthship an off-grid home with little to no utility bills.
Biotecture n. 1. the profession of designing buildings and environments with consideration for their sustainability. 2. A combination of biology and architecture.
They seem to use some concepts in permaculture in their design ideas, so these homes are theoretically very self-sustainable. They’ve got some very cool designs on their website.
My only complaint about earthships? The price tag. Reports from some people I know in Taos say that earthships in general (not just from this company) are not what you’d call affordable housing. They’re more like housing for the very elite. Let’s hope that one day the earthship movement can open their doors to middle and low income folks as well!
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I knew a guy who spent a couple of summers in Colorado building these things up in the mountains.
The issue isn’t the cost of materials. It’s the intensive labor that goes into making an Earthship that makes it so expensive.
Some people make these things themselves over a period of two or three years, doing all the work. In a case like that, you can make one pretty inexpensively. But it’s back breaking, hard work to build the walls for those things.
I have been working on a 2800 sq foot earthship for three plus years. Goal is to get in loan free.
Solar, wind and generator powered. N. Arkansas
Dreamcatcher Earthship Project