Earth - Ship n. 1. a passive solar home made of natural and recycled materials. 2. incorporating thermal mass construction for temperature stabilization. 3. renewable energy and integrated water systems make the Earthship an off-grid home with little to no utility bills.
The Earthship is a completely independent globally oriented dwelling unit made from materials that are indigenous to the entire planet. The major structural building component of the Earthship is recycled automobile tires filled with compacted earth to form a rammed earth brick encased in steel belted rubber. This brick and the resulting bearing walls it forms is virtually indestructible. Thus, with natural ventilation systems built in, an Earthship home will heat itself in the winter and cool itself in the summer without the use of centralized fossil or nuclear fuels. http://www.earthship.org/
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When looking for land to build an Earthship on the most important factor is the land must be south facing. This is so that the Earthship can catch the sun to the south during the winter. If you are south of the equator this would be reversed. Another great feature of the Earthship and living off solar power is that you can find land much cheaper than you can if you were buying land hooked up to the commercial power grid. The further away from the grid, the less expensive the property. http://www.alternative-way.com/
Earthships ARE a new approach to sustainable living. Imagine building a house out of discarded tires and aluminum cans. Imagine using environmentally friendly materials and techniques to create a truly self-sufficient home. Imagine interfacing and ha rnessing nature to create a dwelling that lives with the land, not on top of it. http://www.slip.net/~ckent/earthship/Comprehensive information on living in an "Earthship." This is a type of sustainable housing. This link includes a photo tour, background information, construction tips, rationale, summary of what life is like after living here for a year, alternative construction resources, and sources for additional information. We hope this work will help others to make decisions which can help our resource deficient planet. http://www.sanjuancountry.com/personalpage/ridgway.html
An Earthship is a home design--utilizing recycled tires, aluminum cans and earth for construction materials--that Reynolds and his company have been building and perfecting for the last 25 years. It is self-sufficient, getting power from the sun, water from rain, and recycling its gray water and sewage. The Earthship would be perfect for a storm-beleaguered Caribbean Island, Reynolds figures. "These buildings are so heavy, and built into the Earth, that they couldn't blow away." http://www.betterworld.com/BWZ/9608/learn.htm
Already, you can see what we mean by 'an Earthship like no other'. Based upon the great room concept, the interior is open and unconfined. We wanted the energy efficiency and organic feel of the Earthship, but needed to have a place with room to 'groove'. So we did away with the small U' idea and opened the rooms up by supporting the ceiling with the large beams and vigas. The vigas and beams come from Mayhill, New Mexico and were hand peeled with an adz and bark spud. The corbels were carved with a chain saw, then hand finished with a spoon gauge and adz. The hand carved spanish colonial stone fountain and the saltillo floor tiles were imported from Mexico. http://www.userpages.com/earthship/page2.html
