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England’s first Earthship! Completely self-sufficient buildings that incorporate large quantities of tyres, bottles and cans in their structure.
The Earthship is landing in Brighton! After nearly four years The Low Carbon Network, responsible for the build, can see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.
With the finishing touches on the interior being scheduled for this Spring and Summer, the Earthship will be a popular venue for forums and seminars on sustainability, permaculture and all things green, as well as home office to Stanmer Organics, Brighton’s own Centre for Alternative Technology in embryo!
Earthships are a type of architecture originated by Michael Reynolds more than 30 years ago. Michael Reynolds has been experimenting with and refining the design of Earthships ever since and has built hundreds the world over.
Walls built from rammed earth tyres as bricks, with non-load bearing walls of bottles and cans. The roofs are giant dishes that catch the rainwater which is stored in giant cysterns, then flows into the building traversing a WOM (Water Organisation Module) where it is both filtered and compressed to provide completely pure drinking water with mains pressure. The water drains from sink and bath to feed indoor planters spanning the length of the entirely glass South wall. The plant roots, fed and nourished, cleanse the water with the aid of further filtration so that it may then flush the toilets or water the garden. Even the water flushed from the toilets feeds outdoor blackwater planters.
There is also no need of power to air-condition these amazing buildings, they are heated and cooled by design (passive solar thermal mass). Electricity is provided by any combination of wind turbines, solar panels, or bio-diesel generators (original recipe for diesel made from veg oil before Otto Diesel was pushed from the ferry!).
So, with such an unconventional design and systems, what are you left with? A completely self sufficient home or building that can be situated nearly anywhere on Earth that looks as if it grew from the hillside, has all of the amenities of a modern building, and looks something like a cross between a log cabin and something from Star Wars!
” I think earthships offer real hope for future dwellings as they are made of old tyres and earth and are autonomous – requiring no space heating, providing their own water supply and dealing with their own wastes. They can be built by self-builders. They also look fun to live in.” MS, grownupgreen member.
“This earthship looks amazing. I’m new to the grownupgreen site. I’m definitely going to go on a tour of the earthship and find out more about the low carbon trust. It’s the internet at its best when you find links that take you to websites that inspire you. thanks for the information.” MJ
Want to know more about The Low Carbon Network? Go to www.lowcarbon.co.uk
Interested in the expected office inhabitants Stanmer Organics? Go to www.stanmerorganics.org.uk
Many thanks to Jonathan for this article. You too could send us an article go to The Members Area to find out how.
Elsewhere on grownugreen you can find vast quanities of information about some of the issues Jonathan raises. Did you see our BedZed tour? Find out what we’re talking about in the Library
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