Blog 8

Blog 8

            A frequent topic in this class has been the Urban Ore store. It reminded me of something I stumbled across on the internet awhile back, called Biotecture, or Earthship Biotecture. This is a type of architecture that is created by using old trash—bottles, old tires, and other trash—to make new homes and buildings.

            Urban Ore often focuses on using conventional building materials to build homes. They take old materials and sell them for homemakers to buy ethical and eco-friendly building materials. They take things such as old windows, doors, wooden beams, and flooring. They also sell things such as old jewelry, appliances, and furniture.

Similarly to Urban Ore, Earthship Biotecture recycles old materials that can be used to make new homes. Urban ore focuses on reusing things. Earthship Biotecture however, is more about repurposing. The idea of Earthship Biotecture is really cool because it makes something really useful and necessary out of trash. This creates the opportunity for a building material that is much more affordable along with being much better for the environment. They focus a lot on making these homes affordable, and have a small village where people can stay that is made of recycled materials.

Earthship Biotecture also has a goal to reduce CO2 emissions, and they think that waste products should be used within 100 miles of where it was used. this strategy will help with both CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions  because it prevents the materials from having to be shipped.

The Earthship Biotecture homes do not keep people from living without power, sewage, and other modern technologies that we enjoy. They use solar and wind power, which helps with the greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants. They can store this energy in big batteries that are connected to the outlets of the home so that residents still have the option to use electronics and appliances within the homes

They also grow their own food to reduce their emissions from transporting food as low as possible. They only grow enough for themselves, and if they grow too much, they sell it to local people.

I think that this system has a lot of potential because they are not only a great solution to pollution, they also create a user-friendly environment that does not prevent its residents from living in comfort. In addition, they are actually very aesthetically pleasing, and definitely do not look like what they are made from—trash.