"Earthships" spotted in New Mexico

Taos, former Comanche territory, is a county in northern New Mexico, nowadays a destination for visitors interested in green architecture. Inh this area, Earthship Biotecture, has its headquarters. Earthship Biotecture is a company aiming to raise awareness on the potential of a completely sustainable architectural design. This active community has designed and built a dozen buildings of various types with low environmental impact, (many are inspired by the typical houses of the Taos Pueblo, meaning Red Willow). These buildings are completely hidden by the earth and made of natural and recycled materials. Michael Reynolds is the architect who first conceived the project and he is now famous in the United States, but also in Europe, in particular in Edinburgh and Brighton, England, and then in Spain, Belgium and France. In the U.S., the cost per square meter is similar to that of conventional buildings, but in this expectional case the costs are virtually absent. Earthship communities are totally detached from traditional distribution channels: the electricity demand is satisfied by solar and wind power generators and UPS systems with conventional gas backup. Solar collectors, supported by gas boilers, provide hot water. There are houses of various sizes, from 60 to about 160 square meters. The Earthships are covered with earth to provide better insulation and they are also equipped with a system of natural ventilation openings on the roof to cope with the heat, while the bottles in the walls contribute to the passage of natural light. The kitchen is furnished with rustic furniture made of wood, just like the door, following the choice of simplicity.

More decorative effects obtained with a mosaic of color and bottles are on the column that separates the kitchen from the living room. Among the most interesting concepts of the Earthship houses is self-sufficiency: to be functional, the building needs not be connected to the grid or to the water system. The solar panels are able to ensure the demand for energy and heat. A water recycling system then allows the buildings to reduce water waste.