The future of living : Earthships
This new type of housing might be the key to sustainable living in the future.
An Earthship is a type of passive solar house that is
made of natural and upcycled, already existing materials such as tires
and bottles.
The concept was coined by architect Michael Reynolds, who, in
the 1970s, wanted to build a house that would do three things.
- Utalize sustainable architecture and materials indigenous to the local area
- The homes would rely on natural energy sources and be independent form the 'grid'
- The homes should be feasible to build for someone with no specialized construction skills
In short, an earthship adresses six principles or human needs; First,
the home could and should be able to reduce and even eliminate all
your utility bills.
Second, people living in these homes are relying more on what nature
provides, they get their electricity from the sun and wind,
their water from the sky for bathing, cleaning, showering, flushing
etc. The sewage that is then produced from this is contained treated
in a wholesome matter on the premise.
The home also ensures comfortable living, as temperatures inside
should be comfortable all year round in any climate and therefore
reduce your heating and cooling bills.
Lastly, while not strictly necessary, many of these homes and the
people living in it use the structures to grow some sort of food as
well, as many earthships have large windows,
which can be used to reach a greenhouse-like effect.
Read more about Earthships and visiting Taos here!