ABSTRACT
Th is chapter looks at what earthships are, rather than what they are not. In brief, earthships are a serious, rational, and well-designed architectural response to some of the challenges that face humankind in the 21st century. Th ey are also visually arresting, charismatic, and extremely comfortable for those who live in them; indeed, they are oft en described as low carbon living in luxury. Not only do earthships address the fundamental question of how to provide safe shelter for their inhabitants, they have a thorough and holistic engagement with vital issues of sustainability, notably zero carbon and zero waste living, through recycling and reusing waste, energy saving and generation, water harvesting and recycling, and even food production.
