Eco-Friendly ‘Earthship’ Home Near Taos Enables Off-the-Grid Living

In the early 1970s, after graduating from the University of Cincinatti’s prestigious College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, Mike Reynolds began applying his architectural training and natural-born know-how toward the development of an unconventional form of housing, one that was self-sufficient, and not dependent on centralized systems of power, water, sewage, and food. To eliminate unnecessary cost and waste, the homes were to be constructed as much as possible out of discarded materials.

Proving the old adage, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” Reynolds found that old tires, something found in every junkyard, dump, and landfill on the planet, could be repurposed into sturdy building blocks by filling them with compacted soil, while glass bottles and aluminum cans could be employed to provide additional structure and artistic embellishment. Reynolds continued to prototype and fine-tune the design of his homes, dubbed “Earthships,” on property he acquired in New Mexico, eventually leading him to launch what’s been called the world’s largest off-the-grid subdivision — the Greater World Earthship Community.

Located on 633 acres of land 14 miles outside Taos, the sustainable-living development contains approximately 70 dwellings, one of which is now up for grabs. Like the other Earthships in the community, the 2,600-square-foot home is lined with a wall of windows on its south-facing side to optimize solar energy, and is equipped with a sustainable water harvesting and septic system. An atrium greenhouse with mature plants fed by greywater also runs the length of the main house, which contains two bedrooms and two bathrooms.

Other notable features include lofty viga ceilings, concrete floors, built-in shelving, artistic glass embellishments, and an attached guest studio complete with kitchen, bath, and private patio.

On a two-acre parcel of land, the eco-friendly property is listed with Ellen Lerner of New Mexico Mountain Properties at an asking price of $950,000.