Whether we are in a post-modern society, or a post-post-modern society, what we are today is a modgepodge of past ideas pasted onto a present framework. It is important to learn from the past and what others are doing around you. I think it is more important to do something functional and beautiful than to do something "new".We are looking at what others are doing/have done around us for inspiration. Earlier this summer we stopped through the Fairfield, IA, eco-village.
From the top down.
Picture 1: Artwork and garden fence at the eco-village.
Picture 2: Scrap metal made into roses.
Picture 3: Snapshot of a sign in their small wetland. This sign explains how their constructed wetland filters human waste through a series of underground trenches working with plants to reuse the nutrients and remove toxicity.
Picture 4: To me this looks like a glycol panel. A glycol panel is basically anitfreeze that is heated in the sun, then run inside through tubing for heat. The tubing can be run into a tank to heat water or put inside a floor (these two ways are how we are considering using glycol panels). I want to run the tubing under the floor in the kitchen area and put adobe on top. It would be fun to create a hot water heater this way too. With glycol, you don't have to worry about the tubes freezing at night in the winter.
Picture 5: I thought this tool shed with the bike propped on it was fun. It was placed in the middle of a garden (the tour was self-guided, I assume it is a tool shed).
Picture 6: A yurt! The eco-village had a number of alternative-building examples. I like the rammed earth tires used at the edges of the entranceway. If they use tires around the yurt it would help keep a more constant, tolerable temperature.
Picture 7: This looked like a community meeting house. There is a greenhouse made with plastic on the wall seen here. In the back is a solar shower constructed with a black barrel at the top. The black will absorb the sunlight and heat the water, then it can just be gravity fed to the shower. The pipe coming to the front of this picture runs from the gutters on the house to a plastic cistern (above ground). I noticed a number of the houses had shingles, but caught their own water. I am left wondering if there is a type of shingle that won't contaminate the water. I would like to know more about it.
Picture 8: Example of a living roof. The grass filters the falling rain water. What, no goats?
Picture 9: Building style example of straw bale. One of the community members mentioned that they hold workshops and they believed that this was a left-over from a demonstration.
I am curious about the details of working with straw bale in such a moist/humid climate. Moldy?
Picture 10: This is the inside roof of the building in picture 11. It looks like wood framing and adobe. I think they may have painted something on the adobe. There were places of the wood framing covered with newspaper where it looked like they were coating the adobe. I am not sure what type of insulation they used for the roof. Something eco-friendly or recycled?
Picture 11: Adobe and straw hut. The tiles look like they are clay on the roof. The foundation appears to be concrete. I wonder how adobe holds up in this climate if it is exterior and if they have had any problems with the straw molding.
The architecture of the houses at fairfield also have an interesting history as to style. It is based on an ancient sytem designed to optimize the flow of bioenergy inside. I believe that they do use propane (as many off the grid systems still do as well). They have, as Earthships now do, employed the use of earthtubes for cooling. An interesting difference between the two communities is that Abundance EcoVillage has one large battery bank for the entire community. Earthships act as more independent systems and contain their own individual battery banks. Both communities use solar and wind power to charge their batteries. If/when we have community here I am interested in independent systems.
We talked with a developer there and Abundance EcoVillage members are also working with the loal town to help it be more green.
See more at abundanceecovillage.com
I think you guys have some awesome ideas and motivation. I'm trying to get some time set aside for dad and I to come up and knock out some tires for you.
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