The Earthship is a housing structure built entirely with used tyres, bottles and other waste materials salvaged from the area and filled with dirt. This is architect Michael Reynolds’s energy efficient solution for rebuilding the country of Haiti after the devastating earthquake in January 2010.
These homes are designed to collect water from rain and snow, and to use solar energy and wind to generate their own power and heat. The Earthship also comes custom-fitted with a greenhouse so that residents can grow their own food.
Architect Michael Reynolds and his organisation Earthship Biotecture specialises in building environmentally-friendly structures in areas of the world affected by disaster, natural or otherwise. The Earthship in Haiti measures about 37 square metres and is both earthquake and hurricane resistant.
Under Reynolds’s guidance, the structure was constructed by the locals and Reynolds hopes that this model will become the prototype for many more such homes in Haiti.
