Sustainability within the construction industry is an increasingly hot topic and what better day to look at this than Earth Day 2022?

Today, we’re shining a light on Earthships. An innovative environmentally friendly approach to house-building, Earthships are built from repurposed, recycled and natural materials. These houses can be off-grid, and are popular within the self-build community.

Earthships were first developed in the 1970s by the American architect Michael E. Reynolds. Here in the UK, Fife was home to the first Earthship, with Earthship Brighton being the first in England, and today we see Brighton as a hub of sustainable housing activity.

Earthship Brighton is host to some of the many courses that Brighton Permaculture Trust hosts each year in ecobuilding. The building features repurposed tyres, filled with the earth from the hillside it’s situated on. It’s heated with solar panels, along with a pellet heater for the colder months.

Some advantages to building and living in Earthships is of course the reduced use of new materials, thereby cutting down the manufacture costs. Solar technology can be made use of, as well a small wind turbine, and even a compost loo!

Do you think you could live in an Earthship? How could we combine this quirky, innovative approach to housebuilding with some of our existing practices within the construction sector?

Written by Katie Oswell and Joseph Potts