Terra Civitas: An Earthship Community
My final year project is centred around the relationship between humans and the environment, focussing on how we can strengthen our connection through the use of climate-conscious building strategies. Aspiring to generate the capacity for a project that bypasses a typical 'metropolitan’ or 'natural” space but truly celebrates a partnership of the two.
An Earthship is a home designed following the mantra of living today, for tomorrow. Generating a scheme celebrating everything that makes a home without having to sacrifice morality, considering the impact we could have upon the environment instead of trying to combat it. I am very passionate about climate-conscious architecture and the use of natural materials, and I wanted to create a community of like-minded people who can have the home of their dreams suitable to raise a family, in the city; lasting more than a generation.
My overall scheme details a number of Earthships, situated on our site in Bradford. A housing project that is suitable for families in the city, without the large cost that would typically come with a home of this size. The autonomy of an Earthship creates self-sufficient utilities that would greatly reduce the running cost of a household, allowing those possibly less fortunate to access this type of housing and helping them to make a difference in their environment.
Building an Earthship is a very community-oriented process, bringing people from all walks of life together to create a beautiful outcome. I think this is a wonderful idea, and that it should become more commonplace, breaking free of the mould of cost-effective housing that is currently employed. I am firmly an advocate of biophilic architecture and believe it is the way forward to begin reversing any damage done to our environment, caring for all living organisms, not just humans.
