VOLU~ME 1

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IE Pi ~ 1r IRJ §rnI II IF

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lIO'\V TO nt.n JD YOIHt owx h~

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Michael E. Reynolds

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Fi rst Pri nting fl.t. ug II st 1990

Scco nd Printi n g A pril ,~991

Third Pri nti ng, N Q\I ern ber '1991:

Fa urt tJ Printi ng Apri 1 1992

Fi fth Pr r nti 11 g F e bruary 1993

@I copyright, ] 990

b SOL Ai, 'n' 'S U'iR V''I1 ,tt !ii, 'L in R E S5

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[SBN 0-962676 7~O-5

SO 'Ii' !Ii, 'ID 'Slf]'D 'Ii 7'I'V ,;t 'r Jj, CoRe'lJI'li'Tlr.'C' '-lPU D ~ ' .. 'JU !'!II.,If\., .,' I;.. ft", , 1'!i.,:~ ,~:, u,~, ,.1:1, I, i It'!!;.L

p" o. Box ,1041 Taos, N ew Mex leo 87$7'~ E.4RTH

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S pccia 1 Thanks

Dennis and G,e.r.ry \Ve~wet

for helping to bring the Earthship into the public eye.

Ch r'i.st~lR.y b C.zy ns k ffi La.wir~n ce G r oivr'n C~a.ire Blancha d. Dua.]1JJ>e Davls

Peter Kelshorn

for helping to pLH the book together.

Dirk Sullivan

J 1I stln Si Wl'U.]) son JI[.D nah Rey n old s

for helping me with Solar SUIVi\'al Architecture while I put the 'book together.

fa ~ H,1i bicht

who bought the first Earthship and hal) continued to san with us .

. Paul O'Conner

for most of the photo gra phy.

l\1y w.ife Chrb

for the name Earthship, for support and inspiration and for making me' write this bonk,

From Cover Photo - Justin Simpson Back Cover Photo. - Jerrv Jameson

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INT:RODUCTIOIS

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~T' R'UC·'~T' U"'R,: E

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5 MATERIALS

Th e de term i n i n g factors of the Eart 11 ship i de a

Interfacing with local phenomena

'Following '[he directives of concept and natura! phenornen a

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The s kel e ton 0 f the vessel

The pri 1113 ry bui 1 din g b] oc ks 0 r the v es s el

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XHE '11'Un '1'd()DU,LE

The. details and ski lls used. 10 build the "U" module

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THE G' RE'ENl"Ht)'UCIE

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How to build the greenhouse-hall way-heating duct

The details 'involved in assimilation of "IU~!' modules

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'FINISHES

The formulas and techniq ues for various finishes

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H (YW to opera te- and U vc in an Earth s 11 ip 11 EXISTING EA RTHSRrf'S The prototypes

EPILOGUE

INTRODUCTION

Noah was tol d 'by G ad to buil d an ark. J u st exactl y 11 ow God to id Noah is left up to the imagination, The fact rem ains that ibe C 10 ud S on the horizon were reveale d to Noah. and 'e ven though he lived nowhere near water, he WHS :i n sp ired [0' bu i ld a ship. He m ust have

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expenencen m uc " flu icuie .:r wa 3 tl ng nme,

energy, anc materials on thi s shi p,

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.i[nsp~ur:i)Jt! on" nowever, WS more power u~

t han ridicule, Noah saw the clou d s on the hori zon and the corn i n rg f1 ood, so he bu i It a, ship 1.0 float on the seas, Icr there was, a time corning WheJ1 rhere would be no land.

Today, it doesn't 'cake a. prophet. [0 see the c lou ds on the horizon, The re are many signs, of the "coming flood", The overall abuse of 1:11 C C-al flh by humanity is abou l to le ave ou r ever growing population "Flooded" with su rvl val ernergenc ie 5, on many levels, Th is wi 1 i affe ct water, a. ~ r ~ foo d j she Iter, ene r gy ~ e tc, A U facto rs o f hu man su rvi val, as we know. it, are imme di atel v th re t~ tened b v the

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rapidly deteriorating condition of the planet

Earth, The media is full of emergencies regarding pollute d oceans, riv en and street ns, van i sb i ng w ildl i re, a i r q PH lity, radi cacti ve waste, garbage, homeless families, etc The s ituat i on is esc a lating a nd :~ n many c ~,6 es i rrep ara ble damage (rel EIJ i ive to human J i fe sp an) is done. ""~ilis is no spe cia] awareness

available only to. one person, All of us can see the douds on the norizQ u.

.J Wit as Noah ne eded a :1 ife SU pp orting ship Iha~ wou M float indep end ently wi Ih,Q'Ul acce s s to Ian d f 'we are in need o:f Ii fe S uppo rting shi ps that will "flo at II independent 1 'Y without access to vari ous a rchai c self -d e s rrucri 'If e ~y:s [em s, u pan w hi ell we ha ve grown dependent. These s y ste In s inclu de centra li le'd cne rgy s y"Hem,s, 'which give us acid rain. radioactive waste and power Ii nes I Hci ng the e a: ,til 1 ike spider 'we bs We have heat ing and. coo] ing s ystems for OU r liv in g spaces tha l totally depend UPC!L these cent eal i zed energ y s y 8, terns. Most ho using today would be. totally nonfunctional in M~m\S of comfort, water, toilets, electricity, etc. without masaive inputs of energy horn C(;H tralize d sou rce s. The re is, also food l' another bs s ic l"h ing need, which als 0 comes most t y from cental i ze d produ ction So yst ems. The quality of this food 'is" at. best.

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transponation systems for distribution. AU of this ,j S ill VS, ~ [a ble oniy through money l' which it self is an other by ste m bet ween LIS and 0 Hi' S ustanence, Due 'to [he fact th at these sy stem s have evolved within a certain narrowness of vision, ~hey have begun to reach points where they do' m Ore harm th JU go 0 (1.. The yare li te rall y de s tro y ing rh e planet as th c y precariously sustain our rather incomplete concept of hum an life. a ~ r abili ty [0 e vol ve

beyund t hese is y stems is becom i ng inc rea s ingl y necessary, and has ~ l.wo fold im petus,

I _ If we learn 10 J ive without these systems we could radically slow do wn destruc lion of rhe pl ane i and pos s lib] Y re verse certain aspects of the deteri oration.

2. If it is already too late, we will need, in the near future, jiving units to sustain us via direct: contact with exi sting natura ~ phenomena.

W'e need W evolve self-sufficient living units that are, their OWn systems, These units, must energize themselves, heat and coo] themselves ~ grow food mud deal with their own waste. The current C On cept of housin g, in genera I, su p~ pone d by mass i vie central ized syste ms j is no longer appropriate. safe j 0 r re ~ iable, We. are now Itl, need a fEf! rn- t 'h 'S ~ 'iUs: -- i ndependen t vessels: ~ ~o 5:3J'i I on the seas of tnmorrow"

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CONe'EPT

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THE DETERMINING FACTORS OF !!'f"]t.ii'rr 'E· ..t, R,tr' H, "S:' :H' ~'m 'p 'iI'I) E ill

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~ W'hat lt mean s h} Interfa ce .. lIVhy ","e' shoul d. do so

Th i s chapter will el a 00 ra te on and develop the "independent vessel' concept £1.3 a necess ary spark to w ard ! he evo ~ uti on of h abitat on this planet. There w:i U b e di scussi on Q f Vi hat the v esse l. rEIU5 t be c apabl e of m n order to independently support human existence, Idealistic visi (ins ""d 11 be digested 'into reali stic possibi lities,

S Orne lig ht bel.ng s frorn Ai C)'OIU: once sent a representative to' Earth .10 a.mJ1yze the siueuian there. The light being came spent some time an Earth and 'went back. In A lcyone and made the fcd~owing report:

"Basically there were three kinds of creatures there. One type of creature was rooted in the ground" It was ver), evolved" relative to its hos: plane». It must have been '!>'ery i rUdligem. "litho.li! moving from place to place, it wok what it neededfrom th« air, the j'un~ and the ground to sustain a ve.r}i long and to", stress life. it dropped its by-prodw:tS: on: the ground around it an d I hey en. tered the.' ground and were reevel ed back .i nto the creau a we itself. When it died, it enured the ground and becam e food for' its of/spring. 1 t was. more than tltcl'emure.; b was a ,S)ls.tem. It fwd totally

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mte_GlCL wU· Us nost p~ anel.

The next kind of creature 'Jot/as also very e valved, b~~t It had to mo ve around to sustain ilself. .It' also took. wha: iJ neededfrom the air, the sun and the ground, So ne of them wok each other. its bv-products entered the ground. When this creatur« died, It oro ente red ~ he g round, and all became food for the creatures discussed. ab-().v;t:', These. creatures also wok some o[ the. above creatures into I hem for food. The re seem ed lobe ,Q physical exchange between bott: 01 these creatures in

terms of bot 11 food (.uza air. 1'hey eacn inna! ed what the other exhaled. They ha'd interfaced with the. planet and with each. other."

"The las: kind of creature was not ve1)1 wen adapted to thi.s planet. A s .a maner of fact ~ this creature ma have been an a1i.en.. It took from botn of the~ other creatures as well as the p Jane t , and ga ve n othing bo dr. except byproduc ts whlct: made it difficutt for itself '(J.11'd the others to continue living. It seemed to be taking over the p.l (l',n lit lik« some kind of malig:l'lcmt srowlh. These creature,s prolific,cllly mu1tlply, fig hI each other, ruth.l e s s ly Sla.ughte r the other .lW~ types 0/ creatures ~ and ru: hlcssiji abuse the hos: pianet. They do not seet» If) understand their environment, their chemistry, Or themsetves. Possibly, the)' should be contained i~! some intergolacsic corral to keep them from harming other' creatures and planet, as welt as themseives. In f;ftlie;-aJ, this planet was very beautiful tCU1.d sere ;xe until ,thi3 third creature began to mUltiply into such numbers lJwt il.s effect has become a serious threat to the plane! itself. rl

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The situation was examined and the lig~u bei ng s from A lcyo ne decided m en ter these creatures and .evoiv,e them from the' in. ide out and awaken. them to the sys tem of wh ich they are (1. part. They have the potential to interj.acf: with the planet and make il everJ~ more beautiful an d wo nde.rfJ~ t them is was before they came_ So it was and the projec; began.:

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Ai. ,LOQ,K. AT THE ,EXISTING CONCEPT OF HOlJSIN,G

if W'(~J eady laSt in C inc-in noti. 0 hio em d ih e trees s~i.tl had al! their leaves. A freak. early snow£i'orm came and the leaves on lite' trees cc:wg ht too much of the Sfl.1-TIf,1 and weig h ed them dOWf'j with mare weight than dH: 0.1"(.[ n ch es We n" designed to hold. Consequentiv, many bran ches broke; and l hey tank down, power lines wil.h them. This happen ed in SO many piaces around dw city shos large numbers of homes and commercial districts we're withoui pOWel", For a coupte of days, people could not ,even b,uy food because I hits i'ON': S could no; operate wiJ hoo ut power., ,M,Qlrl.Y people, i.hin.king they were well prepared for sucb an emergency" gO'I out their stored calmed goods, laid away for just such an occasion. Unjorw,nl!ludy, the majority of the peopi e in fh e c il}' had el ectric can ope» CTS and the» could It!O'( get into their emei""gel'tcy uash of food!

TIlE! concept of housing really has not changed much 'I ~1 centuries. \Ve s tarred with C ornpartmen ts to sh cite r 1J S from the e lements. Soon, we began to do things in these compartments that required lig}~r, fire anc water and a re as ona ble level of comfort To ac hieve this we began to bring energy and wa tcr to the compartments first by hand, and later by systems. The s ys tern S h av e e v 01 "led from carrying wood for a fire pit to nuclear power

I th .

P lants mak lng huge q uaruit ies o f po we r ' : at IS

fed through 'IN ires 'to v arion s eo rnpartmen t s all over the plane t, The is 'j stem s have rad ica I ~ Y evolved: ,1'!w compartmwt ~~ .~[iH a, Icompa.rtrnenl.

The systems ~ w hi ch a re now centralized" have grown to be more' i mportan t asp ccts of housing tha n the compartment j tse I f.. Vi e are now dependent upon a nd v uln eta bl e wi thout these system s. Wben the :5 ysterns fail due to some catas trcphe, such as - ill hill! rricane I W rnado or eartbq u ake, people gather together in C omm 11· nity facl Ii ti e s su ell a is gymnasia m s, wi rh emerge nc y S Y stem g. Ex lstin g ho usin g ru:s no nfunct ion a] wi 'I'll I) U t syste rns, 'We bu i ld a1] kinds of C ompartme n t S Oil t of woad. concrete" steel, and glass, We; even put them on wheel s. bu t the y t1JI"e sri U j ust compartment S that we pump ~ i fe support into. One can eas] ly imagine the Jlmitations, dependency ~ and \' ulnerabil ity of being em a ] i 'We support s y .. stem in a h ospi tal, "\¥hat if you found tha ~ you had [0 stay on a life support system for the rest of you r 1 if"e? Many pe ople would ra the r die than

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uve this way. "..iF ar,e rvU1~' trJJS wI',1nJ,.

\Ve are also d ying this wa y . The systems give us power. in one hand and poison in the othe r. Acid rain, radioacti ve waste, spider webs of power Jines, polluted rivers and oceans, van ishing wildli fe a re all P a. rt of the ! 'pri ce 10 'for the I iff! support, systems necess ary to TU ake the ell rren l C oncept of hOUSL [] g funct iona L

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A person on. a life support system in a hospital.

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has to be a ways wrtrnn rear anc p.uggeu H1I

to we various systems w,at keep him/her alive. So ] t ·i 8 with our CU (Tent concept o:f housing. This need to he plugged in keeps us from using rhO!JISi3! nds of ac res of d ynarn i c and hea utifu I Iand , Some of the most beautiful places on. the plane [ arc rendered use less for human habftalion becau se the s ystems mat. support hous ing do not go there. The lim ~ rations, the. dependenc y, the vulnerability, and. me po ison give us marll.y re ~S.Of.1.S, to question the ex i s'tlng concept of housing and ask ourselves, "Is this really something that we wan ( to auemp« to go into the fusure with?"

THE SYSTE;l\1S OF EXISTING :H'OUSING

The systems that render the existing hous.ing compartments, habitable are as follows:

Eha:%r'i ctt~1 e'nerg Y D rod Ii ctlon fum d.

drnst~ibiU!tiQmuL syst~ms::

These sy stems prov ide the electri cal energy for nghls, and appliances and, in many case, heating and. air condition ing. A~ so, in some cases, the water pumping for the living compartment .i 8 dependent upon these systems. In order for these systerns to keep up with the demand ~ they are producing S(!riOU8 Iy hazardous 'by-products and effects, as well as lacing the: planet with a web of wires,

The price fer this po wer, in terms of m one y, is high and ]5 geu:hlg' lIigher, These systems are owne d. by corporat ions. whose aims are flO E alwa ys .. in tbe lle.s t interest of :tfH~ people or the p J ane], The pri ee for th i 5 power" in terms of eca lo gy. ~ s the dep le tm on of res 0 urees which look m i Ui ons 0 f yea rs to prod I.H~e and rhe pollution o:f the delicate environment that sus rains life. It]S no rouge]" sate for us to keep using systems ~ and their reliability is questionable as we voyage .. into the future.

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Centra) ized wate r S ys tem s a Iways inv Q 1. e electricity in some way, SO the water systems are dependent on the electrical systems, This, in addition 'W questionable ~Jiu.rifi·c~t~ion a?d treatment processes, leaves many cities with water mat Is undrinkable and dependent 1[1pOn the power grid, In rural S l tuations ~ pumped well W·iZlter is almost always dependent upon 'the power grid and in many areas is already undrinkable due to sewage, cattle urine, or rad loacrive was te,

£ewal:t sy.s1:,em ~:

In clties, itll. waste water goes to [he sewage s ys terns and in rural areas ~ ~ t goes to smal ler sewage treatment plants. In ve.ry rural areas, it all goes inro septic systems. 80% nf this wat,er could be reusable as grey water, In most cases, this is not even considered, so' we .8; re left W J th mas s Ive amou nts (J f sewage to treat, The Ire s u ~ r is ex trerne poll u tion 1 nand

around the water near cities. and 8. waste of very r.i ch :i r riga tion IN a. te r ] n ru ral a re as . Again, most sewage systems depend in sorne way upon electrical s vstems 10 function.

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G,as Slst ems:

The natural gas systems are the cleanest and the leas ~ destructive UP the 'planet However, ill rimes of cetastrophe, they go out (gas lines bre ak) qu ite often. The distributlon of this gas is potentially dangerous and unreliab lein tirne 5 of di s aster, and w ill C omi nu e 'to get more expensive. If the complete functioning of 8J home. dep ended upon gas, th is home would be ju s t as vulnerable as those us ing any other system. Of course, gas must he shipped by vehicle in rural areas, which is an obvious YU lnerabiliry Ln limes of disaster,

Food. syst.e'ms:

Food has be come just 3 S much of ,S, sys tern as anything else, The cent.n] ized too d production sy stern is def rutely one of the rnaj or support sy stems for human habi tat: on 'm:E5 planet. The existing housing compartments do nothing wward dealing with the food needs of the human inhabitants, Food is mass produ ced, not with human health in mind, but with profits. in mind, ~toney ffis, unfurtunately, the maj or obj e etive of all systems, The various chemic al S used 10 p rodu ce more food, faster I ha ve radically affected the qua! i:ty of fruits, vegetables, dairy products and meats, (Read Diel :(;01' a. New America, 'by John

Robbins), The quali t y of me g 10 ba] ware rs j s a.1 so be ginni ng Ito affect fi sh ,. Distri but ion of food is dependent upon vehicles which mayor may nor run during economic, natural, or human -rnade di s 11.£ re rs, The ex] st i:r.ug food system is, therefore unreliable as well. as unhealthy, In addition! il 'is so wrapped up in the monetary system, that it almost ceases to be food" Speaking of wrapped.it is also wrapped in various plastics and packaging which are a s e riou s d isp os a I pru blem, Trees and animals don~t have to wrap their food; why should 'we? Is it because we are intelligent?

M ab?:f';.a~.s_ S Y!1~,em s:

The major materials presently used for 'housing compartments have many factors 'that warrant some rethinking ..

I .. Too much wood is u sed and. although this 'is a renewable source" trees need time to grow,

2. Ma.n}' mate ri als are made in cen ~['3J lzed areas and have to be shipped all over the C oun ~ try" This is an economic 'and an energy fa cto r, 3. M02n materials require specific skills to use them, This renders. them out of the reach of anski lled people 'to' use,

4. There is rnu ch energy inv olve d in the manufacturing of materials and consequently much pollution is the resul ~ of this,

S" Many new materi als are unhe a]thy to be around. U nfortunate Iy, this i So not discov e red until they. have been usee] for yea rs,

6. Manu fac tured materials tend to d i eta le th~ n anne of hall sing. It shoul d be v ~ ce versa,

],,1:-01 eti1lJrJl s't:s[{;'ms;

This .~,ysh~n1 obviously supports the living compa rtm ent be C8! use ,S! U 0 the r sys tern s a:re. made a v ailable only through. th i s system, 1 f one has no money, the other systems are shut off, regard less of nee L1. . People h ave actual) y di ed because the i r utiliti .. e s had. been shu t of.f duri ng the wi nter, due to their i.nabH i ~y to pa~ bills ,. Th i g. puts 0 ur very su rV.1 val dependent on a rather shaky and. bellow economic system, Thus ~ the living compartme [i [ is :un. a 'very vu lnerable pla ce. N 01 onruy do we have to d ea i' w.i'~ h t be po ten t~ a I un ri~'I:i ~ b i ~'i ty of the vartnus support systems, bu.t we have to deal with the u.nrcHa.bH:it.y of ~h~ -:syste.m wh i eh gi Vies usa ceess tot he' su .P por~ :8]' sterns,

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D.E VELOP'ING T.HJE NE\\I CONCEPT O.P' HOU SIN c

The' above systems .• plus a slap dash cQmpa~· ment, make up ex isti~] g human habitat on tins planet. A new. concept for habitat must also deal with SY5 terns as wen as a compartment, S i nee the roe are so many p roblerns with the centralized nature of existing systems, and since no one real] y knows what our voyage into the future will bring I' (relative to thei r can t inue d fe as ibi li ty and reli ability) ~ W' e would b~ much betrer on and ha ve m o:re 1(: on trel DVe·r our I rn yes j f on.' 'Ill e w c 0 n eept fo r h OU si ng' Inh e rte'n~ I:Yi \'Vi ~h i n Us own na ture, p r.E;nlffi ded the syshrms to W h [Irh we ha.l"e grown aceu sse m~ d"

lt would help if we' could meet the redesign effort hal fv.ray by reev alu a. ti ng Our needs. This is ver.y s irni lar to desi gn ing a veh ic1 e to make a v oyage into space for five ye ars, _ The vessel must be self-ccntained so 'Our usual amount of need S must be reduce 0.

Whe fIJ one btl ys a h 01] se today, hel she :i s essential! y gomg on a v oyage on planet Ea rth for the next thi rty or forty years, COfIJsi d ering the condition of [he planer, {due to years and years of abuse), our vessels must now be se If -conta ined. 0 urn um bers are 100U gre.at for us to. continne taking from the pl anet ~ we must :n 0 w st and Jyi th_. it e.

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The future must see a sclf-centained vessel capable of sustaining an environment for human habitat on its own, through its own interfacing with natural phenomena. This would allow [he vessel W be taken any where. - to the 'wp of a, mount ain, out in the desert, to an island ~ all ywhere,

it 'wuu ld he an '[,art h:sb! p.

One Vel)' importan [ aspect of thi:) n e VI concep t for hou sin g m s that it must be a¥ai~ able W the masses. That Is to say, om, CtliIUlJOI be B! rnultlmlllion dollar vessel that only the rich can aff ord. Everyone is entitled Ito. vo yage into the fill ture, The concept, desi,g-Ii1, and act IJ i3!1 method of rnanifestaticn (If an Barthship must be dcvel oped with ~hi s j 11 mind. III :ldd:i lion to ~n te .. 'rae ing' w:it h nat lIIJ raj I ph e n nm [en II, t h.is concept must interface \'~'Hh the nature of the c.orum,on person.

1'" E S YSTE~t S OF THE EA R ~n-[ s HI]'

The Earthship must .. 1),. virtue of the way it interfaces with lhe e,,-istlng' natural phcnomen ['1;, prov ide a compartment that ,m.ai ntain s its own levels of comfort, The E,arUa h:ip Hscmr til ust be ~ hea ~'i ~,g 3.0 d coot ill g system,

HeaWD24U,ul Cool! mit s.ystem

The 8.,!!!l,n is! a sou rce of he at. The Earth itself ]S a battery to store heat. Earthships, there fore, m ~ st begin relating so booth 0 f these phenomena 'j n their des !gn.

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t, We n ls a more a p prop ri ate, concep t r or th if! fu ture than n I II

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House 3..':;; Ratlror

Put a cast iron sk illet and a tin pan on a 8 Love and heat: them. both _ Then ru m off In e s rove. The tin pan will coo] off in a, couple of minutes: lit.\,een rrunutes later, the skille l win stl U bu rn your h 8.TIId to touch it. TIl'is"i.~ because it i is thicke r and has more mass than 't he tin pan, it is a. better 'battery' for hoJdlng heat"

Housing evolved on this planer out of a ph ysic al and emoticnal need for shelt er. Early on, shelter began to involve the use of energy. Fires were used ins i de she Iters for warmth and cooking. Then electric Iights and various appliances appeared, \¥ e now have a, mulii tude of app ~ i ances, as well as, elaborate ~1ealin g and cooling systems. all of \ htch have become necessities of housing. The current result is th at hOW thergy ,j s as mu C h a facto r of hous.ihg as sheller ..

Noone wou I d really think OF build ing a house that did not provide shelter, For example, can you imag me- a beautifu 1 flo or plan. bul 1 ~ on [he ground wirhout a roof? This, would be absurd. ,At this point in our evol uti 011" we rnus l a,ccep t the fact that ene:rgy :i s ess ential W housing; lt Is [ust as absurd to build a house with n U provl slen for en e r,g.\! as 'ilt ~ S to bu i ld a house with OU t, a roo f.

The energy factor can be 'broken into two categories '. ag'pJiances and te.mperature. As will be discussed later. rhe electrical energy

,req u i rements of appliance scan be met with immediarel "I av a ilable technolog y! collected from the £1,.1 n or wi nd, and stored in batteries for later use. Temperature can he collected an d stored rn uch the same way as electri cal energy. A glass wall On the south face of a hou se will transmit heat to the space. and the mass behind i L That space and mas s, potenliaH)~ the entire house, Can serve at) a battery to S tote the hea 1. Thi s cone ept is kilo wn a ~ therm al mass! Em d works we U anywhere there Is exposure to any source. of beat

The rmal rna ss h ~S' been IH i Bled for cen turies by animals and ancient civilizations, but has been given up for more 'modern', 'economical' construction methods which make '1].0 provi sion for storage of heat.

The' i d ea that we cal] a bat be ry ] s re all y a reflecti On of a pattern or phe nornenon upon which the entire universe is based, This is [he relation shi p be'! ween energ y and matter, A l] matter is actually stored energy, while all energy ,i s actually 'evaporated' matter, Ma t t e r i tse U ls essen t tal ly ,~ batt er y.

In much the same way that matter stores energy, dense mass stores tempera ture, The mo re dense the rna S5 is, the more temperatu r.e: r l stores. Therefore, a hou se or shelter made of dense mass 'is much better for storing ternperatu re than a house made of t.tl j n pieces of wood. This ms 'rue regardless of the original source of temp-erature be it heat Or cooling.

A good analogy can be made to the way a barrel stories water, If the water storing ca pad ty 0 r a ba rrel were compared to the rernperatu re stori ng capaci ly o f most hou ses, 'the 'ba rre I' woul d be 1 i1 deep, rat her tha n 3' -'0" deep. M osr houses h a ve litt te or no dense mass" therefore they store no temperature,

NO MASS

NO ,sTORAGE OF WAlE

~ NO STORAGE OF TEM'PERtlTURf

MASS

STORAGE OF WATER ~ ~===~:;:.-.,

STORAGE Of TEMP-ERA.TU!!!!"

Consequent ly, energy m u Sol corn ~ flu all y b~ brought in v in wires an d :p:Epes from outs i de sources to control inside temperature,

Today's better insulation helps keep (his heated air from escaping, but insulation docs not abs orb 0 r store hea ~. If ho us es emu Id store he at from an,), SCI\.,m::e, as a barrel stores water, they would require [JIJJch less e,nergy to stay 'full.' Instead of using mass, we usually continuously heat Of cool she air in our houses to control [heir temperature. ,Air does not hohJ. temperature, This is like trying to collect water on a flat' urface - it just runs awav. Just as '\ e must collect water in a barrel

~ -

~f we want 'to save h, we must collect temperature in mass if we want EO save it.

f

'2

Sill ce we go to the trouble and expen s,e of putting heat into a. house, we snould do what we can 10 make the house hold that h eat. Hcuses sheul d. be bullt wHb mass s u:r:rQundln.g ever.)' spa ee 110 a ~.I 0 w them to trulv act as batteries,

'r

Our bodies, be ing 9,6% water - wh kll is mas S, fu ncti on s imilarly, .A ce [it ain am ount 0 f eller,~W is put into our bodies, via food, etc. S orne of thi s energy roe SU Its In he Sit; which 'i S stored in the built-in mass of our bodies; our bodies are batteries. Thus we can maintain 98 ~ F. when [he air round u . is SO" F. and we consume food only OCCil:5 i onally, If our bod les held no heat, we wou ~d ha e L'1) eat all the time, pu H ing energy ill con stant ~y EO maintain QlI r bod.y temperature. '\"'l'e W('JU ld run IOu t of food, wear out our digestive systems and have time fo r nothing burt eating,

Housmg is similar. Withoutmass, we are running out of fuel, WI:X ing cu r energy system s, and wasting most of our ume making and. paying for fuel, This payment is suffere d both economically and ecologically. U our houses ate to hold heat as au I: bodies do, they must be made of mass, The more dense the rna SS~ the more. temperature it store s, The E 8J rth s hi P provides for this storage. by wrapping every

.. th ..... , O' II k· k d !1 I'"

room WI . ,:I' ~ tulC. .ense war s, t 15

interfeclag with the earth, by aligning wi lh the phenomenon of therma! mas s.

The canceJ) t of house as battery m s appropria te anywhere. regardl as s of SQhlJ availabihty .. ~10 matter what the heatlng or rcoorning source, the battery will f,etain the t ern p e ra t U Fe.

FOQd sys'lem":

An Earthship should encounter the' Earth in SUI ch a way that it prov ides space and en v iro 1lJrnem for year round growing of edible plants, Irui ts, ,and nu 15. Diets C ou ld be Ie aned toward what is easil Y p rod ueed in lh e en v ironment P IiOV i ded by 'the Barth sh L Pt as the Eartbship's food production capabilities are slowly evolved I award the des] res o f the inhabitant.

Honse as G:ree~hQu se

For the inhabltants of Eartnships to 'be independent, they win have to prod nee f Dod. Vihal will this mean in tb.e design of me 'it esse)"!

Obvi ou s1'v! we need dirt; there will need '[0 00 ,aJ re as with di rt flo ors, C~ rrent Ea rthships provide planters, but enti re rooms and spaces wi 11 be needed to grow reasona hie q Q anti ties of various types of fo nd, For example, we wi II need hei ght for grow,ing ci [HIS and nu ~ trees. Maj or requ i rement S 0 f a garden must be provi ded with ln the vessel, S~) food product ion can occur year round, protected from tern pera ture ex, trerne S and poten t iall y bad air and acid rain, This means that a certain am oun I of space will be for pl ants ~ not fo r people. These factors arc all design determinants for the vessel. As hnport3f1t as a bedroom, th ere I]11,U5 r be, a, ga.rd en.

me,!; t r j:s;a III ~U~:ide 111 :

The Earthship mu st pro-vide enough electricity to light i [self' and 10 run various appliances 'EO which humans have grown accustomed, Obv iousl Y t the cost: of the components tb a.~ pro v ide this e lee rrici ty wou M be regu lated by a more c Hi C lent a PP ro ach Ion the part of the owners, to the overall use of electricity, The S imp le adm i ssion 0 f su 11 I ight red uces the need for daytime lighting.

Hop se as .rowel" Pbm ~.

The vessel must 00 a small, in dependent power station. Through wind and/or sun, it must capture enough energy to' meet the electrical demands of the inhabitants in a clean way, Currently ~ mis can be done by collecting energy from windmills and photovohaic panels

- storing lhe energy in batteries; and using the energy as, needed from the batteries, Photovoltalc cells have been developed to convert light energy fro.m the sun into electricity. They. have become more. reliable in more a reas than wi ndm i Us ~ he wever, j,t is important to note th at: 'W indmitl s 'C~HiI be mad e with less technology. 'Ttl i s energy is stored in conventional electric vehicle type (golf cart) ba tterie s. This me tho d has a ~ rea d y proven itself in the 'sun belt' to 'be. an adequate solution for the requirements of horne appliances. Based on 'what has been learned there, this method will soon be sensi tive enough to prov i de for energy re quirernents in other areas where the sun must come through clouds. In the future, there may be other ways to collect and store enef.'gy: soon we will be uilking it right out of the air, out of the atoms.

14

,

(Rea d )Jtpp:in g: Zero Po int Enle rgYI by Moray B.. King) Ou no' spe cific U se of energy may evolve; but, today, we need energy which comes, t-o us through wall sockets, This cannot be changed overn ignt Th e c once J}'[ of the energy produeing vessel ca 11 he evol ved in

many ways: but, t b e I'm m ed ii are

'1" ,. 1 t l • tl t h t t h;' h

. :.' ,-, -, 1'- ~" ." W,' - . "", w,, ..

,app, tcatlon imJIIl.!IIS, 81 ar, l' . _ a .0 . le_

W~ are accustemed, and lead 'us to that

11;." Ib. ,', • t

'IjiW'ul en W5 more ;lP'p rep rta e.

Just as, a generator is des igned as an integral pan of a car, a power generating s ystem must be l' n tearal in '1'·h··1'!! ,AI"",,.. '11[i"~ of E arthsh '1' ps Th I""

.' _-,"" l .... 0' "". - 1...... Ui ........ ,.~' J, ... ,., _,~, L.u...., • .. ,,-,

aes theti c of the E a rib ship is a resul t of me sysb~,m5' requirements, Current Earthships are built and finished with earthy materials, and are bu rie d. with emil. The Y Fe el g cod ~ but their appearance is su bj 6Ct to performance, It will. 'be difficult, if not impossible, 00 design an English Colonial Earthsh ip, An ernpt y wood box can be decorated as an English Colonial. 'but g t would need power lines and system s. An Earthship cannot ha ve these eormections te the pm:!,l'e:r grid. The days of preconceived ideas about what .A rchitecture m us I 10 ok like are over, Buildings, bousing especially, ,m u,S;'I: b ,e (om e 1. lite r fa c," ng \' e sse rn s, evolving the pree'oDc:ehred ~;dea,s of sty~e and a ppe,a,r-an ee to in d epen den c e an d performahce. 'E-motionaUy, this is an nt her 'Way ~ mast change to mee t the 'Eafthsbip ha1fw.:\y.

.W !J,I~:er Si:v §rl em ~

The Earth sh J P must, with if! i Is own electrical

h ".t ' , 'I

ystem ave provisron ror pumping water 'WiU

existing conventional methods, as we'll as ca tching Jain iii nd s ~lOW me lt. An Earthsh i p must provide its own water,

'HotJse as "Vater Provider

Cu rren dy, 'we bring water systems to huus es. An Earthship can have a well that J8 pumped from the Earthship's independent power system, \tcssels can als 0 catch water _ These sys tern s can be bu il t in to the natu re of tile vessel itself, eliminating the need for an outside water system. In the future, we may discover ways to take water from the air, by condensing j t; but, even now l we can pump water with power produced by the vessel, Soon it win 'be important to distill water for human consu mpti on. Dist i llers will ha ve to be built into the vessel, Hot water will also have 10 be provided by the vessel itself', Various, solar hot water hearers work :in many are a s with CUUe nit e chno log 'Y • Ea tt hships mUM eventually produce, distill, and heat the i r own water.

Sewa~,.LS V stem ~

An Earthship must divide its water waste mto grey water and black wa er, reusing both and/or delivering both to the Earth in a form which is totally accep table ~JI) ex l Sling natural processes.

House as S(;ll~ic S ysrem,

Black water comes from the W j ~ ct: g're:)! water comes from everywhe ftI~ else, 'Ia v atones, tubs, smruks, etc.), Current systems put aU. grey and black water together undergro un d in a s eptic tank 0 r sewer ~ all of thi s water must be chemically treated and ends up polluting our ri vers, s trearns, oceans. and uncle rgrou nd, largely because of sheer volume. Then we buy chemical fertilizers. for our plarns. Instead, we could 'be us-ing the grey water, whicl I is right 1 ~ front: of us to feed OIJi plan IS,. There are food part ides in the kitchen s i nk; [h e re is protein in the bath water, PLants thrive OF.L these things, The waste system for gr-ey water can he ti'ed ill w the garden. This can be done in many way S, bur direct flow 'i s the leas i est.

, .r

16

When the grey water is reused, the septic tank Oil' sewer needs. become minimal because OE ly black water from the toilet is sent 10 it, Carrent sep tj C' tanks and sewer sys terns a re so large beca use they have to' dea [ with the shower, dishwasher, clothes washer, etc __ . alto ge ther, A muc h srn aller septic tank fu r 'black water only may even 'be contained, or at least have a minimal effect on surrounding areas. Sewer systems lor cities would also be much more mana gea ble wi th only black water. The reuse of gr,ey water would, of course, mean watching what you put down your drain • (!tIJ Drane or lHtrrnfu] chemicals

Gas svstem: r5~+'; h~ii

Since gas is the least o:f:fensl'l,If'; system in

con venticnal 110 us i ng,~ earl y Ea rthshi ps 'th a. t. do not quire make it all the WHJ'Y to total independence. should use gas as :;II back-up. This should still be for as few need s as possible,

H DUse ,as ~1eth~u"te Plant:

:nrts. . (m,e thane) can be rna de from se wage and comp ost, Ideally .. Earthships CQU ld produ ce enough ga s from 'til e ire om po S t and blac k Water septic tanks to dca 1 with their own ga s needs _ A [ this point, gas 1 s on Iy req uired for cooking and backup hot water. Domestic. methane could eas ily meet ttl is. demand",

M'ater'ials srsrem:

The shape and fa bri C 0 f an Ea rth ship II1 us I grow out of the ; I natural" resource 8 of au r age. This includes anything that appears on the planet in large quantities and in many areas, These materials ami the techniques for using them must be accessible' to the common person in te rms .of P rice and ski ll requ ired to use them. The Jess energy requ ired tc turn 8J found obleet into a usable building material the better. Designs for Earthships must relate to the' dire ct 1IJ51e (with I m Ide or no modificat ion) of natural resources of the 2J.st century.

Oollr~t.3l~!t' ~ d.Hver~~' ,til!

1b ~ l iiI~!j l r~{:" g 11 FIi9 e E' n. ~,e·.r

rah~b; ~.at.Jh; r:tif tl'l'ii" I'i,O'l!~Hl' pr(! OWei£' mar'-e' Q~r'gol9e'

M.<!'i!Qrj~1:s: aF~ bit"IOlUqht 1I'oQl ~hi:!' f:Oilftri.i::C'~:~OIi'l ~it,.. .al"id! ~s~'·~ll'IbT;£'.a in to ~ n(loIJSe"

Gl5l"b. ~Il' is' ~ekil'd up tc!- Ibi:!' !!I'~:U""'tFlE! m to. ~ h. l~.;.al nc~o1in9 .c:e-I'!:',;;;-r

RllC:Y(;~lING ClNTEIf] M.a·~,t;'r;a 1'::: ~n s(lodE'd

HOllse as Asse,mblage. o:fBY~·nroduc£s.

An Earthship of the furure should make use. 0 f In digenous materials" th ose OC'CIll mug natural 1 y J n an area, For centu ries, hou 8 ing has 'been bu i It from found rna terral s such. as rock earth, reed s and logs. Now, there are mounta ins. of by-products of our civilization that are alreadv made and delivered to all areas. 1J:use are the~

,

, ,

m;WJrai 'f"fSOlJ.rce'S of t.he twe..n.tv4u·,'u centur». An Earthship must make use of these via techniques available to the common person. In a time when. mortgage payments take up 75% of monthly income, home lessness is an epidemic, and. the stress is becoming a. disease, housing InUS~ return to the grasp

or tb~ htdi·\'.idual.. -

,8.

..

· ,

M'ondart svs,hi!·m:

Because the. Earthsh ip itself provides all of the systems upo(n which the inhabitant W ould be: spend ing much. mone y , and the faet tim t the Earthship, inherently in .j ts concept and design, is 'Very acces sible to the common pers OUl. the: dependence up on the existing monet ary system W ould 'be greatly reduced, ~h us red ucing stress to both people and me planet.

House as a M,ethod fbrJ)uN ivaL (MQ!1e.,y}:

The ideal vis ion off the' Earthship would therefore be - a 'it esse 1 tha [ provide s 'both spac e all d sy s re I11.S for hUIDa ns and edible plants, inde p enden tIy.~ th rou gh irs own :i nterfa c in g wi th nam raJ phenomena. I'll i s would re duce and ultimately remove _ the stress involved with living "'I"' th -1' c nl anet both to h' urnans and the

.. , ¥' .. , ,_' ..... a u ,., y' ,['.".J! l!, ,'.n. ,,-, ,L,I,'.'" '''' ;:ijJJ"", u ....

rest of the planet. This con cept of li ving ~ (independent voyage V'~. dependent trap), could change 'the n S,ilJY lie of me human mind itself. It could provide a, basis, and a direction for conscious evolu lion on the: Barth,

This is 3, 'Y isi em for torn OnO W to insp i re l1S" N ow ~ what CM we Wz today?

TODAY

The bummer fac lOIS of exi sting housing are:

- it is con tinu ally increasing the need for the monstrous s y stems W hkh are failing and flailing and destroying the planet

- hs location is Iimi ted relative to the availability of systems

- it is non-functi onal withou ~ system s

- its mel), ad of manifestation

contribu res to the stres 5 level of both people and tile planet

A 11 j ndcpcndeat vessel must:

-be able to func lion any where

-decrease and I..! i umaie ty d ispense wi,th

the need for the outs ide systems w hie h cu rrenf 'if support the living compartment

-be access ible to common people

-grow food

-deal llivith it, own waste and by-

products

-rnake i [8 own energy

-rnake its own temperare c1 i rna re

inside

-make lise of the l:, Y -products 0 f tl e twenty-fnsr century

A n of this m us L 00 done by j me rfacing wi lh 11 at IJ ral phenomena, without any conne cti on to Ol,l ts ide sou rces,

WHA.T (S ,MEANT BY INTER:F- CING

"Interfacing" I,S a word which is used a lot, these day s, Wb en a so lar electric system or a wind powered e lecrrie system j s hooked up to the exis ting po ~ver grid, and more power ! s needed than can be pro _ ided by the solar or wind electric S,)I 8 tem , it is provided by the power grid. cWhen there is an excess of solar or wind gene rated electricity. it goes back t.o the. power' grid" TI:1i,s :E8 caned 'interfacing wi th me ex i sting power g rid. I

I~

Interfacing is a dance 'betw-een two systems In the example above, the solar/wind system interfaces with [he existing system 8!TId [hey give and take, back and :form" t is a dance! a w a ve ~ a, pul S,I;'! ~ an ali gnment, as eppo sed to mere 1y tak ing from the ex ist ing power sys tern,

An! mals and tree 8 iate rface with th e natu ral phenomena of the. planet, A tree grows out of 'the plane t, fe e d s from the planet, dies, rots bac k int 0 the planet! an d i is offsp ring feed from the m t that the tree bee arne, It breathes the carbon dioxide given off by aalmals, and provides oxygen for anlm a ls W breathe _ Trees, and anima ls are a cti v e pa rticipan ts in En e processes 0 f the P lanet an d each other.

Humans' lifestyle, including housing, is not interfacing with [he planet. 'We are gelling further and further a,way from [he processes of the pla L1C L Cu rrentl y. we are bas i rally taki ng

20

from the planet, while \\;e are not returning anything useful to the planet. Our life [5 on the planet, but [lot .Qf the p lanei,

~::rIite'rfa ce: A poi nt a! wh ich reJ ati ve systems 'i nteract

D ef'a c e: To mat or spoil the surface or appearance of: di sfigure.i

E xl sting b ou ses. due to (he fa,cl' tha t the y are rota lly s ~ pportcd by destruct i 'II e out- of -conrrol systems, contribute to the d£tJacing 0:[ the planet, A. new concept of housing must ~,nterface, with the planet. By j nte rfaci ng with the planet, it supports us as humans whi le s uppo rt ing the planet as an o.r,g anism _ T11~ S recogni zes both the plane ~ and the re ~ ali "V e system s. Thi s requ ire s aJ igning ou rs elv es with the p roce 5S es of the 'P lane ( and

'I • f I'" U ' •

reeva uaung 011T concept 11), .L!'VHlg. rtousmg ,HI

how we, lrve: we may have to begin to reev eluate how we live in order to relate to a new' concept of hous ing,

There are many existing 'natural phenomena which result in remperarure. energy j food production I and al ~ thin gs we need to sustai n life, We mus t learn to al ign ou rse 1 yes wi th these phenomena -, to, 1 nterface w i ~,h I'hem. \"'1 e

I, Wcb:';~!s, H, New 'fUvl;:rs:i.;j(!: DL'Ci,ioC];;'IIji. Be:rk~~e}' J3;ook:s, Ne-w YOil. 19S4.

must ere [.,I te a vessel which he l ps us to do ttl is.

Th 'b. ' ~, .1-... 1-.

. lOU gn interfacing WI tj ~ e xist ing pj ren omena

on site, the vessel must provide an environment wh i ch wi II sustai n h u ma: l I i fc. Ttl is is a vis i on 3J,ry cOlu:;e;p r, wit tell can no t be achie ved overnight, 'We will only be' able to create a, facs,i mi le of this u I tim So te i nterfaci n g v es se I - the Ea rthsh 1 p. Flo wever This i 8 the' fi,t's,a step toward the v.ision of the ulrimarc interfacing vehicle. The fac8im'i~e interfaces wi~'h the Sun an d. the Earth an d be g:i ns to take ca re of III 1); but we must accept the fact tha 1. i't is not nearly as evolved em the: It i s ion _ It i 5: sirn ply a step i IlJ the d i rec tion of the vi sion.

Our minds can. move toward the t rut h more swi ftlv t han ou r

..

bodies and emotions.

r-",[.'1'Ii; ........ ::"

........ ~ I - - •• _ - r !ilL"

'f.~ _ ....... -

" '!'br P'>!:,t_ ..... ~"':"L !

.-., ..... ~.

--

~ :..1,. • ~

.. "'I __ .- II! -. . I - r-

~

'.":"~ .. "' .... T - ·"'o-J~T~~ """CM "'"~... '"T.!- .... ~F

..

--

".

= ....... -

WE CAN ALIGN OURSELVES ·W~TH NATlJRAL PHENOMENA AND ]NTERFACE WITl"i· THEM

22

THE EARTHSHIP AND ITS RELAT~ONSH.n") TO TH:E CAR

The inventors of the automobile perhaps had vi s i ens of fa. s ter, smoo I her ve hie les rol Ung 0'11 wheels, such as Ihle cat.') we have today: however, the best they could produce with their current industry and technology was the Model T. Likewise, our current rechnol I) gy lod a y rna kes E a rthsh ips b a re ly functions l! perhaps, even erode, rel ative to '[he vis:LQJl 0. the concept, It :is only a step away rrom the dependent house, hut it is a significent step" Future Earthships will keep evolving toward that vision, as a Medel T evolved into a. 1990 Porsche,

The au tornobile was an i n vent ion and a. vi·· ion; however, this vis i on was limite d. The inventors did not. envision the planet filled

. 'h "'1· f . , b

wrtl m: ~ ions 0.. cars emuung car .em

monoxide, or cities filled with traffic jams, m akin g 1 j fe 5. 0 11m heal all y one cou Id ba rel y walk down the sidewalk. The car has evolved W the point where it could be the wrong t.hing now, due "0 fumes, noise, pollution. the depen dency on OJ 1, and ~ he stress ~'t puts on [he planet. The concept 0' moving along in a capsu le rn a y be fi ne, bu t there need s 10 'be a new kind of vessel, ] he concept of a gasaline fueled vessel must be evol eel beyorl d th e depe nden c y on gasol j ne, the emission of pollutants and the noise.

Likewise, the house must 'be developed into a. llJC'W kind of vessel. ]t is, merely a package nnw .-. an empty box, I f there wen! enl y a fe w 'Of these houses scattered around the planet, there wouldn't 00 a problem, But, when an idea 0:1" vision is taken relative 'to people, 'who keep m u ~ tip] ying, i [ 100 rn 1.1 S I be' mul Hpl icd. Simply multiply each i nvention limes 1 bi Ilion i ] f Henry Ford h ad taken the l\.lodd T ti mes 1 bi llion, hie would have thought of the pollu tan ts, and the gasol i ne depe nde ncy as problems, Existing housing bas similar problems .• it requires a massive amount of' ene i,gy and se wage s y s 'ems which in turn. pollute the environrnent. This housing times 1 billion JS going (0 kill all of 'Us ~UJd make our pi anet uninhabitable.

Next consider the concept or the Earrhship times 1 billion, h. is. interfacing with the planet, not stressing it. Compare this to multiplying tree rimes 1 billion; there is no real 'pro blem, If we are going to inte rf ace. we must look to trees, animals. rivers, etc, to see the rules of interfacing. ]f we are to design a v e 5 5 el wh i ell. won It ba c kfi re in the future, .j a must be Icoked at on a mass scale. Vle mU:H envision what h would. be like to live in the midst of Earfhships, which [emit no pollutants, deal with their own waste, are partially covered w Ith earth, and require no outside systems. This is Iike standing amongst l 'billion trees, instead of ] billion cars, Our

,C1HIiCrU housing and automobile sltuation sh ows the sh Oft8 ~ ghl [ed ness of our vis ion. The concept o.f the Eanhship is prepared to evolve: it has a broade r vision. The way in. w hi ch ~f tree in rerf aces w] th the earth is 'the fcnnar for how the indepe.ndem vesse 1 should e vel ve. We m IJS [ begin lit leaning toward ~h is v i s .. ion. ('" See A CcuttEng of Wi.zanb~ Chapter 6, J\.iichaeJ Reynolds) It cannot '1Je done overnight: bur, if well Ita 0_ in that dlreetfon, we are p'articip,ating tn eur own ey'OJQU'tm and gh'ln,g oarselves a chance for survival.

E VO.I"IU'fION Of' OUR LIFESTYLE$ RELA TIVE TO THE VESSEL

I t :~ S pro babl e that, even. if we di d ba ve [he ultimate interfacing vessel available [0 iUS now, Vile wouldn't be able to survive in h. We would have to evol ve our r iv ing habits toward what the vessel could provide. Far 'instance, our diets. would change. The vessel could not produce packaged microwave din-men and other processed foods. so we would have to lean eu r diets toward what i't em] ~ d produce ~ fruits, vegetables, and grains. The Earthship will continue to evolve to be abl .. e to produce me re f Q od S, as w.e c on ~j nne to 1 ean toward a new diet. Current Earthships do provide growing spaces fc·r plants, with the living spaces Iur people. These grow.mng spaces are easy to care for because they are in the "path 0. everyday Iiving". BUL because they cannot

supply everything, we must supplement the vessels with grocery stores, Ultimetely, as both we and 'the Earthship evolve, we will be' a ble to grow aJ J of Oil r o wn food, and red uce or diss 0. ~ vie our need for packaged food s, Th is is true of all needs. As. we "lean" 01:11' lifestyles toward what the Earthship can provide, we evolve the Earthship toward what we meed, Someday we win meet.

.24

JUST AS MOSS GROWS ON 'TH E NORTH SIDE OF TREES ..

PEOPLE \VILL FLOURISH ON THE SOOTH SIDE OF MOUNTAINS

26

• I

J

2,1 L'OCA TION

INT.E..RFACIN'G '\VlTH LOCAL

PI I E"NO"'M'E' -'N' A

, ~ ., ~"' .. :., .. n.

~ With what can we inter f~u~e?

~ How d,D these :pheno ITU~H] a wor'k?

~ How is an Earthship placed on a site?

F 11 the N orthem Hem isphere, mOS,$ grows on 'the t.l orth 3] de of tree s and snow me'! IS on the south s i de of mountains If you wan r a Io g to f] oat downstream, you rnu $1 place h in the Ci!l rrent, no I rJ ear the S.'tHJ re in an eddy, Earthships must also be placed for optimum interaction with natural phenornen a" Thi s chapter explores the: na t~ rid phenomena of the plane l and explains how to '111'00 rfa ce an Earth ship in to the exi sling phenom ena of rbe area.

THE PHENOMENA

The Eanhsh ip was deve lope d at 37 de g rees North latitude and at an altitude of 7000 feet, The winters get a slow as 3 0 ~ below ze ro an d the s ummers as hi g h as ] 00'" F. 111 this climate of ex trernes , (he Ea: thship (through interfacing with natural phenomena) maintains a temperature of 6Y - 759 F w~~h no backup beating or cooling systems. These extremes, have demanded e'~lo1L.H~O[' of ~he Earrhship's performance, both tin terms of heating and cooling itself, The phenomena helve been studied in theory and reality, and the in terracing methods ha V~ evolved l11 roug h te S tl ng and exper r menta t ion, so th at at this point, the Earthship can be taken almost anywhere,

\Ve win first explain how these phenomena determine [he design of the Earthship in Northern New Mexico, This wHI provide an understanding of how ro relate to these' phenomena as design determinants. At the end of the chapter, we wil I. di scu 50 how the fnLerfadng with these same phenomena varies in d i ffe ren [ C lirnares.

The phenomena with which the Earthship inter faces are aU related to the four elements, FIRE ~ :EARll,l, A IR and 'V A TER.

FIRE

F~re provides ,HEAT~ LIGHT and ENER.GY. The SUN is unarguably our major source .of the above. The s un 'is a. natura I phenomenon ~

Com .... entiona ~ housing cornpa nmeo rs shield the Jiving spaces from the sun, thus: disregarding it as a potential source of heal. light. and energy,

An Earthship must en eo unter the sun and interface with h to gather this llmitless hear, light and energy, This suggests a differ,ent shape for the compartment, and an 0 rl entation toward the SUIl,

28

'I I

, ,

"

J.ts

111[$ in turn suggests e,n analysis and understanding of th is phen omenon called sun. We must u n ders ta nd '[his f'l re in orde r to interrace with it

S 11.1 fII I Ea rt b Rt~,at ionsn Ips Orbh

TIle Earth orbits around the Sun once a year.in an elliptical path (the shape of an oval)" and at an average distance of about 93 million miles

1:50 million kilometers).

,Earth Axis

The Earth also spins about its own axis. which accounts for the apparent rising and setting of the sun.

.T~_I~

TIle lH t of the Earth is 23 1/2'j from the plane of its solar orbit, which is why On the N orthern Hernis pnere) the Sun appe ars lower in the sky in the winter and higher in the sky in [he. summer.

The opposite L true in the Southern Hemisphere, Due £0 th is ti h, the S·lH1 comes, to Northern Ne w 'M'e", ico at abo tll 3 O~, re lat ive to [he su rf ace of the earth, in (he wi nter ~

~'"

SUN

SUN'S RAYS

and abOUE Tl" .. relative to the surface of the: earth, in the s umme r.

tNEW M:EXWCQ *' 5UttMER' * JUNE 21

\~UN

J

Solg:i.c,e I Equh.l.Q}i.

The sun wil ~ appea r at differen tang les in. the sk y from ili ffe rem loc ~~ tions on th .. e gl 0 be. Relative [0 the NO'r~:bem Hemisphere, it is always ,at its Iowest point in the .. ky on the day called the wimer solstice, and at its highest on the su.mmer solstice.

These dates are Decem bet 21 and Ju ne 21, respect! vdy. In [he Southern Hem isphere, II is the opposite .. Midway between [these points are the two equinoxes. M'arch :n and September 21., on which days the sun is i n the In l dpo int 'between its sctstice positions. i,e. strai ght: above the equator,

Ahitude

The apparent. height of ! he sun c an be measurcd as its angle above the horizon plane of the earth. This is. called its olutude.

30

... -

(-

There Is a difference of 47 degrees between its summer and winter altitudes, as seen from New Mex teo at noon"

LOCAtION = USJENIAT[QN

IN NORTHERN NEW' MEX'ICO~ ANn .ANYW HERE AT ABOUT 37.' NORTH LA TITunE~ TH.E SUN IS AT A 30~ AL TmJDE AT NOON ON TIlE COLDEST DAY OF THE ·'YEAR. THE. ~·tOST IMP OR l' ANT THERMA L PR~ ORITY FOR 111 IS AREA IS GE'M'lNG 'ENOUGH HEA] THROUGH mE \VINTSR, THER.EFOR]::.! 'WE :FA CE THE 'QL,A.!]NG OF ItJ:E EARTIi:SHJP liD TIlE SQUm, . . AND rn.r THE or .. ASS AT ,60· ']'0 BE PERPEND1CULAR TO THB SON AT rrs LO,V POINT. mJS REDUCES REFLECTION TO A M]NIMUM .IN W[NTER WHEN HEA"U ]'S NEEDED.

W:iNTIR

Gl ASS Piml"END It'UL A~ TO. "i!(INTI~R suN

T HIS SLOPE ALSO RESULTS TN CONSIDERABLE REFLECTION IN l HE SUMME'R~ \>\;'[1EN HEAT IS NOT WANTED.

SUMI'MER

31.

.Azimuth

'These same phen omena. ,:i] S 0 accou nt feu: ~he change in length of days between summer and winte r, The sun ts nor only highe r in the sky in the summer, hut 8:150 goes through 3. wider plan arc, or az i m UJ h. In northern NeW' M ex ice, [he su mrner azim lith ~ 8 abo ut 240 ~ while the winter azimuth angle is about 120'. This means tha~ the win £e Ii sun rises 6 (f east 0 f south and sets at 60~ west of south. \Vhen h eaii ng is and issue. these winter angle s m us t be related to in the front glass face conflg ura ti on.

60!!! II:i W',INiER Afn:R~DOfil

W 1flf.Tlt:R ~ 60' ~

MDRN u .

SUN

LOCATION - CONfIGURAtION

AN EARms.HJ.p IN NORTHERN NEW MEXICO SHOULD HAVE A. FLAT FRONT .FACE, .!F .HERE .ARE TO BE ANY PA.RTS THAT ARE PULLED FORWARD OF OTHER SEGh,1ENTS, THEY SHOULD RELATE TO THE 'WINTl~R ALl MOTH ANGLE Of 6W. SO AS NOT TO

CREATE ANY SHADOWS THAT WOULD BLOCK SOLAR GAIN.

60'"

MmU~ING SUN

So'lar Arc

ln combination, (altitude and azimuth changes) th e $JU n appca rs W rno ve through 01.1 r sky in a 3 - dime iii s j on a r solar arc 1 as the earth rota tes.

32

I"'"

This path changes every day from shortest and lowest on the winter solstice 10 longest and highest 0[1 the summer solstice. It is always syrnmesrical about. ,~'L5 high point (its zenith) at no 011, which also poi nrs to true sout h,

LOCATIO&S.lRAT.EG Ie "'Jf4.

EARTHSH.IPS ,IN NORTI-LERN NEW MEXICO ARE POSITIONED SO THt\ T THEIR NORTH·SOUTH

I

SU""IME~ SUNSET

l~ ~ ~

AX 1 S J S SLIG HTLY . ro.rs DEGREES) EAST or-

rs U E SOUTH. TlUS A LLOWS THEM TO CATCH TJ .IE HLYt"T OF THE SUN A UTILE EARLlER IN TH E \'\1 i NTE R MORN ~NGS.

Percent Solar PQ}s.ihte.

Different points On the globe; get different amounts of sun hine. but places along the ,same lat itude ~ ines see Ute same nurn ber of sun hours on 1I.IlY given day. Aha places along the same lat i tude. wi U see [he su n at the same altit u des, This means the solar orientation for an Eanhship wil I be the same on any given Iathudc assuming [he elevation above sea leve) 1S the same. Climate obviously varies with elevation differ "nee.

Place's that are on the same latitude may not get the same amount of actual sunshine, due to douds, smo g, haze o r any other condi Ii ons dun might hi ock out the su n. .

"_UrATION ,SOlJTUERN EXPOSURE

ON DECEMBER 21,. \VHEN TI-IB :SlJN IS AT rrs lOWEST rO~NT ,mN THE SKY, rr IS ONLY 30 DEGREES ABOVE THE HORIZON Nt NOON, AN EARTHSHIP IN NORTHERN NEW I\tEXJCO MUs-r IJE LOCATED WUE8E THERE \V,ILL BE NO OBSTRUCnONS 'fHA.T MIGliTBLOCK 'THJ.S LOW VnNTER SUN. A FEW DE:C~DUO S TREES (THOSE r,B.AT WlLL.lQSETHEi'R lEi\VES IN THE 'WiNTER, THER,EFORE LITnNG SUN THR:OUGH \VlIEN rr is MOST NEEDED) ARE OKo\ v.

EARTH

The earth re ewe ~ e.s., stores an J refines [he he a r j energy, and HgJl[ from the' SlHL There are many earthly phenomena in lved in these processes, Since "the Earthship 'receives the Stitt much the S ame as the earth itself dO'!;5", j t wou ld

obvlously employ the same processes of interf.ad ng wa th the MJ!1 th ~t the earth itsel ruses"

Heat

A brief discussion of the way heat moves (thermodynamics) is necessary here 'to explore these processes.

:Hcat Ene rgv

Heat energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be convened into ether torrns, chanl1~:fed to and contained in spec i f G pJ aces, Wha rever re fie wa ble energ y sou rce is 1:0 cal I y available, there is a. way h) convert it into a form we can use and put it in a place we can

..;I'

use it from, Heat' energy can be converteo into

electrical, chemical, (if mechanical energy'.

,He,at Transfer

When free interchange of heat takes place. it is always from the hotter (place or body) no the colder, The ho ner wi U ] 0. se energy and the colder will gal" energy until a state of equilibrium is auained. Cool mass walls will absorb the sun's heat, but when the sun gees down and the air in the room coo Is, the heat wi t \, slowl Y he drawn, back ou t: of 'the wa ~ ~

conduction

The process of heat energy moving through a" material (the sun heats the south, side of a, mass wall and the he-at moves th.rou,gh tbe waJU to the room 'On the north side of me wall) ,

34

~-.

radiatitm

R~[(~ iant ene rgy is ira nsrn i tted as e I ectrom agne tic rays 1 '~'l,r hich can travel th rou g h space

even a vacuum. They heat any object w hi ch in tercep rs lh em (the. su n h eaf J1 g the earth and yo u).

con vection

Con V~'Cl ion is; the movement of hea [ in 1 iqui d or gas- The source heats the gas and the ell rrenrs wi thin th a l .1 i q ILL i d or gas carry the he at 'W you _ (S u br 1 e heat r ro m warm therrna l mass. travels through the air to warm you).

Comt~mt Zone

The comfort 201U is the set of cond i lions at which humans are com fort 8J ble to perform everyday rasks. It is. 4. very different set of c and i nons fo r each I oea lion an d c u lture, bu t a11 are affected by some of the same en vironmental phenomena:

ambient air temperature

the temperature of the air surrounding the body (without taking humidity into account) relative humi'dity

the percentage of water vapor in the air tel a tiveto to max imurn amount of water \f apor h can ho Id at a gi ven temperature

air movemen: or speed

how fast me air is rnov J ng adj ace nt to the body! it can be ~ffect.ed by ventilation temperature of adiacent objects

Somer ~ me s ca lled mean radian I temperatur e ~ th i sis the effect of heated mass upon a bod y (i f the air in a mom is eool, but the walls -a.nd

floe r are wa rrh, then the ,12~;:[C c i v c d te mpe ra ~ lure is h igher)

lr~acr

AU .. matter is made up of rnolecu les wh ich have weight or- llUJ.JS (weight is actually the effect of gravity upon mass),

specific heal

All rna ss has the abi ~i t y to 8 rore heat, yel, some s ubstances 11.a ve the ab' 1 i ty ! C h ol d TIl Ore heat per unit weight than others. The term for rhis capacity is spec if c heat,

t.he.nrwl conduct \lj:1:y

Thermal conductivity is a measure of how fast heat is conducted through :.I unit thickness of a substance,

thermal ,ltMSS

Th e rmal mass is. a te rtf} for any mas s us-ed to h I) ~ d 0]" Con rain tempe 11:'8 litll re. For ex ample, OU.:r bodies are made up of about 90% water ... Our bodies hold a 98 Q temperature due to the thermal mass of this water, The Ideal materj,a~ fur thermal mass would hold a 1.10 ~ 0 f hea ~ ,j{JJ nd :g.i ·,,"11 :i t nff 0 ,"'Ie Ul' a J 0 n g per i 0 d. of 1: lme. .V'{ ater is Cine of the bes t natural. materials with regard to these prope rt ies, Earth; ad obe sand, 'rock, brick and e oncrete are a:ISQ good therm a I mass materials. Earth is. the .1 east: expen sive a.nd mos t read i I Y. available, however, and can also 'be s ra bihze d for structure. This is why it is the idea 1 rna teri al :fOor the Earth ship. The Hl.O re den se rhe matter, the more heat j t 'will hold, Therefore tightly packed or rammed earth 'is a

very good container or "battery" for storing "comfort zone" temperature in.

LorA I ~ON ~ MASS

l-HE r.NDJViDUAL SPACES U.E. ,INTER.IOR AI'R VOLUMES) WrrHJN m,E EARTitSHIP h,tU~T BE lND.[VID UA ~ ... L Y s UR ROUNDED BY /\.B'U N DA NT DENSE MASS TO STORE A' 0 (;.EVE OfF THE riEAT OBTAll\ffiD fROM TI-lE SUN_ 11=1£ HI'GHEH. THE VOLUf.ir.1E OF MASS, RELA TJV E TO THE iit.1 R SPACIl YOtJ ARE l'R VI -0 TO HEA.. T. LrHE MORE STABLE YOUR COMFOR.T ZONE COULD :BE, THIS CAN BE ACHIE\:rED BY VERY THICK INTERIOR 'W AU ... S ANI) SU:SM,ERGING THE VESSEL JNTO THE MASS OF mE ,EA~.TH /\S MUCH A!) POSSIBLE. ,IN NORTHERN NEW MEXI'CO, SOlJTH .~]jOPJNG HIlLS!DES ARE 1 HE .BEST, B~CA Sf: THE EARTI-ISHIP CAN HE SUNKEN INTO THE MASS OF THE H1LL WITHOUT H:A. VING TO DIG ,A, PIT IN fRONT FOR l.EIT~ NG St1 N rN.

, henna I Move: rnertf

'When ~I su bs ta nee' is hea ted, it wi I ~ ex pan d ~ when i t is Coo led + i [, 'IN i 11 com ract, Earth ~ concrete, WOO(L, and all building maicria! .. are affecte d1 'by weathe r in th 1 S WB. "f. TI1 is is ca Lied therma! moven-len~ ~ and can cause a briule material like concrete or masonry to crack. Maso nry bu i ld i ngs may also be pushed by the swelling 01 frozen eanh or water around their foundation walls. An Earthship is more "of the Earth," and ~E will accept and experience similar tiler-rna! movement [I,) that of the Earth, Con ~H~~~ U entl y; j I 'wi 11 move ow L th the E a rill rather than res j:) t:i.rl.g it, it is. very ex pensi ve to mak e fou ndat ions th a ~ res is t the Earth. A 11 Earthship must 'i nterface wi dl the Earth! rather t11i!tIl resist h .

.'LOCATION -.SOIL

EARThI'SH.!PS MLlST BE SUIL"r QVT Of EARTH ON STA,HL.E, LlND/STURRED £liR1"H. 11-i'E

36

......

DES]GN ]S N o-r MEA. NT TO RES,IST TH~ EA Rn~, BUT ro JOIN H.

Enerav and ] .lsht

". ,,~. ' L ~ _

Green eel Is in the lea yes, of plan ts and tree s h a rvest the S u n's energy. They change the S unlighr 'i nrc chemical energy by the process of photo synthes is. This chem ica ! (food) energy l s then transponcd to [he rest of the p I an t for LIse .Q r sto rage.

To make the: most 'Of th is phe nomen on ~ the Earthship must provide sunlit areas for photosynthe si s to happe n wit']] i n i ts interior space, This allows fo r year round growing of ed ible p lams _ The Earthship rnu Sl be oriented towa rd the sun for this to be' possible.

In :lI.d~.titl.on t.o this ~ the Earthsh ip mas t perform a similar "harvest" for electrical cner,gy,. Photovol ra 1 c celts. mo unted on th e roof 'Of the

, " . - ". -

Earthship, change sunlight into electrical e ne r gy.. wh ich ,C an rh en be 1 ran s p 0 rted to batteri es for storage and use.

N,a~u ral sun] ight can often be LJ. sed m n ste ad of an.i.fi cial electtical ~ ight, if i [ is. app ropri atel y al lowe d into an irueri or space. Th is re i nf'o rces l he solar 0 rien tat Ion of the Earthsh ip once again .

life

TIlt' interfacing of the Earth! wi ~h the sun {and with water) is responsible for what we call i ife, There are certa i n .f1!1T.1ni ens 0 f 1 i fo£: itse I f t~hal rnu st be interfaced by the Earthship.

The. bios phe re is the reg i em surrou nding '[he Earth that supports life. Thi s 1 ncludes the a 1- mosph er e. the hydro sphere [oceans), and the .l uhos . here ~ Ole oute r la e r of the Earth,

Everything between, inc,iuding all of life. is powered by rhe sun. The Jess we pollute me biosphere the better it will be able to support us. The sun is the most abundant energy source available, it is free and its direct use does not harm OU!I' blo phere, where as man made power plamls are destroying it

food chain

Through photosynrhesis, the sun's energy is, s to red iti p lants j ai id can 'then be used by animals ~ including humans, for the i r ene rgy.

Thou s a nds of plants be come the fa 00. f OF hu ndred 8 of small cream res who are eaten by .s core: S of larger etc 3 t ures, who are eaten by single large predators. in ,ii natural commnn i ty, there are just enou gh 0 f eacb type o'r organism to feed the next group and still have en 0 UJ g h s u rv i YO rs to props gate the spe ci e s.

The intertwinings of life, death, and decomposition are continuous natural lite cycles.

production

The inclusion of greenhouse space ~n the Earthship des ign brings some of these processes into everday Hfe, ~nd in doing SO~ als 0 con scrv e s the ene,rgy 0 r commercia 1 food production. Energy does not need to be used for centralized growing of food, (possibly using very mcch of it W raise ] ivestock), then packaging and transporting the. food products '['0 a Iccal market, refrigeraring them; and ff~naUy bringing them home. By interlacing our homes with natural phenomena, lhey C.aJfI produ ce rnuc It of lh c food we. need, there hy greatly reduce general energy consumption.

(]eotherma~

'The e arth is not on I y. heated by the su n, but i heated from withi n. The rreme nd ou .. ' pres su re of g sa vi ty pill] I s the ent i re m ass 0 f the earth to ,t rs cen ~e r, creating heat and me ~ lin g rock i rue magma, The result is called g eo t tte rraa] energy,

GrQund T€mperature

At even 'the outermost layers of the earth r:his heal can be felt, Jus~ four feet below the surface, the ground temperature remains remarkahly constant, especially compared '[0 c I j rna tic cond i tions a bove the g rou nd. A t a fOln foot depth" the ternperarure is usually between 55~ and 60~ degrees F. which ~5 much

38

1'"'11'''

more COm f ortable than weather cond i rion ~ of both summer and winter, By tapping into this natural thermol COn.,i~t£1;'1t1 the Earthship can rema in cons iste nil y comf enable I 'because thi s j s on ly 10 d eg rees a way from t be North American comfort zone of '70 rje'g rees, The

E 'L.. I!... .-

artn ;j,II:iP tempe rs this natural constant up to

"'10" in the 'winter v ia 'tile at from the sun. In the su mmer ~ t.hi8 mass ive cons HUl t lend s '10 drag the ]OO~ air ~empe:mt[JJ're down to 70~.

vue AIION ~ HE rIM

IN NEW MEX1co.j THE DEE PER AN EARTHSHIP CAN BE SUB MBRGED INTO THE EA RTH. "['HE EAS'mR IT 'WILL H,E TO MA!NTAIN A COMFORTABLE 'rEM PERA WRE.

A S UN'KEN GARDEN OR ",PIT" ,/\to\ 'If NEED ',ro BE DUG I N FRONT' Of A S U Bj'vIERGED EARTHSHI P SO TIlt!.. T DESIRED SU NUGHT ]S Nor BLOCKED. MANY UN D.EJ{ GRQU ND BUILDJNGS :HA. VE BEEN

B un.r 'J.'HROUG H. TH E Y EARS,. H' HAS .BEEN CllSTOM:A R Y TO IN 5 LJ LATE THESE B'U I:LDING S A.WAY FROM THE EARTH. AN BART! iSlUP MUST NOT .B,E ]1\ s UL/-\.TED ,FI-~O(yt 'fHE ,E.l\R.TH" rr MUST 'INTERFACE 'W,~TH IT, THUS TAK.ING ADVANTAGE OF THIS T.REMENDOUS THERMAL CON $.1' ,&. NT.

WATER

W ate r in terface S, wit n the Earth, Sun an d Air in many ways to ere ate and sust ain li foe. The Earthahip must both ,avo id and enco unter water to provide hUmHTI. habi EaL

R,unoff

Dille to the movement of and em glac iers, water 'and wind eros ion 1 ea rthqu ake s, volcanos, and other geol og i cal phenomen S". the s urface of the earth h ~3 many Peaks and valleys, 'The 'I argest and deepest valleys are full of water-they are the oceans. Water nOW8 from the high points a] I the 'way down 10 these oceans, 'i fit does not now into an underground. reservoir or evap orate first, Wate r ,~bo conies W the Earth by rain, Th at wh i c h is not a bsorbed into the ground and therefore is free [,0 spi I ~ downhill 'is called runoff, On any site there will be some ] O~ ari OTIS wh ich have less runoff passin g ove r them than othe ~·S,. These a re the be n~f locations 'For Earthships, Interfacing with n atural runoff patterns can C reate a dry pocket or 'j S 1 and for the Earthshi p_

LOCATION ~ lJE1GJlr ON SL_O:rE

THE .BEST LOCA'nON,s, ARE TIlOSE WH CH ARE DRIEST· U S'U.I\LL Y CLOSE. TO TIlE PEAK Of THE HmU. WHERE THERE WILL BE NO WATER RUNOFF FROl\'i HlOHER PLACES.

OBvrOUSL Y f NOT EVERYONE CAN LOCATE ON THE PEAK OF A H ILL. SO RUNOff LANDSCAPi'NG MUST B-E EMPLOYED_ ras MOST carr leAL [SSUE. IS, TO liOT lJOCA TE mE EARTHSWP '\¥HERE THER.E WI L BE: A LOT OF WATER RtJSH]NG TOWARD IT.. RUNOFF SHOULD BE CHANNELED AROUND THE EARll lSI-UP. 1\ VOID PLACES WHERE \VATER. courcrs,

W~I,leJ" Table

'\VaJe r ill at is absorbed in to the ground may he absorbed by roots off plants 0:1: may percolate down into underground voids, Under almost ail)' site there will be snme water, although H may be h u nd reds of fee: t do wn, The depth of this moisture is called the water table. Often it is within 10 feel and may be only a couple of feel down on iii we t s ~te.

LQ CATION ~. MOIST lfRE

\VET SHES MUST BE AVOIDE[). AN E.A,R·n rSHIP MUST BE AT l.EAST .FIVE fEET ABOVE THE W A 1ER T A.B.LE~ RECORDS ARE OFfEN KEPr .fOP: TIE Av'ERi\GE WATER TABLE 'OF A SITE, AND FOR THE HHJH.EST POSSIBLE W'ATER TABLE [N THE:SPR.H~G, TH.E BES r nnso TODD IS TO HAVE A HOLE DUG; IN THE HEIGH1- Of THE SPRlh'G RUNOFF SEASON, DO\"lN BELOW ~rHE :lOWEST POINT THAT THE EARTH:SHIP WILL KlTENTIALL Y OCCUpy, iF 11lE EAN.TH

40

I I

AN EARTHSHW MAS EVEN srr ON TOP Of 11 IE GROUND. ]F IT IS DRY. AN D W AMPLE DlR -r (1\ N IrE OBTAINED TO J3'ERM UP TO THE ROOF k~l..l AROUND TIlE llOUS ii., OFTEN TI1.E Dl R T CAN BE OBT,.4JN,~D Ii)! DIGGING A SLIGHT RUNOFF MOAT AROUND THE EARTI~151 HP.

,FIVE fEET BELOW 11' lEE A:RTH S ~ :I lP Ft,O OR 1 S TOT AJ ... iL.Y' DRY, THERE SHOULD BE NO PROBLEM, I.F WATER IS D ISCOVER.E D, TH:E F.LOQ,R S,HOU:LD BE PLA NN ED TO BE 'WELL ABOVE ITI OR ANOOl{ER LOCA 'T:ro~ SHOUtJj BE CHOSEN.

iMGA1

~

Sprhags

Springs are srnal ~1 contained ~ naturally occurring! is trearns of water, An 11 nderground spring :i s to a water table as a stream is, to a I ake on the surface. If an undergro und spring is discovered on the site, it can be channe led

-

directly through the Earthship to be used 'for pl an ts, humi d it y" etc,

- .... ~.

m "

... JI/Ij,

".~. ' ~~'

. 'l: .

,\"',;,:' ,~

, 1l!, ;~. 'Yl.

~I

, ...

, Ii!!i 1-,

,

a\ - 'E :-1'1!

RaIn

Since Earthships interface with existing runoff, the i r rOQ f wa te r c an be combine d with ru noff patterns and caug hl ~ n c i ste rn s (catch water s. sterns) for domestic use.

'\i-Ve~ls

If enough domestic water us' not made ava i J able v i a springs and/or cis terns. then a we II is necessary,

, --

:.g:f"/[/'Yff.;<i ·~D;E~-g.~.o~rfU_ ~~T~~ t-A~~E'. :}f:j.:·~:::·-':::::·';)f I ~>?

In this case the well can be pumped with electric energy harveste d by the power S ystem of the E arthship, whi ch C aJ1 be s ~ n Or wind generate d. Still. po we r S y oS terns are a re s u J ~ of photovo Ita ie p~ t'lC Is on the southern face of the vessel. Win d de 1,1 ices can be 'i ncorporate d i tUO the structu re in [he areas where (he win d 'I S a relia ble source of ene rgy,

AIR.

A if pla ys an important .1'0 Ie in the processes ilia l ~ uppo rt life. The re are also patterns a'nd c ha rae reri S rics of ai r moveme nt which. when. aligned with, enhance the livability of a human habitat,

:R es I)·i Ira l' len

Ca rbon d loxi de' m LJ S l be present for pho rosynthesis in '~.reerIJ plants. Bv-oroducts of this

~. ~ ~

process are 0 Kyge.n a 11 d water v apor, which

ca n be II sed in the respi rati on of animals, who exba le more carbon di 0X l de _ On a huge scale j there is a global breathi ng exchan ge going on b e tween aJ 1 plants ,S! nd a U .8Jn i rna h. B y [.'1.] U ii ng: dewn th cram n fo res 1: s, we' ate eutt i ng nff (I ur own oxyg'cti sdp'ply..

The breath exc hange Can take place on a small scale 'Ins ide an Earthsh ip,

·\\.-rj,nd

Wi nd is created by the uneven s olar heal in g 0 f .1 a rge m a s.ljes of air, The' ai r ri ses as it gel S heated, push lng an d. p u I ling the ai r masses around it.

'~

42

Often win d :i s predictable due to cl j mat ic an d geo graph ic cond itions, and wi] I COme from. one direction PI on of the. time, H' there 3 s Z) uch a pr'C'vaUing wind, 'i t, can be, interfaced w i.ltm, for ven tila ion or powe r. For ventilation, a ra j sed open] ng facing away from '[ he wind w 1 1'1 draw air om of the house as wind blows. over the op ening, For powe ~! the. arms t'l f: a w j ndm i 1] can turn a generator, which. creates electricity for !JlS e or storage,

Str aj'ifi lea t i on

A s a, fluid ',I iq u id Or gas) is. hea red. j l, ri ses; as it is, cooled, .it seules, This produces what is called stratification, H the warmer air 4-U the top of a space 'IS allowed [0 escape, cooler air wi 11 be pUll led LU, if there 'is an in I et, Earths hips h ave a high ope r a bl e skylight and a low window ~n each room

to allow Wa1:TI1 air to escape and cool air to be drawn j fl.

This a] S 0 al low s ina i v id u al ai r m ovement control in each room, E ven when the hot Sl!IJ1 ~,5 "ell a rg in g 'IlJ,P I' the mass, en aug h natu ral ventilation can be' allowed to keep the space comfortable and f~uU of fresh air,

Through interfaclng with the varrous phenomena discussed in this chapter, the Ea rthsh ip p rOov i des an inviti ng ~ comfo rt ab le envlrenment for humans and plants w:i:thou~, the need of human-made energy. T1.1e phenomena around us can provide for all of our needs if we learn ro ~ l,i gn with them,

jI 'J'

,LOCATION ~ REYWE\V

'''yVe ha ve now seen 'it arl Oll s ways. of in terfaci ng with the four el,emen!s; FIRE, EARTH. VilATER and Ailt The result is that these natural phenomena have actually determined the de sign of the Earth ship 'i Ili northe m Ne w Mex leo, ,Many rnetho ds of iruerfaci n g WO u ld be the same i n any cl i mate. For i nstanee, waser run-off is deal! wi th similarly in Florid a and in Ontario- One of the rn ajor aspects of the Earth strip is that it holds 1e mperature (1"10 t jU.S[ heat), This is why it can be taken anywhe re - b at Of cold, S orne melt! ods of in lei facing w all I d be d lffere fl t in d i fferi ng c limate s. The most bask m odi'fi ca li Of15 for ~ few 'climate extremes will '[lOW 00 discussed, If your climate is a combination of these. the Earth sb i p sh 0 IJ Id be desi g n ed for the mo st e xtremc conditions.

nOT A 'RID

NO. SOLAR GAm IS WAt;TED IN A HOT ARm CLL\1A TE. TO ACHIEVE TH rs. THE EARTH SH! P 1.S TURN ED A.KO liND TO FACE THE NORTH_ PL E[\n- Y OF RE fLEeTED UG nr CAN ST~'LL E't'fTER TIlE IT-.iTERIOR SPACES. WITH 0 ur THE DrnECT HEA T Of THE SUN-THE COOLN ESS OF 'THE:, EAR1H CA.J~ STILL DE TAPPED IT,ao. THE 60 D EG.REE E.A R 1.H CAN COOL .lNCO~1.lN G i 00 DEGREE AlR BEfO,RE rr REAC:f.IES THE LIViNG SPACES. HIGt-1 CE~UNGS. WILL KEEP THE 'W AR MER .A [R 0 VE R t~ EAD_ FUR THE R COOI.LNG CAi....- BE .A T[ AL~ED BY EVAPORATION. US[j"{G

L

FO UNT l'\lNS 0 R .E V EN eLA Y JUGS OF WA lER. P LA NTS HELP TO L0W,E R AIR T El'!.,1 PERJ-\.TUR E. HOWEVER ".I HE FOOD PRODUCING AREA SHOULD ,BE SEPARA.TE FROM UV:!NG AREAS. S.EiC.I~ rr RE,QUJ.RES Dl'RECT SUNLIGHT, EITHER A ROOF GARDEN OR A SOUTI~' f AC ~ G C ARDEN WOULD WORK.

i i t

44

.HOI U~JMJD

THE EARTHSHfF SHOULD ALSO BE WRNEJ) TO :FACE THE NORTH IN THIS CUMATE. THE CRITHCAl .. FACfOR. H.fH:£ IS VENTILATION FOR t'ClOU N G AND EVA PORA nON. A I R P.A SS IN G OVER OUR SKIN HELPS PERSPIRATION TO EV AroRA TE, THUS OOOUNG llfE soev. THI S CONCEPT C.ii:.N WORK TO COOL AND REDUCE HUI\UD1TY IN AN EARTH$HIP. TO I-]Er~p I.~'DUCE VENHLATION A DARKLY 'PAINTED STACK W1Tl-I THERMAL M:ASS BmLT IN TO IT CAN 81E USED. IT W'jLL COLLEC"T HEA,T DURING 'I'HE nAY,.I\,ND SW\vm,..Y R.ELEll.,Sf JT AT NIOI-IT, THE AI,R ]NSIDE JT wiu .. THEN BE WARMED UP AND R.ISE, PULLING MORE .AIR. ,13l"!HIND JT. rnrs INDUCE!) AIR MovEMEN1' KEEPS THE EARTHSlHP VcNTllATIKG CON1'lNUOUSL Y. ROOFTOP SPACE CAN BIE USED AS AN lJft"tBRELL...t\ TO SHADE THE 1l\~.',ERJOR BELOW. A :LOW',·,M:ASS ATT~'C wru, NOT HOLD HEAT AND WILL Ai. WA Y S COOL OFF AT NIGHT, AGAIN, SUBlIJEFlOUSG JNTO THE &\RTH WILL HELP

DRAG DOWN THE AIR TEMPERA rU.RE, HOWEVI::R IN HUMID AREAS MORE ATIENTION MUST ,B~ G[V,EN TO GROUND M.OISTURE. LOCATING TILE EA..RTHSHJP ON HIGH GROUND ]S IMPERA TNE.

1:11 [VI r'ERAIJ~

A, TEMPERATE CL llViA rs MAY BE t\ N A TILl RA L CONo.IT~ ON THAT IS NEARLY COM FORTA BLE FOR HlJMi\N HABITAT, THE MASS OF TIrE EARTHSHlr WILL BUFf-o""ER ANY TEMPERATURE EXTREi\1ES THr\ T DO' OCC U R. THE M.ASS TO VOLUME RATIO IS NOT VERY CRITICAL SOTH.E R()()MS MAY BE DEE.PENED AND WiDENED TO THE MAXIM I·M THE STRUCTURE v,. OULD. ALLOW. THE GLASS DOES fOT NEED 1'0 B~ S' OPED, AND THERE CAN EVEN BE AN nVE R 1~IA NO TO SHADE 'fH E IN TE RJOR FROM UNNEEDED SUM~ER SUN. HER~ THE SOMEWHAT REDUCED 'f¥lASS W]lL SIMPLY BE USED ,FOR A S,TAIHUZING EFFf;;'CT ON THE COMFORT ZONE ..

COLDCLlMAU

The Earthsh lp I~S des:igne d for co] d cl i III a te conditio if'IJS. For ex [re m 'I: c 0.1 d the depths, widths and heights of we spaces should be dec. rca sed to i ncrease the mass relative EO the air volume, The angle of the glass should be at 90 deg roes to. the lowe s I 'iN inter sun. The bu ild ing should be SUl brne rged i rue the ea nh ,\S m u ch U5 possible.

OV',e rhangs sh ou i d be a voided a. s they effec [: spring and Iall heating potential Airlockstsee chapter "J) sh ou ld be cons ldere d " Bathrooms sh ou ld be on the sol ar face. Earth parapets shou :hj he' very thick 'to keep strucru re below fros ~ line,

The Earthship can be taken anywhere. It is designed for extremes, Solar Surv ival Architecture L,.. available for' consultation on Earthship location "Of unusual situations.

46

3. DESIGN

FOLLOW,ING 1~HE. DiJREC fJ:V, I S OF CONCEPT ANnl

'NATURAL PHENOM,~NA

~ The' basic module

- How t hese mod ules C~Ul be' combl n ed to desl gn a ho U Sf

Fast cars are de signed ,i n wind tun ne ISj i.e, the wind dictates the design of the C~U. Likewise, natural phenomena dictate the design of an Earthship, The design schematic of ex Lui ng Earthships IS presen ied in th is ch apter as it relates to local 'phenomena. Within these parameters. personal needs and desires are dealt w uh. The issue of pe rform anee ve rsus tradition is discussed from the perspective of "Live simply SOl 'that others may simply live."

...

Chapters One and Two have de cribed 'the CDm1 cep land the method 5, of j n ter facing l hat have evolved hHO the Earthship. They have ShOWIl how lhe elernen: .. s through their very nature can determine the nature of the srchitectu re , In ter f,ac~flg wi I,n these phenomena del ineates the form 'Of the s,m m ple module which C~l1 provide .for the basic hu m an needs of sheller. water, .oxygen, food, ternperatu re and energy,

This c'n apter wi I ~ review the parame ters of ih j s module, and . how how these modules can 'be corn bined io design a house.

MODULE REVIE\\l

The rn odul e. itse If, m s an i ndi vi du ai U - shaped space or mom, wi th mas on three sides, g~ ass, 0[1 the fourth, and a sk.yirghl in [he ceWng above [he U of m ass. Earth is 1,); rrned up on the au t Ide 0 f th e mass walls for e ven rna re mass, Often the U shape is parti any submerged as well. In places where heating is required; the wall of g I ass is ori en led] to the south and sloped: for maximum solar gain Or] the coldest day of the year. Because the modules are U -shaped, they will often be

,f: d 'IU' r<

r~J erre to Qs IS.

";i,;!" MAS.S' 'Wo' us

,sK':fu~}n kErI)"I(:

EARTH Il'3ERM

The module is actually eonstructed in two parts: Ua e 'U (three rn as s wal ~ s), and the' g,ree i1 h O~ se the g~ 8J:"S W aJ I)"

SKYliGHT '"IIJ" MASS 'W ALLiS Oi'i:EENHOUSE

The mass U i.s the main living space for flu mans. and the gree nh.01JlSC i 5 the. ma in J j ving space for pl a nts, The grecnhou Sit :i s !Ill W~lYS in

48

s UI n, w hereas the U space has the potentia t of 51.1 n control.

This module can be as small. as anyone Wd!I],lS 'to build it, but it. should not be larger than 18 feet wide by 26 feet deep. The 1. g fo ot dimension is the largest recom mende d .. pan be t ween the mass walls, because longer spanning structural members are uncommon and expensive, The 26 foot dimension is, as deep as the modu Ie C81D be and still be comfortably 'we rm, If the total area of the room, exceeds these d imens ions, the volume of air spacebecome s ."-0 ] ar,g e thar the sum und ing mass C JTI not keep II w i th in ~Ju~

comfort zone of 65 ~ a 75~.. -

RULE' 'S' O"'F C' 'O"'M'DlNAT1TO>N'

, I ' ,".. u'~ r, I. .. ,'.

The module ,i s not a 'house ~ but is an ina j'v idu at room, This room ca1UiPI' be expanded 'to make ,S, hoo se bUE mu S ~ be mult ipi ied _ .A house is therefore a ccllecti on of modu les srrateg icall y placed in. relation to. each other and the site. There am" however, s O[IJ,e specific rule s of how the module S CaJ] be put together.

S' r ai gb1: Row, Eag,t hl' West

U's can be constructed right next to each other w ith exact 1)' the same solar orien tati on, all d sha ring 8! common mass wal]. The greenhouse then 'becomes a hallway, the means of c ircu la [ion from one U to ·.an y other, I t a] 50 acts as a healing duct, since it is where the.

di reel solar heat ga. in co llects, I he gre enhou se can actually be closed off from some U's while remaining open to others. It ~s the main cl reulatien vein and the heating duct for servicing the individual U1s;, This allows the U's to maintain their simplicity and mass wi thout d~ e ex pens e ,r nd lack of performance thar othe r eire ul at i on pa [terns W OU] d bri ng. TI~e simple module i s preserved,

S.t~leJ~~e'!I'e d. R.o w ~

R ,el.jl't i rnu:J'Q,. A~'lj m IIlb A D ~1 e

As 'was shown in chapter 2~ indi\l'~du,al U's can be stepped back from one anc her without causing shad ows on 'the glass of the ad] a cen t U 's, The back U can be located fa u enou gh over so the C onnect ing glass, is wi thin I he effective winter azimuth angle. This angle is derived by the location of the winter sun 'between ,t 0 ,1\" M, arl d 2: P.·M. It is between

thes c: lhtl cs th at the S un is most C ffcClj ve fo r heating. In northern New Mexico, 'I11is is a 60! al1g1e.~ The space generated between the U's c an be come a very ttl ic k III !lSS wa 11 f or an indirectly healed utility space. AU major Ih"in.g U's should gel full sun S!crIOSS their south side between '10 A M and 2 PM.

The res u Its, of 'thi s kind of comb i na ti em are much like [those of the straight row, The greenhouse becomes . he clrcularion hallway aLI d a healing d tiel, connect iT] g the simple U modules.

SJnl i~Jlt St e·.p,,, On Slop.&.

Two U's can be 'Put one behind and ab ve the othe r, mak ing the m 1] ke steps On the slope 0 f the site.

Each level can Sf.U I be in sulate d all arou nd by e arth, and can still have the full he ight of g la ss on the solar side, The roof of the lower U can then become a. deck in front. of the U above. .11 is necessary to have: a sloping site for this kind of cornbin ation.

50

.... ..,

M.any U's can be combined in this' way, creating 8l. square grid of U's, in plan! tha[ step up the' dope.

The i i greenhou se I han way I heating duct' st ill functions as 'in the previous examples, thus aga in lea v ing the simple modules in tact.

There can be an overlap between steps, creatlng a space jn it e middle that is. 2 is rorie 5 high insi de, Th i is is g Dod for fru l 't aJD d nu ~ trees.

S't£Hu;:ered Step

When Ll's nre combined I ike steps, the n urn ber and sl ze of U's i flI each row may ovary, Th is allo ws lEI. series o f differen 1 U arrange m en ts s tepp i n g u p 4:1. hill" Agal n I the heating duct I greenhouse f hallway is appf led on each Ieve t

Com bi ned Stc,p anfLR,ultX

\-Vlle n steppi ng patterns are m u ltl pl ied, It I e y are actually combined steps and rows, The resu h.ii ng se~ (I f U is, CU'Il accom modate almost any spati al plan relation ship. Any single-tev el house plan can be designed and superimposed on a sloping site in steps,

There can be any number of U' or steps in a row _ A house can be. 2 steps with 5 U's in each ro w or 5 s teps wi ttl .2 U IS i n each row, Or anything in between.

52

,Comtti!!;JtLQ~~, m~t :Re~Omti1e nd@,

o ne U shou ld no l be pu t d i rectly behln d another en a fl'EIit s i te, unless heating is nor req ui fled. Th I'S would. pu t. a, TOO m ben i nd ~~ room behind a green house. The. back roo m would not hsve any direct sun for ligh t; 'heat. e rc .. " ~~ t w ould be co 01 e:r and darke r JJId diffieul t to heat without backup syste rns,

Two U's can be flu! It one di reeily on top of the other, however 'in this situation an Archi ~~c~ shou.1d be consu lied ~ This makes a more cornp lex. desi gn i n terms 0 f structu re and. perform ance.

SlM~PLICITY VS. COMPLEXITY PERFORMANCE 'VS., A.ESTHETlCS ECONOMY VS. :EXPENSE

The reason thar the' Barthsh ip is <SCI' economical ts that it can be so simple, In fact, a good sized, single family residence can be built with 3 to 5 near] y i demical U's i n a s tr al gln row. Be cau se the U's are &0 similar in S,] ze, detail, construcf C1n, etc" it, is (he most effective USe of 1.i me an d materials pOSS.! ble for an Earthship of lts size, In fact, this is the recommended design for mo st is i ~UI arion s. ]I can :n l on a f1 at. Of slopi ng she, It is, simply tile e asiest and the m ost eO!:),Il,Om leal approach,

In arty situati on, the 51 mp lest design is llsll,ally the best, The rules of combination are the rules of d esig n. Any ti m e t.tI at they are broken" there will, be extra expense, ;and lI,)U all Y calls e the. performance or t he Earthship to suffer; When economy and efficiency are the primary goals (as in nature), performance deu~rm ~ nes ~he looks of ~ne final desi gil. Some people may find til at they have: a precon cei ved idea about what their house should be like, and use this rrctlon a!) the starting point for ~he.]1'" design. An Earth ship c anne t be des igned thi s way. The' layout must initiate from the characte Ii s ti C5 of th e U rncdu I e. ,and then be adapted for the ne~ds of th e in ha bi t ants.

'POSS,fELE YA,RI'AT,(ONS AN,n l\iODfFICATlONS

With this concern for sirnplicily in mind" we can now revie w the possible variation s that can 'be made, to 'the basic ,I ayout. Every variation will ,S!:f'~ecl the performance of the Earthship, 5:0 :~t is definitely not rccornmended to strav 100

.;.. - ~

ar from the basic design, Each variation also takes. IT!'OIe' time, materials, energy and money, and therefore w]U affect the performance of til e builder I re siden [ as well, Th is l s why one or two changes may be okay if really necessary, b ut an y more wil J, 'begin to a] ter the EaJ'tnship beyond recognition. h would be possible to change the Eanhship, bit by bit, intc an English Coloaia) house with! a heating sysjem. This obviously would no longer 00 an

Earth sb ip, .

(

Once an initial basic layout is, designed, there are a few necessary '1 .. ariaticns that wi I~, only slightly affect the performance of the Earthship, They w~ J I n ow he d iscu .. sed,

,Rat~,(QQm

A bathroom is a srn al 1.;, set f-enclosed room; and rherefore can fit about anywhere in the design. B ut bathroems need ro be warm place s '1Je:1:~ use people wet from bath s or s howe rs te nd to be corder than norm ~J, Therefore. if. a bathroom j located deep in an Earthship, away from the warm gree nh ou se, a IJ t:l'i l hea ter sh au I d be installed. in ir, However, the best tbing [0 do is to tocate the bathroom right up against the

54

southern glass 10 maximize me sola r heat gal n !:h~d 'will go directly into the :S]}H~U r-oom. Ba th room s 011 the so uih fa ce need no u ni theaters.

Because it is right up against the glass, 'I t w ill get some 0 f the most inten se direct heat i ~l the house. 11] is beat is then irnens ifie d because i I: is, such SJ, small room ~ compared to the rest IOf

h 'U" t e '_ s

The ba throom can be in ehls POlS. ition aga inst the glass anywhere along 'IDe front face- Some common positions are: at either end, Or d ircctly . - - the -- - '1'"",' "~loil!'

m '"I", mU!J!"';.

In either po s] U on, th e bathroom create 8, is; shaded space directly behind it V{hen on 'the en ds, this shaded space may be's lightly co oler 'mtm the other rooms. When in the mi ddle of an Eanhship, the shaded space is so well 51J rrounde d by other warm U's that i t is as

warm as any other space ,~n the E~:urthship (exce pi the bathroom itsel f)"

Th c bath roo m can be u se d to dE v ide ttl e Earthship into segments, In a 3- U design, a een [r.;:IL~ bathroom HUOWS each e n d 11'00 rn W have a ~~lne more privacy. In longer designs, it can separate bedrooms from each other, or from the mai n J ~ vi ng space S. of rbe h 0115e.

E~tr,.

The en ~l"y is best ('JJ1 [he East or West e rid we] [, and with an airtcck l vestibule I mudroom.

The airloc k helps to preven l heated al r fro m escaping whenever the door is opened. 1[; can aha be a storage room utmty room. closet, etc ... The East and We~H greenhouse end walls are not strectum] or solar, and they already

are linked ~'O the em rculati on. Th i sis th e bes t. toeati on for en tries.

The: entry can be made in [he south glass wnll, Thi . is no recommended when serious heating 19 required, as it wUI create shadows and block; some of the heal gain. It would also be possible KO en ter the Earthship from the N orth side, bu [ th i S W ou) d require the eliminati on of a SU bstan rial part 0 f it he' berm, which is bo to mass and insulation. An entry 011 the north . ide 'wi 1 ~ affect the performan ce and the cos L (I f the Earthship significantly but h can and bas. been done.

56

S ba,l j"[l :g

The Iiv lng space of each U can be separated from [he heating duct I greenhouse / ha llway by the following means, Simple c loth or pap er rol li ng shades can be hU:I1,g! shading 'the space behind,

rolflin9 $n~d~

Insulated shades, can also be hung directly behind rhe greenhouse glass to shade the living space and C Lit dow I' 0[,1 heal loss at nigh t,

ill!Oulated , shad ...

A d iv io ~ ng mass wa [] can 'be buil t between the rna s s U and the greenhc use _ Th is can g l ve more shade and pri vaey, but is n ot a 1 way S n C ces sary and is an adde d ex pe nse. It do e s, however, improve the performance by holding

h - h "U" d ' ... l h - 1

'eat m tne ,- an - cu tung o Own on eat OiS;!)

at night. This mass wall usually has glass above ll: to allow "be rro wed 'I igh r" to come through the gr-een house 'to the I" U" . Privac y and sam control ill the "U" can he achieved via drapes or rC1.UU~in6 over 'rnis glasstdiagrarn next page).

57

Free~standin.g closets can give shade and also s u bal vide space. e ven withi n a single U, to ha e areas of added pri vacy,

Pta 11 ten are s om e ti mes u sed to 5 u bdi vi de space, providing some shade and. privacy.

V ttl!

It is bes t if the vi e w from the .Eauhsh 1 pis limited to what 'is shown lh.Qll.gh the expansive greenhouse windsws. If ther-e is an incredible! 'View ill another dire ction, however, i.t is possible' to open up a mass wall, but this eliminates mass. and lnsu Iatlon, and 0 bvi au si V redaces the thermal ,al'Wtj-'" of the walls, as well as escalates the cost,

The least disruptive dlrectio« :or such an opening 1:S to the East. Alt.hough mass and i ns:ula.t1of1J are eLI t down, there is a U ttie am 011 ot of early morning sohar heal that is gained. It is n ot enough tom ake up the loss of mass, bu t helps a Hale.

If the opening is to the '\Ves4 there will be a very sm aU. amount of afternoon solar

58

heal that ,I s gained, bu I: not .ELl all as much as, th~l w:hicn is lost

,I

If the open ~ ng is 10 the north, obv i ous1y a lot of the berm will be eliminated. greatly reducing the thermal abi H ly of the wall s, There 'j s no solar gain from the North (in the N orthem Hemi sphere), and a lot ef he at will be 'I OSI throe gh .arty north win,do. ws at nigh t.

Northern views ,Sir,e not recommended, -

CQnl ett i01m s 'Between 'nQQJ!!lS

The best way [0 connect rooms is by means of the CO!11I]lO n green hou se b allwey . Po small epenin g, S~t1i as a window between a kitchen and di ni rtg room", can be made throng h interior mass wall s withe u t affec ~i!l1!g perf orm iii! nee greatly, al though lh~ 8 :is more expensi v e. ] f a. larger epeni n g~ such as a doorway" ism ade between interior rooms thro ugh a mass wal l, i ~

is ellen more expensi v e, because a footing and Iiruel beam are then ne ede d." ] [ also means that the m ass wan must be ended, ~t~d then started again three feet. away, resu lting :i n thre'e "mass wall end details" ,i nste ad. of j ust one.

If the width of lhi s do OTWa.y increases more, the ameun l of weigh t concentrated to ei th er side win be great enou gil 10 require C olumns an d 'be arns a nd footing So and Fe in IO reed concrete and m u (:'11 rn ore rl me; e ncr g y , maieri als and oye:ral ~ expens«. The tech 1'1 (.)1 ogy invcl ved in such an adventure 15 conventions 1 for b'lwl ~ i ding contractors ~ btu difficu It for the a verage ] ayperson _ Th e. lo ss 'Of. mass: also limits performance, so it 'is really not Tee-om mended very oft-en.

Becau se of 'the i ass of mass an d U-ge: d i Hi cui ~y of con stru C'~ ion, in te rior lU8£S wa ~ Is. shou I d ne vet be ellm in ated!

EXAMPLE UESIGNS

60

61

62

I • •

SrrR··.·.U, C:"·-TU·R·::E:·

Ii.. . _ . ',;""szt .'-' .'. .. "

THE SKELETON OF THE VESSEL

Ec on om y and avail ability to :n.gin -profession al builders are imp ortant determinants of an Earthship structure, Thi s chapter presents lh e s i rnp le s tru C rural in re g d t y 0 f ex i s ti 1] g prototype Eannships via conceprual d iagrams, photographs and three d irnensi onal drawings. This, 3!:rUC tl!.! raj syste rn i s beth desi gne d and explained lTI terms to which [he no 11-' professi,onal builder can relate,

rns S R UCTURE OF RUU.·DfNf;S

In order to understand the structure of the Eanbship, a general undersu nding of the concept of structuring bu.iId~ngs i necessary.

Buiiding must be • ble te carry weight, or loads. There are two kinds of toads, dead loads and live loads. The dead 10a(1 is the weight of the bt~iidillg irse.!f. which is" caused by gravity. Just as our 'skeleton' mu: t be able to support the weight of our bodies, the structure of the building must be able to support the weight (If its roof. The live load is the weight of more transient and varying things, such as snow, people. and fLrmituf,e. This is similar to QUI' skeletons also being able to SlIP-POrl the clothes we wear !lind the things 'we carry ..

The combination of these two kinds of load is the total toad 011 the structure, and it IS usually expressed in pounds per square: foot. The purpo se OJ! the structure of [he building is; to organize, transfer and distribu te these loads to the' Earth.

Bas! cal 1 'i" th is can be d one in two differe·n t ways. The loads-over an area c-art be gathered to one point. or a column, They wm then be rranstered down the column, W a foundation. The foun dati CHl is much wi der than the column; h serves to spread the ~ lad out to the surrounding earth.

These load -. are called point loads, because they. brill'; down iruen e loads on a few PO,ir.tIS,. There is more' chance of movement nn d se H Iem en [ \v here poin t loads o cell r, Usuallv point load. must be analyzed by an architeci or engineer. They are avoided in Eanhship designs.

The second method Is it distribute 'he loads in a linear far, ion. ie. a bearing walt, Similar to rhe column, the Ioads are then transferred down the wall, U) a foundation, The d Ifferenee is that the load on any part of the wall will be rn u ell s malte r th an the load all! the co! u mn, Bear] ng walls are struetu ral wall s whl ch ~ c ~ as a continuous unit; disrributmg loads over all entire wall.

64

The load on the wall "13 more evenly disrriba led to the foundation, thereby spreading [he ,I oads over a. larger area as they meet, the eanh, TIlls results in less strain (m the srru ctural element and overall redu c:t.iO'I1I of sire S So (in 't he foundation, si nee the job of di s tributi ng the load has alre ady been pard ally completed by

the wall, itse:if. ..

'THE STR I·CTURAL CONCEPT OF THE E.-\.RTHSHIP

The struc Hl ral e oncept is again ba sed on the "U" module, just as the thermal desl gn concept is. One "U'" coul d be stru ctured ,i ndependently ..

and then repeated o .... er and over again, .

M'OS,~ con ve 11 ti en al bu ~] di n g mater] al s and methods do ,I i 1 U e 1.0 rec og 11~ ze the n atural

phenomena of the relatively fluid Earth. Struc ture s are desig ned. in, and of '[hem 001 ves and then are placed 00. the earth, I n most cases there are a few large 'I cad S t and m a-S siv e foundations are needed. to distribu ee these loads '~O the earth.

Ofte n [he Earth, being rather fluid 'tel ati ve to concrete, has, been known to 5,hif~. settle, or otherw ~ se tn ave ~I i ghtl y. This can result in m ajor stru crural cracks in co ncre te work where intense Ioads are con cen rrated and broeght to the Earth '~11 gre,aa magnitude, To avoid this, much expense is, required, plus the employment @f an engl neer, ~Q build structures with expansion joints and steel rein force rnents to rC,5,1 st the tendency of the Ear~h to rn ov e. This i 5, fu rther comp) i cared by rhe tendency of ihe rn a terials th e rnsel ve is t Q exp and and contrac t -, see thermal dynarn i cs I' Ch apter 2.

In con trast, t.he Ea:rthships are des' gned to joi 1 the Earth, rather than to resist it The structure (rnos.uy earth H"eli) is based on a very wide di s tribu non of loads so that by the time ali Ioads reach 'he earth, they arc in igni'ican:t in magni rude. An Eanhship acta a1 I Y "floats" on the earth. Tni s res Ii' ('5 in a very forgiving structure that has the potemial to move with th e Earth,

Convc'nUon:d bundin~s set 1UL t'hl! earU~'l E~lr:tbs:hips are ,0.1 the eaetb,

lj~ab-aJud M;alS.l, ,bearien, waifs: jlI~ [lH~ir On:n JaUDjbgons

'\'{'e; have already discussed the fact 'hal rooms, must be 'wrapped in mass wails in order for t hem to store heat Sf n C~ we al ready ha ve these m as si ve walls, we V;',m use them to hold up the roof of the module as; weU, Tite}!,. 'tl!ilt OCLYs....ValrWg wails us well (15 Wll~S }falls.

Conventional bearing walls for a room the size , f an Earthshtp module iU'C uSll~d,Iy. 8" thiCK, and require. a foundation )1·4"1 v"Irde to dlstribute the loads over the earth upon which j t sets. The mass] ve wal Is of the Ear.thshi p are 2'g8'i thick, and are already wide enough to evenly distribine this load much more than conventional methods require. The Earthship walls themselves are wider than the required foo ling for such a wail,

Vf.~rek.re.Jk {,h" ,!nass bcp'rw~ w..alb of_elr& fjJrtbshia., (iLL qbQ. tbe jQjJna(lUQJj$, So the module is in effect floating with the Earth.

W!e are achlevlng thermaf mass, sh'uct[Ura~ bearing and founrtations a I in one shape. The shape is mostly earth ilse,lf 'iPt'b i en is coniai ned j 1'1 rub ber as later chapters win describe). This results in B massive, durable, resiliem structure equipped to handle the seismic Ioads created by earthquakes. n"ritne~ ,int~'nsely to,aded structures are muen more v\tlh}l\~'rab e to. earUH'juakes than Ir,esi~iient widely rUstdbuted structural designs,

Since most buildings are Dot surrounded by eart h. the fa unda ti ens need [Q be well be.! ow tb e fest 0 f the str \J c ttl re to ge t be-' ow the frost I i fie.

66

This is neccs S~I)' to p rot eel the fou Tilda t ions from the freeze- Ut~!W tn ovemen rs of the earth. Thi s mean s tb at the bottom 0 f th e fo underi on must be below the deepest point whet the gron nd wl ~ 1. freeze, These dep ths v ary from region 'to region. Because Earthships a're buried at the perimeter. The bottom of 'the mass wall wi 1.1 be well below the frost line, and there is no danger of thermal move meru,

Ai. lthough the north wall r or rear of the "'U" is, not necessary 10' support [he roof, n Ia needed to re raj n the weight IOf the burying up agai iLt'\ t. the building, The abi I ity of this wall to retain the earth ls strengthe ned if (he wal i is arched. This arch sbould be aJ minimum of 12" deep and can be as rou nded as :3 semi-circle,

ARCH SUPPORTS WE IGHT Of BUI'l: I AL

Era ndJ]I~ J n e RoeHr

The roof structure is framed with beams ru nni ng in t he east- wes t direc don. s 0 that the loads are transferred directly to the mass beari mg walls, Th i s d:i:su"j butes the loads in m an "f sm all in ere m e nts a ~ on g the wide, mas si ve walls,

_~~- B'EAMS Sf' ACE'D 2:"-0" ON t.tJHER

68

,PO'iut leads are avoided. All even d i s.~li" rn b ut i OliIJ 0 f ~ O~I d8 ith rnu g h O!.il t ,~I illow 8 t IThe s:~'r uet t!I:.f',e to 1'1 :nO,ill n 'f1f it h the ea rt h.

G re;c IlJ h inD $,;: tta n· 1:00

The other m a] or structural com ponent is the greenhouse, The greenhouse is, a relatively ] ight piece of carpen try W(l J k, com pare d '~Q the m assiveness of the U stru cture, lt is a lean-to element w hj cb rests on ~h e southern most beam,

AS the loads come do wn OrL 't he roof of the greenhouse, ~h:~y are distri blued In part. to thi s beam. however, m 08,t of this re lali it el Y Ii g h l stres s win be transferred do wn III the m ass wal I which supports the greenhouse, AU of these loads are minimal. Thisrn ass wall is. also 2'-,6" thick. thus continuing rhe "floating" concept of the Earthsh ip.

PARTITION 'w' ALI.

=:l:

'I ~ ,~

'1'1 _

~~. ::

• :1

. ~ .. ~

Pjiil,rt ~j:i:Qn W~tl~s

Parti lion ·W~ l is are no n-struetu raj we l ls, They will be tI sed to f I i in the space be tween t be green ho u se fsc e and t he mass wall s as we 11 as to en c1 o S~ bathroo m s, e tc. 8j n ce ttl ey do nat ne ed t (II C any any 1 cads add'~ rio nal t Q their own weigh t, they s] rnply set em fc u ~l dall ,0 ns which are ab out the same width as the wall s thernsel yes,

ThJe1te' are' two types o f pat titi on walls in the Earth sh ip ~ in terior wal Is and extc rl or YJJ a] ls. (The method of building these walls our of aluminum cans, W.m he discussed in Chapter 6 & 7). ]nte:nQ;r p~:rtltiOtl walls are 6" thick and req u j re an 8" wide by 8" deep foo~i n,g wi in. one piece of 112" steel reinforcement 'bars (rebar) to hold 'u l to ge ther • Exterlor partiti on walls are insulated which makes ahem 14" [hid: and they require a '16'· wide footing with two pieces of rebar,

INTERIOR' PARH '.lS:

The depth: of In.e foe tin g wi ll vary" relative . 0' differeru conditions, If the bottom of the waH will '00 be J. () w the 'frost .~ i ne after berrning, .8! concrete 'pad :~ 2'''' deep \1;' il] be needed.

~- t::NP PART IT ION 'W ALL L rNE OF EAf';Tl-I

r f the bo ttom 0 r the wa II ls a I; (J ve the frost tine. th e fou ndatio III will need [0 go as {Jeep as UIJ~ fros t r me.

Th Is wi iii [I su re there wi ~ 1 be no the rm al m<O'Vi2 m e nt. The s e fo y nda t tons will na ve (2) 1 fT' pieces of steel Fe bar.

STRUCTURAL ECONOMY

As wa: discu ssed i n Chapter 3, Eanbsh ips are designed with performance and economy in mind. B uildi ng a: ho L.I Sf! made up of se vera ~ si rnple et U" modules a s the easiest. cheapest way to go, The s truct III re is strnpl e and has very few v ariations. This is en ~jca1. wben cost is an issue.

70

De vi ali ons from the 5i rnple s tru (:1 ure of the "U" module are possl ble ~ b1.lJtW.ey~ilj'add (Q th e CQsl.mui subtraCl' from rhf:QulfJr.ma,m,", of the 'buHdi'ng. For example, a doorway could be cut through a. tire wall, providing a passageway from one room to the nex t,

Howev er ~ as you win Ie 13Jm rn ore ~ bout jill Chapter 6, this would entail ell tting In any extra blocks which are used for half tires, making a li 11 te 1 a nd a fram e, 1.]1(; uri n g iii con crete foundation in which 10 s"et the frame, sec uring the frame to me tire \\r;aJJ. etc.,

TVPICAL [NO 'y(At.L [>;:1'1>;11.$

rOUNl)ATION

Thl s requires time, conven tiona] material s, and additional 51<:',1'15, anl~ QU of lhese.~c.Qst more m ena Also, t'h is will red nee the mass of the 'room and reduce the possibility of individual I~' controll i r~g the te mperature of each room,

If you do wan l 1.0 deviate from til e. s tructu ral simplicity of the II U II module f con S1 de!" the consequences. and make as. few of these changes as you can. The extreme, replacing all interior lire walls with columns, will leave you with ,J, hou se w h i c h co sts as m uch, and perform s alm OS-I as badl y ~ as a con veri tional comp artrnen L

72

5. MATERIALS

THE PRIMARY BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE VESSEL

- What they are

- Why we use them

The nature of the materials used to execute an Earthship design is explored. The earthrammed automobile tire is presented as the most appropriate method for its strength, economy, lack of skill needed, and the fact that it makes use of an otherwise discarded "natural resource." The aluminum beverage can used as masonry unit for filler walls is also presented for similar reasons.

71

What if we found a way to make building blocks out of compressed oxygen. We simply extracted the oxygen out of the air and compressed it into bricks. This would be great because oxygen is everywhere. However, we are intelligent enough to understand that we breathe oxygen. It is what enables us to stay alive. We would not want to depLete our life giving breath would we? Trees are a source of oxygen on this planet, We currently build with trees as well as simply clear them out of the way for more important things - like cattle.

THE NATURE OF THE MATERIALS

In keeping with the design and conceptual information presented in the previous chapters, the nature of the building materials for an Earthship must have certain characteristics of definition established before we can go looking for them. The following outline will establish the nature of the materials necessary to build a vessel that aligns with rather than deteriorates the environment of the planet. \rVe will think in terms of ideals here in an effort to lift us from the conventional alleys that have lead us to our present dilemma.

Indi2enous

Ideally the materials for an Earthship would want to be indigenous to many parts of the planet. Shipping materials for long distances presents an energy impact not in keeping with the Earthship concept. In order for the

Earthship to be easily accessible to the common person and to maintain a low impact on the planetary energy situation, a "building block" found all over the globe would be required.

Able to be fashioned with little or n 0 ener2Y

If a building material was found that was indigenous to many parts of the planet but it required massive amounts of energy to fashion into a usable form, we still would not be meeting the conceptual requirement of an Earthship. The major building materials for an Earthship must require little or no manufactured energy to fashion into use. 1111S keeps them easily available to common people and at the same time would allow the large scale production of Earthships to maintain a relatively low impact on the planet. Since there are so many of us, if we are to survive without literally consuming the planet. everything we use must be chosen with consideration to the impact of large scale application. We must explore building materials and methods that are not dependant on manufactured energy and that have the potential to contribute to the general wellbeing of the planet rather than exploit it.

Mass

The materials that surround the spaces of an Earthship must be dense and massive in order to store the ternperatures required to provide a

74

I I

habitable environment for humans and plants. The Earthship itself must be a "battery" for storing temperature. This massive battery must be achieved without large amounts of energy. This suggests built-up dense mass in "bite-size" human manageable pieces. This built-up mass must also have the capacity for structural bearing and a cohesive homogeneous quality. Any light porous material, no matter how strong, is ridiculous for a building material if it has no mass. In anything but a temperate climate where no heating or cooling is necessary, mass is a primary factor in selecting a building material. Making houses out of heavy dense mass is as important as making airplanes light. Obviously a heavy airplane takes more fuel to fly. Obviously a light house takes more fuel to heat or cool. Why do we see the forest but not the trees?

Durability

We have built out of wood for centuries. Wood is organic and biodegradable. It goes away. So we have developed various poisonous chemical products to paint on it and make it last. This, plus the fact that wood is light and porous, makes it a very unsatisfactory building material. This is not to mention the fact that trees are our source of oxygen. For building housing that lasts without chemicals we should look around for materials that have durability as an inherent quality rather than trying to paint on durability. Wood is definitely a good material

for cabinet doors and ceilings where mass is not a factor and where it is protected so it wilJ not rot, but the basic massive structure of buildings of the future should be a natural resource that is inherently massive and durable by its own nature.

Resilient

Earthquakes are an issue in many parts of the world. They are actually a potential anywhere. Any method of building must relate to this potential threat. Since earthquakes involve a horizontal movement or shaking of the structure, this suggests a material with resilience or capacity to move with this shaking. Brittle materials like concrete break, crack, and fracture. The ideal structural material for dealing with this kind of situation would have a "rubbery" or resilient quality to it - something like jelJo. This kind of material would allow movement without failure.

Low specific skill reQuirements

If the materials for easily obtainable housing for the future are to be truly accessible to the common person they must, by their very nature, be easy to learn how to assemble. If it takes years of apprenticeship to learn a skill then that method is not the answer for housing. The nature of the materials for building an Earthship must allow for assembling skills to be learned and mastered in a matter of hours, not years. These skills must be basic enough

that specific talent is not requ ired to learn them. General application of common human capabilities must guide in the evolution of materials and methods for housing of the future.

Low tech use/application

Some systems of building today are simple if one has the appropriate high-tech expensive energy dependant device or equipment. This, of course, limits the application of these methods to the professionals who have invested in the technology to enable them to use such methods. Because of the expense and energy required to get set up for these systems the common person is left totally dependent on those professionals for accessibility to these particular housing systems. Therefore the common person must go through the medium of money (bank loans, interest approvals, etc.) to gain access to a housing system that usually dictates performance and appearance. The point here is that if high-tech systems and skills are between the common person and their ability to obtain a home, we are setting ourselves up to place the very nature of our housing in the hands of economics rather than in the hands of the people themselves. This situation has resulted in inhuman, energy-hog housing blocks and developments that make investors some quick money and leave the planet and the people with something that requires constant input of money and energy to operate. The technology required to build an

Earthship must be beyond the type of technology that we are so impressed with today. Earthship technology is the technology of natural phenomenon like the physics of the sun, the earth and people themselves. The methods and materials for obtaining housing of the future must be within the immediate grasp of the common person with a minimum of easily accessible devices. We must employ a much more thorough understanding of the nature of ourselves and the physics of our environment.

The requirements above describe the nature of the ideal "building block" for constructing Earthships - Housing of the future. Many conventional materials satisfy one or two of these requirements but no conventional material satisfies all of them. We will be evolving a new material or building block for the primary structure of the Earthship.

THE PRIMARY BUILDING BLOCK

Obviously all of the materials used in an Earthship would want to meet the requirements outlined above. However, as a first step toward a vision we must begin with the primary building block - that which provides the major structure and performance of the Earthship. The major structure and performance of the Earthship is encompassed in the design element termed a "U" in the previous chapters. Modules are constructed in

76

this "U" shape for reasons already described. This "Uti shape must therefore be constructed of a primary building block that meets all of the above requirements. Throughout twenty years of exploring the ideals that have resulted in the concept of the Earthship, we (Solar Survival Architecture) have developed/found a natural resource that meets these requirements. This building block is a rubber automobile tire rammed with packed earth. Let's take it through the outline of requirements and see how it "stacks up".

Indi2enous

The rubber (sometimes steel belted) automobile tire is indigenous all over the world as a "natural resource". Every city is a natural supplier of this item. It can be "harvested" with absolutely no technical devices or energy other than two human hands to pick it up and throw it into a pickup truck. The automobile tire is definitely an indigenous material to every heavily populated area of the planet. It is readily available without the energy and economic impact of shipping to every potential building site.

Able to be fashioned with little or n 0 energy

The rubber automobile tire can be used as found without any modification. The process of ramming them full of densely packed earth is achieved with simple human labor and can be done with whatever type of earth is

available on the building site, Common people of all shapes and sizes can easily learn to gather tires and pack them full of earth with simple hand tools and with the same type of human energy that they use while trying to tone up their bodies in the· local spa. The impact of large scale use of this idea would result in depletion of the giant tire mountains that have become a serious problem in many cities, and in many people getting in a lot better shape without having to spend money for a spa membership. This building block is therefore achieved with little or no manufactured additional energy.

Mass

There are few materials of any kind that would provide better, more dense mass for storing temperature than rammed earth. The rubber tire casings provide a natural form for humanly manageable production of thermal mass building blocks with little more than human energy. There are also very few materials that would provide the structural bearing capacities and homogeneous qualities of an earth rammed tire wall. The diameter of the tires (2'-4") sets the thickness for the walls surrounding the "U" modules - 2'-8" with plaster. This amount of dense mass surrounding every room of an Earthship would provide a thermal battery like no other in construction history.

Durability

The durability of tires filled with earth can not be surpassed. A buried tire (which is in effect what we have in a tire wall) will virtually last forever. The only thing that deteriorates rubber tires is sunlight or fire. Since they are filled with earth and ultimately covered with earth they never see sunlight when built into an Earthship. Tires only bum when surrounded by air. When they are filled and coated with earth, trying to get them to burn would be like trying to light a phonebook on fire as compared to a wad of paper. The very qualities of tires that makes them a problem to society (the fact that they won't go away) makes them an ideal durable building material for Earthships. Earth and tires by virtue of their very nature will last forever.

Rgsilient

Whereas a rubber tire/rammed earth wall is amazingly strong, it is obviously not brittle. It can vibrate or move without fracture or failure. Since these walls are so wide and the loading on them is widely distributed, the entire structure would have the potential of absorbing and moving with a considerable horizontal shock from an earthquake. There is probably no other material available at any price that has the reliance that earth rammed tires would have. They do provide a dense, rubbery, flexible wall much more akin to the nature of "jello" than any other material.

Low specific skill requirements

Over the past fifteen years many people of all shapes and sizes have been taught to "pound tires" (the term used for the process of densely packing the tires with earth). Within one or two hours the average human can be an expert. It requires physical energy more than brute strength. A team' of two people, one shoveling and one pounding, can pound about four tires an hour. The shoveling job is easiest while the pounding requires a little more strength and energy. The general application of common human capabilities is definitely all that is required here. This is a skill that the very lowest people on the labor force can become good at.

t l t

f ,

Low tech use/application

The only real major piece of equipment needed to build a tire building is a backhoe. This is a common piece of equipment needed for all building of any type. Backhoes and operators rent almost anywhere for 30 to 50 dollars per hour. Other typical tools needed are a chain saw, skill saw, and a cement mixer. Common people use these tools all the time and they are very easily accessible to all. This places the building of an Earthship easily within reach of typical contractors and owner builders.

SECONDARY MATERIALS

The same requirements should be related to for the secondary materials. Some secondary

78

materials such as glass are the same everywhere while others will vary with different locales. The secondary materials are those which make up the fill in walls, ceilings, floors, glazing, and miscellaneous carpentry.

Fill in walls

The most significant secondary material is that used for bathroom walls, closet walls, nonstructural end walls of the greenhouse hallway, and all other miscellaneous infill areas. The material we have found for these areas is one that meets all the requirements outlined in the nature of materials except for mass which in the case of fill in walls is not necessary. This material is a little durable aluminum brick that appears "naturally" on this planet. It is indigenous to most parts of the planet that are heavily populated. It is also known as the aluminum beverage can. Its evolution as a low tech, easy to use brick has been taking place for almost twenty years in New Mexico. It has been used for structural walls, non-bearing interior walls, filler walls, domes, vaults etc. Whole buildings have been built with aluminum cans. Due to its light weight, the fact that it requires very little skill to learn to use, that it can be plastered over without conventional metal lath, that it will never wear out or bum and that it is very easy to obtain; it has become the ideal material for fil in walls in Earthships. It is another natural resource of the twentieth century.

Ceilings

The ceiling decks and beams of the Earthship can be made of whatever local beams and decking are available. In New Mexico standing dead trees are cut for round log beams called vigas. Decking is usually made from wood planks. The ceiling decks and beams are usually made from some kind of wood, however this is not mandatory. Concrete or steel beams and decking could be used as well as any other method of spanning distances of ten to twenty feet. We are currently experimenting with a product made by A.I.R. Research of Wisconsin that is made by grinding up garbage and mixing it with a slurry of adhesives to produce a poured beam almost as strong as and having similar qualities of concrete. Conventional vapor barriers and rigid insulation (R60) are used above the ceiling. See chapter six for specifics on these materials and their detailing.

Floors

Floors can also be made from any local indigenous material from concrete to flagstone to tile or wood. Some Earthships in New Mexico have used adobe mud floors which are traditional in the area. They are very beautiful and will work anywhere. Floors should take advantage of local materials that are of a low energy impact nature, however they are quite conventional in the application to the Eartnship structure.

Glazin2

The southern glazing on Earthships that wants to collect heat should be double-paned, insulated glass as manufactured by most glass companies in standard sizes. The size most often designed for in typical Earthships is 46" x 90". All other glazing should be either triple pane or one of the new heat retaining glazings (consult your local glass dealer).

If Earthships were to become the way of the future, on a large scale, the resulting impact would be significant. There would be a radical reduction in the use of global energy to both manufacture and transport the various materials that dominate the housing industry. There would also be a radical reduction in the amount of automobile tires discarded on the planet and the need to find some way to dispose of them. There would also be a significant reduction in deforestation which is and will be a continuous threat as long as wood is a major building product for housing. Anything that we do on as large a scale as housing must (like the trees) be born of something that we ourselves produce. Our numbers are too great for the planet to continue being the sale supplier of our needs. The by-products. of the tree itself, through decay and biodegrading, provide soil for the nourishment of its offspring. Likewise the by-products of our society must provide the materials for housing our future generations.

I

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6. THE "U" MODULE

THE DETAILS AND SKILLS USED TO BUILD THE !lUI! MODULE

The fundamentals of how to build your own Earthship are presented here. A well illustrated and explained collection of easy to learn skills, available to all types of people of various strengths, shapes and sizes is presented. This includes how to lay the rammed earth tires, how to lay the aluminum cans in mortar, connections, mistakes commonly made, etc ...

I

01

Fig.2

Fig, 1

Fig.3a

P1 en of "5-U" house

I

t I

I

Single "U" plan

Fig. 3b

Stepped "U" Plan

This chapter begins with an explanation and illustrations of how to pound a rammed earth tire. This is the building block of the "U" module. (Fig. 1)

Next, the construction materials and methods used to build the entire "U" module out of these rammed earth building blocks will be explained and illustrated. (Fig. 2)

Our objective is to provide a thorough understanding of how to build one single "U" module. Since the Earthship is made up of several of these "U" modules, an understanding of how to build the module is a basic understanding of how to build the Earthship. Chapter 8 will deal with how to assemble the modules into an Earthship. (Fig. 3a - 3b)

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I

I

L

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

L

HOW TO POUND A TIRE

Tire walls are made by laying tires in staggered courses like brick or concrete block. Each tire is filled with compacted earth, so that it becomes a rammed earth brick encased in steel belted rubber. As you will find, a pounded tire weighs over 300 pounds, so all tires are pounded in place and only minor movements can be made.

'" ...

. ~.J! .

First, level a section of undisturbed earth large enough to receive a 2'-4" tire. This is approximately 3'-0" square. Remove all loose topsoil which would otherwise settle under the weight of the wall. Set the tire on the leveled undisturbed ground. (Fig. 4)

Tire pounding should be done in teams of two people, a shoveler and a pounder. Depending on your strength and endurance, a team should be able to pound a tire in 5-15 minutes. First,

Fig. 6

one person fills the tire with dirt from the site. (Fig. 5)

Slightly damp soil is easiest to compact, however any type of soil with or without gravel will work.

The dirt is pushed by hand into the casing by the pounder. Gloves are advised for both workers. (Fig. 6)

Fig,7

Keep pushing the dirt into the casing until it is as full as you can pack it by hand. Now begin pounding the dirt into the casing with a 9 pound sledgehammer.

The shoveler continues to add more dirt, while the pounder packs it in. (Fig. 7)

84

t t t

Fig. 8a

Fig. 9

DIRECT ION OF SLEDGEH AMMER STROKES ---~04

Each tire takes about three or four wh~elbarrows of dirt. When serious pounding begins, large amounts of dirt will be eenerated from the initial excavation (which is ~xplajned later).

The tire will become full of dirt and begin to swell up.

The sledgehammer strokes shown go into the casing. Do not hit the casing itself. -- -(Figs. Sa-b)

Fig. 8b

NO!

Fig. 10

9" to

9 1/2"

As you pound the dirt, move around the tire to keep the tire pounded evenly. (Fig. 9)

This is done until the tire has swelled to about 9 o~ ? 1/2 inches. After the outer casing is sufficiently packed and swollen, it will need to be leveled. Lay a 4'-0" level across the tire, letting it rest on the swollen rubber casmg. (Fig. 10)

Make sure that the tire is level in all directions. Add more dirt to build up the tire if necessary.

Fig. 11

Fig. 12

Fig. 13

9" to 9-1/2"

Next, "the interior of the tire is filled with more dirt and tamped until it is packed as tightly as the inner casing. Do not fill completely and then tamp. Tamp as you fill; i.e. fill a little then tamp a little. This allows a tighter tamping job. (Fig. 11-12)

This ensures that the whole tire brick has consistently packed earth throughout.

EMPTY TIRE

7" to 7-1/2"

LEVELED DIRT

The ground next to the pounded tire must be leveled now in preparation for pounding another tire. Level the ground so that it is 9" to 9-1/2" below the top of the pounded tire. An unpounded tire is 7" to 7-1/2" high. This allows for about 2" of swell when pounded. (Fig. 13)

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f ,

t •

•

Fig.14

Fig. 15

\1

I;"

Continue the above procedure, laying the second tire so it is touching the first. After the next tire is pounded, level it with the first tire. (Fi g. 14) Als 0 level it with itself in the other direction.

It is important that each tire be level in itself and. with the adjacent tires, so eventually the entire course will be level. This is the procedure for the ground course of tires.

If you are too high with any part of the second tire, it can be beat back down with the tamper. (Fig. 15)

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I

Fig. 16

Section of single "U"

SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

Now that you know how to pound a tire, you are ready to begin a "U" module: Her~ is a set of diagrams for this module, including a cross section and floor plan. (Figs. 16-17) It is a good idea to get a feel for the general scope of the project before you begi~. ~he example shown is a building on a slopmg site. For your own project, use the information you learned in Chapter 2 - Location, to locate your Earthship.

These "U'I modules can vary in width and depth, however the basic details ren:ain the same. Maximum recommended width is 18'-0" and maximum recommended depth is 26'-0".

88

t

Fig. 17

INSULATED CAN WALL

TI RE FOUNDATION FOR GREENHOUSE

PlEIn of single "U"

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Fig. 18

PLAN VIEW

Fig. 19

REBAR STAKES

LAYOUT

First, you will need to stake out a rectangle which will be the size of the interior of your room. Stretch a string line around rebar stakes to mark this line. (Fig. 18) Orient this room 15 degrees east of south to catch the morning sun (see chapter two).

INITIAL EXCAVATION

Layout your first course of empty tires along your string line, allowing for your arch in the back. (Fig. 19)

PLAN VIEW

ARCH BACK 12"

ST RING ----?~

LI ME LINE -----'

EMPTY TIRES

12"

The arch should be a minimum of 12" from the string line. As discussed in Chapter 4 - Structure, the arch is for additional support against the burial.

Always use larger tires, #15 and #16, on the first course. #15's will be used throughout the body of the wall, and #14's will be used for the top course.

After you have laid out the tires, (touching the string on the sides) measure 12" from the string to the interior. Mark this line with lime

90

Fig. 20a

Fig. 20b

SPRE AD DIRT AROUND OUTSIDE OF TIRES

EMPTY TI RES LAID OUT

on the ground - it will be the outer limit of the initial dig. Do not let then initial dig get any closer than 12" from the tires. This is an earth cliff and must be protected from erosion by being further from the tires now than the final design requires. It will be carved back by hand later.

Have the backhoe driver dig out the room as marked within the lime lines, (Fig. 20a - 20b).The maximum depth on the north end is 6'-0". The depth on the south end will vary

from zero to 3'-0" according to your specific site slope, the depth of the rooms, and other site conditions.

As the dirt is dug out of the ground, have the backhoe driver spread it around the outside of the U. This dirt will be used to fill the tires later.

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BEGIN POUNDING TIRES HERE

Fig 23

Fig. 22

Fig. 24

THE FIRST COURSE OF TIRES

Beginning with the front right tire, level a section of earth, then pound and level the first tire. (Fig. 21 & 23)

How you proceed will depend on the slope of your spe~ific site. On a steeper site, you can step the tirework up the hill. (Figs. 22-24)

This results in less tires to pound on the up hill side of the "U".

On a flatter site, the entire first course will set on the same level.

Fig. 25 shows the first course of tires on a ty~ical sloped site. Notice the wing walls going to the east and west. These only occur when another "U" is not being placed next to the one you have started i.e. they occur at the east and west ends of the building. If you are just building one "U" both wing walls occur as shown.

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Fig. 25

First course of tire work and initial excavation ..

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