Earthships Are the New Real Estate In a Recovering Haiti

• July 23rd 2010

by Will Smith

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A house made of old tires, empty bottles, and other recycled material has been constructed in earthquake-ravaged Haiti, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. Earthships (as they’re called) are the brainchild of Taos, New Mexico-based architect Michael Reynolds. His company Earthship Biotecture has built more than 1,000 of them.

Earthships are not only constructed from recycled materials, they are also designed to be completely self-sustaining. They capture energy from the wind and sun, and water from rain and snow melt. Heating and cooling is also handled naturally from the sun and ground.

Working with Haitian locals, Reynolds supervised the four-day construction of the Port-au-Prince Earthship. (His arm was in a sling, so he couldn’t do any of the physical work.) He plans to return in October to put the finishing touches on the structure, as well as scout a site for an entire village of Earthships.

In addition to their environmental benefits, Reynolds says Eatherships hold promise for development:

Earthships could be a boon for a place like Haiti, says Mr. Reynolds, where even the capital city has little infrastructure like sewage or electricity. “The most substantial thing I saw down there was a plywood shack,” he says. [WSJ]

Following are some of the photos of the Earthship taking shape in Haiti:

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/earthships_are_the_new_real_estate_in_a_recovering_haiti/2293.