Designs & Plans
Earthship Eco Homes has developed a range of designs that you can buy as a set of plans, or as the basis for a new custom design specially for you.
All the designs use all of the six Earthship Design Principles developed by Michael Reynolds' (earthship inventor/architect). The designs have been developed to ensure they address Australian building codes, standards, climate, termites, bushfires, energy efficiency, etc.
There are designs for:
Wall construction materials can be changed to your taste. Some people are concerned about the use of tyres in Earthship walls and would prefer something different. We are sure that tyres are a safe, ecological and economical construction material, but acknowledge that other options have their own advantages in certain situations, hence we have developed a range of options for the main (retaining) wall that is fundamental to Earthship design.
External (retaining) wall options:
Internal wall construction options:
All the designs use all of the six Earthship Design Principles developed by Michael Reynolds' (earthship inventor/architect). The designs have been developed to ensure they address Australian building codes, standards, climate, termites, bushfires, energy efficiency, etc.
There are designs for:
- small suburban blocks of land
- larger, rural blocks of land
- bushfire prone land
- sites with views to the south, east or west (note: in Australia, Earthships must face roughly north)
Wall construction materials can be changed to your taste. Some people are concerned about the use of tyres in Earthship walls and would prefer something different. We are sure that tyres are a safe, ecological and economical construction material, but acknowledge that other options have their own advantages in certain situations, hence we have developed a range of options for the main (retaining) wall that is fundamental to Earthship design.
External (retaining) wall options:
- Tyres (filled with compacted earth and rendered so you can't see the tyres)
- Rammed Earth
- Super adobe (sandbags)
- Concrete block (with render to hide the blocks)
- Pre-fabricated concrete panels (lifted into place with a crane)
Internal wall construction options:
- "Can walls" (aluminium cans in cement or earth mortar)
- "Bottle walls" (glass bottle bricks in cement or earth mortar)
- Strawbale
- Straw panel e.g. Durra Panel
- Mud brick
- Rammed earth
- Compressed earth blocks
- Cob
- Light earth
- Hempcrete
- Super adobe (sandbags)
- Timber framed with plasterboard (Gyprock)
- Brick
The Earthship Eco Homes Design & Approval Process
Stage 1 - Site Visit and Consultation
The site visit is an important first step to find out if your site is suitable for an Earthship:
- solar exposure - north facing site with no shading by trees, buildings, mountains, etc
- slope (topography) - flat site, or roughly north facing slopes are ideal
- wastewater - sufficient area for wastewater soakage bed and septic tank
- bushfi re risk - sufficient “defendable area” around the building
Stage 2 - Design
The design stage explores various options for your Earthship:
- where it can be located on your site for best solar exposure, minimal bushfire risk, accommodating the slope
- floor plan options
- roof, wall and floor material options
Stage 3 - Planning Approval
First you need Planning Approval from Council/Shire to establish that you are allowed to build a home, BnB, School or whatever type of Earthship you want to build. A basic set of plans is developed to address planning issues such as:
- distance from boundaries
- driveway and car parking
- building size and shape - floor plan, elevations (north, south, east, west)
- bushfire hazard (an assessment by the local Fire Service may be required)
- wastewater system design (by a civil engineer)
Stage 4 - Building Approval
After you have Planning Approval the next step is to develop plans, specifications and reports for Building Approval, to demonstrate that the design meets the requirements of the National Construction Code.
achieve Building Approval and, ultimately, Development Approval - then you can start building!
- architectural drawings to demonstrate compliance with the NCC
- structural engineering (by a structural engineer)
- energy assessment (by an energy assessor)
- Certification by a private certifier/surveyor (or alternatively, your Council may offer this service)
achieve Building Approval and, ultimately, Development Approval - then you can start building!
Stage 5 - Construction Consultant
Earthship Eco Homes supports you throughout the construction stage to ensure a great outcome. Some of the Earthship construction methods may not be familiar to you or your builder so this is essentially an education stage to bring you and your builder up to speed on issues such as tyre wall construction, plumbing for the indoor greywater garden, bottle bricks, earth renders etc.
- online and phone support for your licensed builder, or for you, as an owner-builder
- site visits if needed
Stage 6 - Construction Workshops
Turning your project into an educational event to teach sustainable design and construction methods is highly recommended (but entirely optional). Earthship Eco Homes will organise, advertise, and orchestrate the event in conjunction with the owner-builder or licensed builder.
- tyre walls, earth renders and bottle bricks are labour intensive - the students solve this problem
- students pay a fee to attend; this covers the cost of their food and camping on site
- student fees also contribute to the the wages of the workshop instructors
- win-win outcome for you, the students and the instructors - everyone benefits
Current Off-The-Shelf Designs
EarthBnB
EarthBnB is small, affordable and highly bushfire resilient. Ideal as a tiny home for 1 or 2 people, or as tourist accommodation.
Bushfire Family
The Bushfire Family design was developed to be highly resilient and highly defendable against bushfires. It is earth-sheltered and earth-covered with bushfire shutters on all the north facing windows and doors.
Suburban
The Suburban Earthship is designed to fit on a 30m x 30m (900m2) block of land. It has strawbale walls at the east and west ends of the building plus the typical Earthship tyre wall to the south, greenhouse to the north.
Suburban MB
The Suburban MB (mini berm) Earthship features some small south facing windows to admit extra light and cross ventilation. It will fit on a 30m x 20m block of land.
Vista
Earthship Vista is designed to provide views to the south, east and west via a strawbale "wing" which enables windows to be positioned to get the views. Strawbale walls provide excellent insulation, are ecological and economical, and (surprisingly) bushfire resilient.
Zero
Earthship Zero is designed for ultimate performance. Based on some of Michael Reynolds' most efficient designs, this Australian version has been prototyped at Earthship East Augusta with amazing results - super stable indoor temperatures with zero heating and cooling energy required! Outdoor entertaining areas are included in the design or can be left out to save money/space etc.