The Earthship has come a long way from the tire and beer can brick homes of the early seventies.

Created by architect Mike Reynolds, the ideals behind forming earthships were to create less building waste and live with your natural environment not against it.

As Reynolds experimented more with sustainable housing he coined the term “biotecture” to replace our standard of “architecture”. Having a home that is created in conjunction with the earth and is self supporting buy providing its own energy, water and ability to grow food are parts of what green construction is about for Reynolds. Building by biotecture is now the hallmark of what he created all those years ago and it’s by that growth in sustainable building that we have what is known today as Earthship Biotecture.

Now, let’s take a closure look at the six individual components that make up Earthship Biotecture. The following areas are what make an Earthship an Earthship. Without all parts coming together, you do not have a biotecture home but rather just a green form of sustainable construction. For instance, a straw bale built home maybe sustainable construction but that alone would not make it biotecture.

Thermal Solar Heating and Cooling
All Earthships are built with the ability to regulate their own temperature based on the local environment. What the local climate is sets the tone for how and what recycled materials will be used to create the home. Building by thermal mass, makes the home work for you by keeping cool during the warmer months of the year and keeping warm during the cooler months of the year. Earthships do not have central heating and cooling units built into the construction other than the homes green construction in and of its-self.

Solar and Wind Generated Energy
Earthships are built to harness their own energy sources so that no pulling from the local power grid is required. Each biotecture building plan comes with a prepackaged photovoltaic and wind power system. The Earthship Power Organizing Module draws electricity from the batteries that have harvested solar and wind power and the system can be adapted to run from a gasoline power generator if the need should arise. One can also sell their extra stored energy to the local power company to help offset other local areas of power usage. The power system is set up to handle regular appliances like washing machines, refrigerators and vacuums as well as phones and computers.

Contained Sewage Treatment System
The Earthship sewage system is built so that all household sewage, both indoor and outdoor can be treated and reused with the home environment. In essence it is a greywater system that uses the same natural concept that nature uses in a wetland environment. Standard greywater from the kitchen, bathroom and gardens are treated inside the home, while the sewage from the toilet is treated outside of the home. The sewage water is reused with the greywater as a water source for the Earhships botanical cells that feed planters both inside and outside of the home.

Natural and Recycled Building Materials
The building idea that started the basic Earthships back in the seventies is the sustainable way in which they are constructed. Earthship building materials are green construction at its most basic. Using a combination of recycled, natural and solely indigenous materials each biotecture home is a sustainable and environmentally friendly structure. Another aspect that comes into play when recycling for building is in using found materials, this means taking items such as bottles, cans and tires then packing them with Earth to create walls that are then clayed over.

Water Harvesting and Food Production
In addition to having a greywater system, Earthships are designed to catch natural sources of water for harvesting use within the home. The natural water system biotecture collects rain and snow melt into underground cisterns that then integrate the water into the home. The harvested water is reused four times after collection starting with bathing use and ending with feeding the Earthships exterior botanical cells.

All of the water that is filtered and used throughout the Earthship is a main component in food production for the home. An Earthship is designed for a series of indoor and outdoor botanical cells in which to grow plants and food. The creation of both indoor and outdoor cells allow the homeowner to produce food for the family all year long.

Earthship Biotecture offers plans, education on sustainable living and even the opportunity to buy an Earthship home in a planned Greater World Earthship Community. The Earthship community is based in Taos, New Mexico where Reynolds based the Earthship Biotecture company.

When looking into becoming a part of the community there are several things to keep in mind which are:

• The community will produce its own energy
• The community will harvest and treat their own water
• The community will manufacture their own bio-diesel fuel
• The community will strive to produce all its own food
• The community will continue to utilize discarded materials from modern society

For more information on Earthships, the growing community or even how to build own of your own visit Mike Reynolds main web site at: www.earthshipbiotexture.com

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