About Earthship Eco Homes
Earthship Eco Homes was founded by Dr Martin Freney with the mission of bringing these fabulous, energy efficient, water efficient, bushfire resilient eco homes to Australia.
Marty's Earthship Ironbank project was the first Earthship in Australia to be approved by local government (Council/Shire).
Marty has designed many Earthships throughout Australia including QLD, WA, VIC, NSW, TAS and SA. He is a licensed Building Designer, Industrial Designer and has a PhD on Earthships.
Marty's Earthship Ironbank project was the first Earthship in Australia to be approved by local government (Council/Shire).
Marty has designed many Earthships throughout Australia including QLD, WA, VIC, NSW, TAS and SA. He is a licensed Building Designer, Industrial Designer and has a PhD on Earthships.
Martin Freney in the greenhouse at Earthship Ironbank
As the owner-builder and designer of Earthship Ironbank Marty understands the process from beginning to end. Furthermore, his background in design and drafting, permaculture, and his PhD studies, which investigated the performance of Earthships in various climates, equip him with the skills and knowledge to ensure your Earthship project is a success.
Earthship Eco Homes can help with:
Martin's approach is to use the Earthship Design Principles, adapting them to suit Australian building codes (bushfire, termite, etc), local climatic conditions and your site's unique characteristics.
If you do not want to be an owner-builder, the recommended builder is Jackson Digney of Enduro Builders. Jackson has supervised the construction of the first completed Earthship in Western Australia - Earthship East Augusta. He is willing to work with owner-builders and volunteers, or he can undertake the whole construction process for you.
Please get in touch to discuss your Earthship project or schedule a free 15 minute consultation.
Earthship Eco Homes can help with:
- site selection and analysis
- design for local climate
- design for bushfire
- design for termites
- regulations and codes
- drafting your plans for submission to your local Council/Shire
- advice on how to get council approval
- education and workshops - a great way to kick-start the construction stage
Martin's approach is to use the Earthship Design Principles, adapting them to suit Australian building codes (bushfire, termite, etc), local climatic conditions and your site's unique characteristics.
If you do not want to be an owner-builder, the recommended builder is Jackson Digney of Enduro Builders. Jackson has supervised the construction of the first completed Earthship in Western Australia - Earthship East Augusta. He is willing to work with owner-builders and volunteers, or he can undertake the whole construction process for you.
Please get in touch to discuss your Earthship project or schedule a free 15 minute consultation.
About Earthships
Earthships are the invention of US architect Mike Reynolds. He defines six main Earthship principles:
1) building with natural and recyclable materials,
2) using passive solar and thermal systems for heating and cooling the home,
3) energy self sufficiency
4) water self sufficiency
5) sewage treatment self sufficiency, and
6) integrated food production systems (that use the treated effluent from the home).
Other principles include using construction methods that are easily learned and put into practice by amateur builders (e.g. "tyre pounding"). These principles have the following goals:
1) building with natural and recyclable materials,
2) using passive solar and thermal systems for heating and cooling the home,
3) energy self sufficiency
4) water self sufficiency
5) sewage treatment self sufficiency, and
6) integrated food production systems (that use the treated effluent from the home).
Other principles include using construction methods that are easily learned and put into practice by amateur builders (e.g. "tyre pounding"). These principles have the following goals:
- minimise environmental impacts throughout the whole lifecycle of the home: construction, occupancy and demolition (although hopefully demolition is hundreds of years away!)
- become self-sufficient in energy, water and to some extent, food.
- drive sustainable behaviour change - Earthship occupants become more aware of their energy use, water use and general consumption, for example, being more careful about what sort of personal hygiene products they pour down their drains.
- empower people to "be the change they want to see in the world".
- enable people to reduce the financial burden of relentless energy and water utility bills.
Images above: Earthship Eco Home's first prototype project - Earthship Ironbank - one of Adelaide's most popular BnBs!
The ultimate goal is to provide housing that enables the occupants to realise a positive change in their life. Reynolds says:
"This concept of living, (independent voyage vs. dependent trap), could change the nature of the human mind itself. It could provide a basis and a direction for conscious evolution on Earth"
In other words, what might our society look like if our housing provided energy and water, essentially for free, so that we didn't need to rape and pillage the planet in a frantic effort to pay the electricity and water bills? Surely we'd have more time to care for ourselves, for others, and for our planet.
The findings of Dr Freney's PhD study found that being self-sufficient is the most important factor when it comes to reducing the environmental impact arising from your home. It is also a significant factor in terms of minimising your ongoing expenses. For the foreseeable future, energy and water prices will be going up, whereas solar panels, batteries, and rain water tanks are likely to get cheaper as technology improves and demand increases. Freney also found that people who live in Earthships find them very comfortable, despite being off-grid... they love their Earthships! Through monitoring the thermal performance (indoor air temperature and humidity) of various Earthships in the USA and Australia, Freney concludes that Earthships are suitable for most climates in Australia (tropical climates require a different Earthship design) requiring minimal energy for heating and cooling. No air-con needed!
Click here to download a PDF file of Freney's PhD thesis titled "Earthship Architecture: post occupancy evaluation, thermal performance and life cycle assessment".
Since completing Earthship Ironbank in 2016, hundreds of people have visited for tours and many have stayed for a night or two. Judging by the comments in the guest book, Earthship Ironbank has been universally enjoyed for its beauty, comfort and tranquillity: just another small piece of evidence that Earthships are a fantastic idea!
"This concept of living, (independent voyage vs. dependent trap), could change the nature of the human mind itself. It could provide a basis and a direction for conscious evolution on Earth"
In other words, what might our society look like if our housing provided energy and water, essentially for free, so that we didn't need to rape and pillage the planet in a frantic effort to pay the electricity and water bills? Surely we'd have more time to care for ourselves, for others, and for our planet.
The findings of Dr Freney's PhD study found that being self-sufficient is the most important factor when it comes to reducing the environmental impact arising from your home. It is also a significant factor in terms of minimising your ongoing expenses. For the foreseeable future, energy and water prices will be going up, whereas solar panels, batteries, and rain water tanks are likely to get cheaper as technology improves and demand increases. Freney also found that people who live in Earthships find them very comfortable, despite being off-grid... they love their Earthships! Through monitoring the thermal performance (indoor air temperature and humidity) of various Earthships in the USA and Australia, Freney concludes that Earthships are suitable for most climates in Australia (tropical climates require a different Earthship design) requiring minimal energy for heating and cooling. No air-con needed!
Click here to download a PDF file of Freney's PhD thesis titled "Earthship Architecture: post occupancy evaluation, thermal performance and life cycle assessment".
Since completing Earthship Ironbank in 2016, hundreds of people have visited for tours and many have stayed for a night or two. Judging by the comments in the guest book, Earthship Ironbank has been universally enjoyed for its beauty, comfort and tranquillity: just another small piece of evidence that Earthships are a fantastic idea!