I would give pretty much anything to live in an earthship. I’m not talking about UFO’s. I’m talking about ASH’s- Awesome Sustainable Housing. Earthships are those houses made out of tires and mud that sustain themselves like a living organism. They heat themselves, cool themselves and stand up to the elements. They just seem so awesome. Wouldn’t it be cool if you could live in an earthship dorm? If you said yes, you’ve probably been called a hippie a time or two in your life. But as awesome as earthships are, would I want to build one? Probably not. They look so complicated and time intensive. They’re fairly expensive to build and it would behoove you to have several good friends and volunteers on hand for when the building gets tough.
So, if you were to look at earthships as a sustainable housing idea for dorm living or people in other countries, the project would generally fall flat. A group of activists with some experience in civil engineering have found a rather ingenious solution that simplifies the earthship concept. They're building a concept home in Nigeria that utilizes plastic bottles filled with sand as the primary building block. They are actually very aesthetically pleasing and they function the same way an earthship does. In a country that has a longstanding housing and energy crisis.
Each bottle weighs approximately two pounds after it is filled with sand and all of the bottles are wired together elaborately at the caps to provide extra support to the structure. The walls are earthquake resistant and bulletproof and these structures can be as tall as three stories.
So, if you were to look at earthships as a sustainable housing idea for dorm living or people in other countries, the project would generally fall flat. A group of activists with some experience in civil engineering have found a rather ingenious solution that simplifies the earthship concept. They're building a concept home in Nigeria that utilizes plastic bottles filled with sand as the primary building block. They are actually very aesthetically pleasing and they function the same way an earthship does. In a country that has a longstanding housing and energy crisis.
Each bottle weighs approximately two pounds after it is filled with sand and all of the bottles are wired together elaborately at the caps to provide extra support to the structure. The walls are earthquake resistant and bulletproof and these structures can be as tall as three stories.
In a country that is buried in waste that is lacking cohisive economic structure, these small homes provide a perfect solution. They are completely self sustaining meaning that the home’s occupants won’t have to worry about energy bills or shortages. They are also a quarter of the cost of building a conventional home.
With the student loan bubble on its way to bursting, it’s a fact that many graduates won’t be able to own our own homes in the near future. Could this be the solution for us too?
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