Earthship Vol1: How To Build Your Own - Michael Reynolds

At a glance..

This book describes the idea of a self-contained Earthship -- a home that provides for it's own power, sewage, food and water needs. He then talks about the structure, the ideas behind it, and why it works. The rest of the book is all about how to actually build one.

The details..

The Earthship concept, as presented by Michael Reynolds in this book, aims at creating independent vessels capable of supporting human life. The author argues that the current housing system supported by massive centralized systems is no longer appropriate or reliable and we need to evolve self-sufficient living units that are their own systems. This idea has been inspired by nature itself where creatures have evolved to interface with their host planet.

In this book, the author discusses what it means for humans to interface with natural phenomena and why it's necessary. He presents idealistic visions which he then digests into realistic possibilities for building such habitats. The Earthships must be able to energize themselves, heat and cool themselves, grow food and deal with their waste independently. By doing so they will radically slow down destruction of the planet caused by humanity's abuse of earth resources.

Reynolds provides detailed information about designing an Earthship including location selection based on local phenomena like wind patterns or solar exposure; following directives from concepts and natural phenomena while considering materials used in construction; using primary building blocks like tires filled with soil (the U module) or greenhouse-hallway-heating ducts (the greenhouse); assimilation details involved in joining modules together; formulas and techniques for various finishes.

The book also includes existing prototypes of Earthships built around the world along with instructions on how one can operate them efficiently once constructed.