Off-Grid Eco-Pod Construction Begins!
The small Eco-Pod design (less than 200 sq ft) is intended to maximize efficiency while minimizing the carbon footprint. It will serve as the community kitchen — energized by the Sun actively (solar panels) and passively (solar thermal mass design). These features ensure that the structure is in balance and harmony with Nature. This will also enable OMfield to grow food year-round, even in Central Oregon!
Each Eco-Pod will generate it’s own power, collect it’s own rain and snow water, grow it’s own food, and passively heat and cool itself via a solar South face of local reused glass. The mass of the floor and walls will absorb sunlight throughout the day and release this heat as the temperature drops throughout the evening and into the night in winter. In summer, the median temperature of the Earth will combine with the mass walls (that don’t get direct sunlight because of the raised angle of the Sun) to release cool air into the structure.
This may be the first structure of its kind because of the variety of sustainable building concepts that are all being incorporated into this pod — recycled tires, straw bale, and Earth bags. Reclaimed from a nearby tire landfill, the tires are being used for the sub-floor and foundation below ground level. They are packed with used cardboard and then filled with dirt from the excavation. A sledge hammer pounds repeatedly on the tire until it turns into an Earth-rammed rubber brick weighing nearly 400 pounds (http://earthship.org/).
Renewable energy in the form of local straw bale will be used as the primary source of the non-South facing walls, which is the majority of the structure. Instead of rebar, bamboo will be used to lock the bales and prevent any shifting. Each tire has a fastened strap around it to compress the bales so that they become load-bearing walls. This eliminates the need for traditional post and beam methodology without compromising safety or performance.
Earth-bags will be used along a retaining wall and on the South front face. The same principle applies to this method as with the tires — forcing as much dirt as possible into a thin sleeve of plastic/poly so that it forms a thick, snake like tube. Once tamped, this too becomes like a brick and provides a similar thermal mass for passive solar productivity.
All of this combines to form a pod that is balanced, harmonious, and in alignment with Nature with an extremely minimal footprint without having to sacrifice any level of comfort.
We are currently seeking help to plaster the interior and exterior of the Pod and also some electrical and plumbing.
Stay tuned for more photos and updates. Check out the calendar page for construction/creation schedule and volunteer opportunities. We would love to have you join us.
A special thanks to the Heart of Oregon YouthBuild and all of the wonderful volunteers for their selfless service.
For more information on similar sustainable building concepts check out these websites:
http://earthship.org/
http://www.strawbale.com/straw-bale-house
http://terrasante.org/
