I don’t know, but thanks to a project in the works by the non-profit Arizona group Everlasting Marks we may be able to find out. They are raising money to build a earthship at Superstition Farm in Mesa. The construction is a training build that will train their future camp counselors the building process that they intend to use at the thier camps. Everlasting Marks eventual goal is to create international youth camps that promote cultural understanding and environmental awareness. When they complete the construction of the earthship it will be donated to the East Maricopa Natural Resource Conservation and be open to visits from the general public. This could be a great place for everyone to visit to see what life might be like living in a eco-friendly earthship without air conditioning. I know I’ll check it out because I really want to see one up close and see if it stays comfortable in the summer.
Everlasting Marks can’t complete this without help from the community, so if you want to help head over to their website and volunteer or donate some much needed funds.
If you don’t know what a earthship is check out our post about them here.
Earthships are extremely energy efficient homes constructed from earth and recycled materials. They are usually off grid and collect their own electricity and water. They are a great mix of old and modern technology to create great sustainable structures to live in. I know there are some Earthship homes in Arizona, but have never seen one up close. I’m really curious if they stay cool enough without A/C here in the desert.
The two videos below show what these unconventional homes are all about.
A development team in downtown Philly consisting of a developer, architect, and builder has set out to build a modern, green home for $100K in construction costs and another $100K - $150K for land. They came up with this plan because modern design with an eye for sustainability was important to them, however, homes of this sort currently do not exist in any affordable way. A total cost of around ~$200K seemed to be the “magic number” to them as it was a price they and their friends could afford. Depending on location and cost for the land these can obviously end up being more or less affordable. Here in Arizona it would probably be easier to find more affordable plots of land than in downtown Philly.
The team building these homes is starting with a pair of modest 2 story loft-style houses with 2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, and 1000 sq ft of living space. This would be a great starter house for young couples, small families, or retirees looking to downsize. Back when I was house shopping a few years ago I didn’t come across any homes with green features for anywhere near this affordable price range and ended up settling on a conventional home that we could afford. Had these been available to us then we would have snatched one up in a heart beat!
The plan is also to make these homes as eco-friendly as possible and even strive for LEED platinum certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED platinum certification is a stringent measure of many different factors, including energy efficiency, water use, building materials, etc. There are very few LEED platinum homes in the U.S. and probably none at the price point they are shooting for. The green features they plan to incorporate are:
Lets hope they are successful, I’d love to have options like this if I ever need to move again. To keep tabs on their progress and to get all the details of their plan check out the 100K house blog at http://100khouse.com/.
Here is a video of Nic Darling from the developer of this project, PostGreen, presenting the 100K house idea at Ignite Philly.
Know about any other projects like this? Leave a comment and let us know.
The Memorial Union at ASU’s Tempe campus was damaged by fire last November and as part of the clean up they are going to do some renovations with a focus on sustainability. This is exciting news, I can’t wait to see what it looks like when the construction is finished next Fall.
“We had to repair the fire damage. Why not use the opportunity to upgrade the building as well?” she said.
ASU spokeswoman Leah Hardesty added that many of the University’s efforts will focus on sustainability.
The University will be going for a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certification in commercial interiors, she said.
LEED certification is given to buildings that have achieved high degrees of sustainability in terms of construction that recycles and reuses materials and buildings that make use of energy-efficient designs and appliances, among other factors.
The new dining facility is tentatively named the Starlight Terrace and Eco-Fresh Café, Lowe said.
The restaurant will make use of local organic foods and environmentally friendly practices such as recycling.
“We’re still mostly conceptualizing on the Starlight Terrace,” Hardesty said. “But we do know it will be entirely sustainable.”
The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS) is a rating system similar to LEED that helps universities gauge their progress towards sustainability. ASU and UA are listed as participating in the pilot and while NAU isn’t listed in the pilot they are highlighted on their page for their achievements in sustainability.
Northern Arizona University (Flagstaff, AZ) is our current spotlight campus! High-efficiency LEED certified buildings, campus recycling, a food surplus donation program, reclaimed water and a master transportation plan are among NAU’s efforts to become a more sustainable institution. NAU has committed to climate neutrality through participation in the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment. Learn more
I can’t wait until these ratings come and and we can see how our Arizona schools are doing. It seems that all three are making great strides at becoming more sustainable.
Here’s an article about STARS at University of Arizona. [Click Here]
Here is the STARS site if you’d like to find out more. [Click Here]
James Towner | 
08 14th, 2008| 
I don’t know, but thanks to a project in the works by the non-profit Arizona group Everlasting Marks we may be able to find out. They are raising money to build a earthship at Superstition Farm in Mesa. The construction is a training build that will train their future camp counselors the building process that they intend to use at the thier camps. Everlasting Marks eventual goal is to create international youth camps that promote cultural understanding and environmental awareness. When they complete the construction of the earthship it will be donated to the East Maricopa Natural Resource Conservation and be open to visits from the general public. This could be a great place for everyone to visit to see what life might be like living in a eco-friendly earthship without air conditioning. I know I’ll check it out because I really want to see one up close and see if it stays comfortable in the summer.
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