So, you want to know why we chose not to build an Earthship, huh?

Well, there are a couple of reasons.
The first and foremost reason is Lotte.

Lotte Middelkoop

Last year, in February, when I (Rogier) went on a volunteer week in Normandy to work on the Trotts Earthship we had every intention on building an Earthship. Little did we know.
Early the first morning a small car with two huge guys and a not so huge girl came driving up to the site. They had been driving all night from Holland. My first thought was that these had to be students and were completely mad. Turned out I was right, partly.

I got to know Lotte a little and since we lived not far apart she suggested to meet up back in Holland. We (Laila, Lotte and I) did, it clicked and the idea to have our house designed by her became solid, fast. Second time we went to Normandy together, Laila, Lotte and I. Everything we came up with was confirmed that week and plans were set in motion.

This summer Lotte is earning her degree as an architect, specialised in sustainability at the TU Delft. The design of our future home is her thesis.

Second reason.

Building Permits

The story goes that some lady opted for a building permit for an Earthship in Belgium. She though she got it and hired Mike Reynolds’ team to build the thing. But, at the last minute the permit was pulled and the Earthship could not be build. Instead they build a hut, a consolation.

Other stories of having troubles getting a permit circulate as well.
In order to get a building permit one has to write to every county or district they can (and we have a language challenge with that option), then hoping one agrees and then hoping they have a suitable site, and ultimately a site where you want to build a somewhat expensive house and want to live for a long time to come. That is a lot hopes and ifs.

We decided that location, location, location was to be the most important thing, especially if you want to live there for 20 or 30 years. So the above process was eliminated. And after seeing the conditions with which a building had to comply in Chenogne, our choice was confirmed.
So, now we’re designing a reasonably normal looking house, but build in a sustainable manner, and autonomous.

I also believe that at least 99.9% of everything that is being build in Holland (’cause that’s where we’re from) will never be an Earthship. Because of the building materials and, simply,  the way it looks. We are to conservative.
The fact that we have an Earthship teahouseis a very rare exception and I believe individuals will never get a permit for an Earthship in a residential area, in Holland.
The upper half of Belgium is quite similair, but the chances get better the farther down you get in Europe.

Third reason.

Recycling

One of the corner stones of the Earthship concept is reusing discarded materials. I don’t think one can call it recycling, because once it’s used in the building it cannot be used again (the bottles and cans are laid in concrete, so you can’t reuse them, and concrete is not particularly sustainable either). This as opposed to a closed recycle system where, for instance, bottles are bought, used, brought back, recycled, filled, bought et cetera.
In Western Europe, and especially in Holland, the recycling is pretty advanced. And by using these recyclable materials in a building one takes them out of the whole recycle process, never to be (re)used again. This means that for every glass bottle or aluminium can used in a building, one has to be made a new to be used in the consumer process.

Now, the above reason is only valid in a country where the process of recycling is well implemented. My guess is that by far the bigger part of the world, including the US, is far from having a nice and tight closed loop. So building Earthships is still a good idea, maybe even a necessity. Better to build a house with garbage than to throw it in a landfill.

And the fourth reason.

Design

After visiting an Earthship, help build one and volunteering in one we decided that the design just didn’t cut it for us. This now is a mute reason, because of the above statements. But, like the land you buy, the house you intend to live in for a long, long time needs to be, and feel, just right.

The concept of an Earthship seemed right at the time, but life always has a trick up its sleeve and throws you off balance when ever it can. When that happens you take stock, adjust and move on.