Earthships – The Independent Eco Future : Robert Wells - Cultural Adventurer
I’m sat, in complete luxury. I’ve just had a steaming hot bath, enjoyed a large mug of coffee, and listened to music whilst surfing the web….and I’ve done all of this without connection to either a power or water company. I’m inside an Earthship , situated on the snow speckled desert plains just outside Taos, New Mexico . Above me are large wooden beams, glass jewels are encrusted into the green walls, and dark red slabs of stone are underfoot. Architecturally the building is beautiful, an amazing unity of function and design. I think that we should all be living in houses made like this, and given the choice, I think that we would all like to be living this way; who wouldn’t want to remove quarterly water and electricity bills from their outgoings? For instance… I caught the end of an interview with Donald Trump in which he was talking about how he would kick-start the American economy. A page from 'Journey' by Michael Reynolds, the designer of Earthships (click to enlarge)
nested architecture
1989. Frank Duffy. The Shearing Layers. The Shearing layers concept views buildings as a set of components that evolve in different timescales; Frank Duffy summarized this view in his phrase: “Our basic argument is that there isn't any such thing as a building. A building properly conceived is several layers of longevity of built components” (quoted in (Brand, 1994)). The layers are (quoted from Brand, 1994): “Site - This is the geographical setting, the urban location, and the legally defined lot, whose boundaries and context outlast generations of ephemeral buildings. Structure - The foundation and load-bearing elements are perilous and expensive to change, so people don't. Skin - Exterior surfaces now change every 20 years or so, to keep up with fashion or technology, or for wholesale repair. Space Plan - The Interior layout--where walls, ceilings, floors, and doors go. 1994. The building is depicted as a continuos flow, since change in building is universal.
Electricity | Systems
The Power Organizing Module (POM) is not one of a kind. They are mass produced and used over and over again in a variety of climatic situations. Glitches, bugs and custom design faults have long since been evolved out. Since the POM has been used all over the USA, we know what various code require. We are simply adapting our needs to the already existing activities of the planet. Why pipe water long distances from a centralized community water system, or from an expensive well that needs significant electrical power, depletes aquifers and lowers the water table, when water falls from the sky? Why have a corporate or political "middle man" between us and our energy needs? An understanding of mechanical systems for most humans is limited to what is within reach of their fingertips. Humans need comfortable temperatures, light, electricity, hot water, food, sewage treatment, etc.
Utopies et avant-gardes
Greywater
Elimination of greywater[edit] Domestic wastewater is usually combined at the sewer, so that grey- and blackwaters are removed together using a shared sewerage system in a process called elimination. Sewage water can then be treated to limit pollution and health risks, before being returned to the environment at large. Most greywater ends up as effluent in rivers and oceans in this way. There are other alternatives to eliminating greywater that allow for efficient use; using it to irrigate plants is a common practice.[1] The plants use contaminants of greywater, such as food particles, as nutrients in their growth. However, salt and soap residues can be toxic to microbial and plant life alike, but can be absorbed and degraded through constructed wetlands and aquatic plants such as sedges, rushes, and grasses. Recycling[edit] Underground Grey Water Recycling Tank Most greywater is easier to treat and recycle than blackwater, because of lower levels of contaminants. Systems[edit] Ecology[edit]
Une Villa déchets à Nantes
2 créateurs nantais ont voulu relancer le débat sur le recyclage grâce à un moyen pour le moins original … par la construction d’une Villa déchets ! C’est en effet à partir de palettes en bois, de chips de polystyrène, de cartons, de papier recyclé, de gobelets usagés… qu’a été construite, isolée, meublée et décorée cette maison qui fait parler d’elle ! “En 2005, une scrap house a été construite à San Francisco mais elle n’était pas habitable. 35 jours (20 jours de collecte et 15 jours de construction) ont suffi à construire cette maison d’un genre particulier, achevée en novembre dernier, grâce à l’aide de centaines de volontaires, encadrés par une dizaine de salariés, qui se sont succédés pour aider à l’élaboration du projet (tout en apprenant comment créer des murs isolants en remplissant de chips de polystyrène une structure de palettes ou bien en fabriquant des briques en papier mâché.) La “Villa” sera présente à Nantes jusqu’au 31 décembre.
DIY Methane Generator
You can make biogas energy with a DIY methane generator. Producing methane from manure using your own small scale waste to energy biogas digester is feasible for many small farms. What is Biogas Energy? Biogas energy is fueled by burning methane produced by the decomposition of organic wastes. Small scale biogas generator Methane is a gas – chemically CH4. Whenever organic materials are decomposed by bacteria anaerobically (i.e. in the absence of oxygen) methane and carbon dioxide are produced. Small scale manure-to-energy methane generator plans are available here! Sources of Biogas Energy Just about any organic waste can be decomposed as a methane generator - plant (soft material is better than woody material) and animal wastes, and even human waste. On a municipal level, rubbish tips act as biogas digesters and are prodigious methane generators. In a small scale waste to energy situation it is possible to generate methane from manure or even sewerage. Advantages • Simple to build and operate.
FabLab Squared
La Fing et plusieurs acteurs de l’innovation, de la création, de l’éducation et de la recherche et des technologies, se lancent dans un projet d’émergence et d’essaimage des Fab Labs en France. Le projet Fab Lab squared a été retenu dans le cadre de l’appel à projets Prototypes Technologiques, lancé par la région Ile de France et Cap Digital. Les FabLabs, qu’est-ce que c’est ? Un Fab Lab (abréviation de Fabrication laboratory) est une plate-forme ouverte de création et de prototypage d’objets physiques, "intelligents" ou non. Il s’adresse aux entrepreneurs qui veulent passer plus vite du concept au prototype ; aux designers et aux artistes ; aux étudiants désireux d’expérimenter et d’enrichir leurs connaissances pratiques en électronique, en CFAO, en design ; aux bricoleurs du XXIe siècle… » Consultez la définition complète et illustrée du Fablab Les implications du concept au sein de la société La vie numérique et ses implications sociétales La vie numérique et ses implications urbaine
