This one is a personal dream of mine since 70's. Age 13, at my grans house I saw a Tv series: 'the ecohouse' I think it was called. It had a huge effect on me. I decided one day I would design and build a spherical house, half underground. A home that was 100% self powered, warmed, cooled and watered and could be built in days with rubbish - and looked like part of the land but coming out of the future and looking absolutely stunning.
In my 3rd year as an industrial design student at Edinburgh's Napier University - my course lecturers allowed me to design it as my main project for that year. Much of the basic ideas and technology has been around since the 70s. All that remains is to find the money to buy some land and build it. My partner Fee and I agreed to do just that. So what the heck am I talking about ?
Imagine all kinds of homes across scotland that:
1. collects it's own water and generates ALL its own power, heat and recycles its own waste
2. eats waste (built with coke cans and disused tyres) and generates surplus power to the national grid to create a small income
3. barn-raising architectural economy- self designed and built quickly with growing network help of other earth ship builders (inc. their wide mix of growing expertise)
repercussions:
1. Architectural design - dead for over 100 years, apart from few mavericks -would come alive, houses would all look very different
2. 20th century would have to be completely rethought: town planning, building trade, road systems, waste collection, energy, water and power and all associated legislation.
3. Economics: Income needed from 'working for others' would reduce therefore State Taxation: would be sought more from land not people. Treasury would need to radically shift its spending priorities. Landless folks' dependancy on Banks and mortgage based economics would have to have major surgery.
5. Land reform would move to centre stage. The reality that wealth = land, may start to sink in among many scots- and may accelerate demand for land reform, once they realise that houses that make money. Haggis-land is crazily concentrated in hands of tiny few - keeping cost of buying devilishly high and beyond the reach of the many - and I mean devilish!! (;-)
6. Travel: new forms of transport would be developed that do not need roads
7. Social Justice, health, art and play - allowing citizens to have land and build their own wee tartan domes - every one different designs shaped by 'place' its resources, links, ecology, character, possibilities and its rubbish. Institutionalised solidarity and labour party politics that surround it will need an overhaul. Not new visions of 'market economics/big society' espoused by conservative party politicians but 'different kinds of solidarity' imagined by the people - people with houses, no mortgages, unleashed creative energy and lots more time to play with.
8. Food & farming - Tescopolis: supermarket based economy would have to radically change/ adapt or crash. Using houses to grow local food- sounds bizarre - but it could transform whole thinking about food and farming and what we mean by 'local' - can't get more local than growing it in or on your house.
Here's a good example my partner Fee, has been banging on about lately- earthships - started in 1970s new mexico and which is spreading around the world - including a 'pilot project' called SCI in good ol pioneering Fife in Scotland.
If it's such a great idea - how come so few are doing it ? Now that's another question - something to do with, lot's of vested interests - but tackling that is another idea for another post.
