Were we to imagine the perfect eco-friendly dwelling, what would it look like?  Such a structure might be constructed primarily from recycled and re-purposed materials.  It would almost certainly incorporate passive solar environmental controls and intrinsically insulative properties.  It would conform to its environment, facilitate its own food production, harvest its own fresh water, recycle its own grey-water and treat its own sewage.  Though it may come as a surprise to some, such a structure already exists. By Todd Langwell.

First conceived and designed by American architect, Michael Reynolds, the Earthship may represent the pinnacle of ecologically mindful design.  Where other buildings strive to incorporate many of the targets of environmental responsibility, the Earthship attempts to include them all.  A small eco-footprint, maximum energy efficiency and minimum consumption have all been hailed as hallmarks of Reynolds’ revolutionary design.

So, why are there only comparative handfuls of these dwellings in the States, and even fewer dotting the landscape of Great Britain and Europe. The answer may have much more to do with regulatory and code issues than practicality and desirability.

The Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies (CERES) in Melbourne has come up with an initiative to expand the presence of Earthships beyond their primary domain of the deserts of New Mexico.  CERES is in the early stages of building an Earthship prototype suitable for use in Australia at its Community Environment Park in Brunswick East.  This not-for-profit environmental organisation has recently gone as far as holding building clinics to teach the skills required to construct recycled-tyre walls, which serve as the stabilising and load-bearing structures for Earthships.
[pullquote]Apart from the structural load-bearing walls made from tyres packed with earth, the interior walls of Earthships are often made from either recycled cans or bottles bonded together with adobe, concrete or cement. [/pullquote]

According to its website, CERES is in need of experts who have “dealt with the planning authorisation process, know the existing building codes backwards and can provide effective leadership in helping our group negotiate this process.”  This suggests that Earthship builders in Australia expect to face the same main challenge as others around the globe before them — regulatory hurdles.

In the 2007 documentary, Garbage Warrior, Michael Reynolds bluntly describes navigating the process of obtaining code variances as, “endless horseshit”. Gaining those exceptions may come with even more roadblocks today than when Reynolds was battling various planning authorities in the last century.  All over the industrialized world, well-meaning, continuously-updated regulations on foundations, materials, radon abatement and, most ironically, environmental efficiency all present potential deal-killers for the unconventional materials and techniques used in the construction of the Earthship.

Apart from the structural load-bearing walls made from tyres packed with earth, the interior walls of Earthships are often made from either recycled cans or bottles bonded together with adobe, concrete or cement.  The design of the structure is such that it uses as much of the surrounding earth as possible — the typical layout calling for the entire back wall of the dwelling to be cut from the landscape.  This usage of the earth combined with the thick tyre walls maximizes the thermal mass of the home.   Most Earthships have a partially or entirely earthen roof which also contributes to a more stable thermal environment.

A main component of this design is passive solar temperature regulation.  Drawing air from windows at the bottom of the structure and venting it though a skylight achieves cooling.  In extremely hot environments, a black “top hat” is placed on the skylight to accelerate air draw and intake is provided by extended tubing that collects air from as close to the ground as possible.  Heating is primarily provided by thermal absorption from large windows across the front of the structure.  These windows are positioned facing the equator to capture the maximum amount of winter sun.

The primary source of fresh water is provided by a roof catchment system.  Rainwater is funneled through sand filters into a buried cistern.  The collected water is then pumped to a storage system within an underground control room of the home.  Once there, it is filtered at least two more times before use.   Grey-water is processed using an ingenious mixture of bacterial and plant filters.  This grey-water filtering system also provides nutrients for fruit-bearing plants, adding to the efficient closed nature of the system.  Black water systems are not always incorporated due to the preference of some for composting toilets.  Where water-borne sewage is produced, however, combinations of solar and biological septic systems are used to distribute the waste into an adjoining leach field.

Though many of these systems find themselves outside the scope of building codes, CERES plans to push forward with their project.  They continue to schedule workshops and actively seek volunteers, but not only to aid with building code issues.  CERES also needs help to document the process and wage the public relations campaign that will certainly be needed to help them obtain the necessary cooperation from planning authorities.  Perhaps this call for help by such a prominent organisation underscores the point: as we move forward toward a more sustainable future, action on the part of the concerned will be necessary to make responsible shelters, like the Earthship, a worldwide reality.

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EthicalLiving.com.au

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