Trash to Treasure: How Earthships Evolved From Radical Recycling Experiment to Off-Grid Luxury

Earthship homes have gone by many names: "Star Wars" houses, hobbit huts, and even tin can shacks. But in recent years they have become better known as being among the more luxurious and unique off-grid retreats money can buy.

Built from natural and recycled materials, the self-sustaining dwellings offer buyers freedom and independence from conventional suburban living and its expenses.

Earthships are wholly self-sufficient and are traditionally built around a focus on eco-friendly lifestyles, with ample land for food production, water-harvesting systems, and, perhaps most importantly, are structures that are designed using only recycled materials.

Beyond the environmental benefits, there are also some brilliant financial upsides to owning an Earthship home—namely a significant reduction in utility bills. With a passive heating and cooling system to regulate temperature, solar and wind energy production, and a contained sewage treatment, buyers no longer have to rely on those pesky bills to solve the problem.

So say goodbye to traditional living and instead welcome a unique way to drastically shrink your carbon footprint by diving into the awe-inspiring history of Earthships.

What are the most distinctive elements of an Earthship home?

The most distinctive element of an Earthship is its grand, artistic structure. Emerging directly from the landscape they are built on, Earthships are earth-sheltered homes, with the back and sides of the dwelling embedded in the environment for insulation.

​The sloped fronts of an Earthship typically feature large windows for both natural light and passive solar heat. The curved, hand-formed walls are built out of recycled materials, most generally tires that have been packed with soil and covered with adobe mud to create dense and heavy building blocks.

Other common materials include colorful glass bottles that resemble a stained-glass window and aluminum cans for extra, lightweight structure.

When was the first Earthship home designed?

The first Earthship home was designed by American architect Michael Reynolds in Taos, NM, in 1972. Inspired by news stories regarding the lack of affordable housing and overflow of trash, Reynolds built a building block constructed out of scrapped steel and tin cans he wired together.

​This “can brick” was the first prototype used to construct Earthships before they evolved into the luxurious, eco-friendly homes seen today. In 1975, Reynolds constructed the first Earthship made out of tires. Named "The Hobbit House," the Earthship was a small, one-room studio.

In 1979, Reynolds founded Earthships Biotecture, an eco-construction company that builds and teaches people about Earthship-style homes.

​According to Earthships Biotecture, the six principles of an Earthship include the use of natural and recycled building materials, passive heating and cooling, solar and wind energy production, food production through an attached greenhouse, water harvesting, and contained sewage treatment through greywater reuse and plant filtration.    

​Earthships Biotecture offers Earthship school both online and on campus, as well as a hands-on field study to help others learn about Earthships, their build, and their healthy impact on the environment.

​They also have a visitor center with self-guided and private tours in Tres Piedras, NM.

​Where are the best places to find Earthship homes?

​While Earthships can now be found in almost every U.S. state, the highest concentration of these properties is found in desert climates like New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado.

​Taos County, NM, is home to the Greater World Earthship Community, the first and largest off-grid Earthship concentration in the world. The high-desert mesa offers the ideal climate for these homes, including the perfect soil composition and permitting leniency for construction.

​How have Earthship homes changed over the years?

​One of the most obvious ways Earthship homes have changed over the years is evolving from experimental, off-grid huts into modern, eco-friendly homes.

​Earthships have come a long way from the days when builders wired together steel and tin cans to create climate-resilient dwellings. Today, designers utilize a wide variety of sustainable recycled materials to build homes that are not only sustainable, but also aesthetically appealing.

Earth-rammed tires and glass bottles are a main source of building materials.

​Earthships’ sustainable systems have also been upgraded over the years. Early Earthships relied heavily on a passive solar design to heat and cool the space. And while glass is still used today to collect and store heat, buried cooling tubes and vent boxes have been added for additional cooling resources.

​This self-sustaining heat and cool cycle rids the environment of having to burn fossil fuels or wood for energy.

​Earthships also now use a renewable “power plant” with photovoltaic panels, batteries, charge controllers, and inverters in place of traditional electricity. An Earthship has about 25% of the electrical needs that a standard house requires.            

This style of home also focuses on water conservation. Cisterns on the roof collect rainwater and snow in order to supply the property with water. The rain and snow runs through a pump and filter system that produces clean water to a solar heater and pressure tank, meaning that Earthships don’t have to rely on water from the ground or other municipal sources.

This water is used for laundry, washing dishes, and more. The best part is that there’s no water bill. According to Reynolds himself, a 2,200-square-foot Earthship will have an average utility bill of $150 per year.

Outside of upgraded building materials and sustainable systems, Earthships have also advanced aesthetically.

Early Earthships were dark and cramped, often featuring only a single-room studio. However, Earthships are now viewed as luxurious, contemporary builds. Grand Earthships can feature extensive open-concept floor plans, full kitchens, high-speed internet access, and more.

​Due to the addition of these “luxurious” amenities, Earthships have grown in value, evolving from their original objective of supplying more affordable housing to lavish off-grid getaway homes with listings that rise well into the millions.

How much does an Earthship cost?

A professionally constructed Earthship can cost between $300 to $400 per square foot, resulting in a total cost of anywhere between $450,000 and $1 million for labor, materials, and a turnkey finish.

​However, the costs of an Earthship can be cut significantly if done without professional help, slicing the price per square footage in half at $150. In these cases, the total cost of a build would average $100,000 to $200,000.

​Multiple variables can influence the final cost of building an Earthship, including size and design intricacies that a buyer may want. The bigger the size and the more intricate the design, the more expensive the final cost will be.

​Additionally, the location of the Earthship can add costs through building code compliance, such as extra inspection, testing, legal, and consulting charges.

​If one wants an Earthship actually built by Earthship Biotecture, buyers can expect to be charged about $400 per hour during the planning and design phase. Smaller Earthships from the company have an estimated cost of $100,000, whereas their largest, most luxurious property, the Phoenix Earthship, can cost up to $1.5 million.  

Why do people buy Earthship homes?

Despite their more luxurious rise in recent years, Earthship homes still offer a way for people to live sustainably off-grid. Buyers of Earthship homes no longer have to rely on grocery stores or other municipal sources for food, water, energy, or electricity.

​The little to no cost in energy, heating, or water bills is also a big plus.

​Owning an Earthship also means that buyers are an active part of environmentally friendly living. Not only are each of the sustainable systems built within an Earthship allowing the owner to possess complete off-grid independence, but they also intently strive toward building a healthier climate.

​While acquiring financing to build or buy an Earthship, plus the possible zoning and permit hurdles, can be a challenge, if a buyer is looking to swap traditional living and expenses for off-grid freedom, an Earthship is the perfect choice.