Earthship Biotecture is a company in Taos, NM. They specialize in, what else, earthships. We’re going to look at them, because one they contacted me; plus, while I don’t have personal experience with them, I heard great things about them when I lived in New Mexico. Their complete company description is, “A global company offering proven, totally sustainable designs, construction drawings & details, products, educational materials, lectures / presentations, consultation & guidance toward getting people in sustainable housing.”

In case you need a quick primer on earthships, here’s Earthship Biotecture’s definition:

“Earthship: passive solar home made of natural and recycled materials 2. thermal mass construction for temperature stabilization. 3. renewable energy & integrated water systems make the Earthship an off-grid home with little to no utility bills.

Biotecture: the profession of designing buildings and environments with consideration for their sustainability. 2. A combination of biology and architecture.”

I’ll show you some of this company’s work and then later do one more post with some other earthships. Not only does Earthship Biotecture build structures they offer educational workshops. This is one way to get your own earthship built more quickly; obviously it gives you a heads up on how to complete a project better. I know people who have gone it alone and people who have built with workshops, (both straw bale and glass heavy earthships) and the folks who have gone through a workshop always seem to do better.

These seminars / educational workshops the team stages a demonstration room for local builder replication, that also provides the fundamentals of the concepts behind earthship structures.

This is from the Phoenix Earthship.

The next three photos are from Earthship Biotecture’s recent Nicaragua Earthship Demo, and are good examples of an earthship in process – lots of nice old tires and glass – about to become a new structure!

Besides consulting and demonstrations you can check out Earthship Biotecture for:

Earthship rentals – get the feeling for life in one, before you build. Or you know, just get away. Taos is a great place to get away to, if you’ve never been.

Learn about earthships function – i.e where you can get water and electricity.

Find earthship books and videos.

Plus you can take a look at all their great photos of demonstrations – really slick building processes. Most with dozens of photos.

Post from: Blisstree

Earthship Biotecture

I suppose you should know, if you’re looking for someone to wax poetic, on a blog, about back to school time; then I’m really not your girl. I unschool my own son and I’ve only met one elementary school I adore. If I get my way, I may just be featuring this amazing school later this week. As for the rest… I’m not a fan.

This works out though, since it’s an offbeat school opinion for an offbeat blog.

Today; maybe the most colorful school in the U.S. Some of you have likely seen this school, because believe it or not, kooky offbeat schools appear to be in short supply.

I like this one though:

Beautiful colors and for a great man. This Cesar Chavez Elementary School is located in San Francisco. I say ‘this’, because we had two in New Mexico that I knew of and I know there’s more named for Chavez in the U.S. This one is so well done. IF it’s real. Here’s the thing, there aren’t that many photos of this on the web. This one seems almost like a painting of the mural? I honestly am not sure. Look at the sky above. It’s a great picture if it’s real.

What do you think? Maybe weird pixels?

Above is the doorway to the school which is how most doorways should be painted. It’s very swirling and soothing. The people you see in the photo are there to celebrate this:

“A landmark “Solar Schools” initiative at Cesar Chavez Elementary School aimed at bringing renewable energy resources to City schools and students. Chavez Elementary is one of six new “Solar Schools” slated to receive solar power systems that will reduce the City’s greenhouse gas emissions and educate future generations about the importance of clean, alternative energies.”

Nice.

I have one more picture but again, not sure about it. It’s real, but which Cesar Chavez School it’s from, is questionable.

Beautiful though.

Now it’s your turn. All of these are images of a Cesar Chavez School. One may be fake and one may not be in San Francisco. (How do you like this knowledgeable post)? Basically I’m riding on the fact that this is the perfect school/s for Offbeat. Other than that… well, if you know something click on the comments and let me know.

I hereby promise to be back with a back to school post that I actually can comment smartly on, very soon. Hope everyone’s having the best weekend!

Post from: Blisstree

The Offbeat Kick-Off for Back to School

Most creative folks like having their very own place to brainstorm and work. I write and my own little place is called the “one room office with desk.” And although I do have a spiffy chair as well, I’d much rather have a place like this:

This is the Bart Prince Residence and Studio, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A tad more inspirational than the one-room workspace I’d say.

EDIT NOTE: Dan in our reader comments noticed this, “The first pic above is the 1982 studio in Santa Fe (read caption above Bart’s photo). The interior is of the present studio in Albuquerque, begun in 1983.” ~ Thanks Dan & sorry readers, it’s been a heck of week – my brain’s off. 

From Prince’s site:

“Bart Prince Residence and Studio, Albuquerque, New Mexico 1983-1984

Built on a small lot in an existing neighborhood to provide living and studio workspace. The studio is set into the ground behind an earth berm toward the front of the structure to provide easy access and a buffer from the street for the more private portions of the house. The top level contains the bedrooms with curved south-facing glazing for passive solar benefits. The masonry tower was added in 1990 to provide library and drawing storage space.”

Pretty cool. Here’s an interior shot:

I’ve read various Prince interviews in the past and based on some of his previous quotes, I came up with this whopper of a question for him:

You’ve said that “site, client, materials, and form are associated with what develops…that architecture is the structure that grows out of a situation,” and that you “work from the inside out….letting (the structure) become the final form.” To an outside observer (read Jennifer, the outside non-architect observer) this can sound like you’re completely ‘winging it’ yet your finished structures are always amazing. How is this ‘from the inside out’ method more cohesive than planning from the outside in — i.e Such as architects who try to make the building and client fit their plans, rather than the other way around?

Geez, good (and by good I mean a little nuts) question huh. Still nice fellow that he is, Prince answered:

“When I say that the design ‘responds’ to the site, client, climate, materials etc. and that the design ‘grows’ from this situation, it doesn’t mean these things ‘happen’ by themselves. It’s the mind of the architect that brings these ideas together and synthesizes everything into a final scheme. It’s a very complex process and far from ‘winging it’! In fact it is a much more difficult process that the standard so-called design process used by many. You are dealing with materials, structure, ideas, space while solving complex design programs presented by the client. It takes years of experience to make this process look easy!”

This is a good example of something that looks easy, but likely took great skill. The Price Residence in California was built to provide the owners with privacy as well as, “An integration with the site and close association with the sea,” Prince’s site states.

Here’s a beautiful interior shot of the Price home:

Just amazing. Now what if you’re an architect freshly starting out. I asked Prince if he was ever worried about job security or what others in his field might think of his break from the traditional structure early in his career and what advice he’d give to aspiring architects and designers who want to break away from a basic box architectural style and head into offbeat territory.

“I never worried about ‘breaking away’ from the standard ways of doing things. I didn’t think that any architect worth anything had a choice! You HAD to begin doing work that was more creative and responsive to the modern world in my opinion. Job ’security’ never interested me. I didn’t want any job that was going to make me do things I didn’t think were worth doing.

I don’t think anyone should be trying to be ‘offbeat’. What they should be doing is using their imaginations to bring about creative solutions to the problems they are given. There should be as many kinds/styles of buildings are there are kinds/styles of people. Everything should be ‘offbeat’!”

I agree with Prince… what do you think?

This is the Mead/Penhall Residence in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I used to think of this as a little too contemporary for me. But you know, it’s kind of grown on me. I like the alternating lines and for some reason it reminds me of a waterfall. Would you like to call a place like this home?

This almost concludes our offbeat weekend architect tour. But in case you’re aching for more information I’ve got some extra sites for you to check out.

Bart Prince’s website, the obvious place to start. Prince has a multitude of cool projects to see on his site. I especially enjoy his random models and drawing page. And I highly recommend checking out the Model Skyscraper — very cool.

A book? Why yes there is a book. A very fine book that you will enjoy. You can check it out at Builders Booksource or any other bookstore you frequent.

You can find one of my favorite Prince interviews at Architectural Digest. It’s a video interview; interesting and informative. Go give it a whirl, (or a watch).

Last but absolutely not least, a hearty “thank you!” to Bart Prince for answering my questions, letting me raid his site for great photos, and allowing the Offbeat readers a view into his world.

*As yesterday, all pictures (except book cover) provided courtesy of Bart Prince. (Thanks again Bart!).

Post from: Blisstree

Offbeat Hot: Q&A With Architect Bart Prince (part two)

This week there is an “Offbeat Hot” but there will be no “Offbeat Not,” because when Bart Prince is in the house how can you possibly complain?

My house is full of architectural books and magazines and discussions often turn towards home building and design. But frankly, although I enjoy this stuff, hearing about drywall, soffits, or PV modules for the umpteenth time isn’t that exciting. What’s exciting to me is to see unique design in structures; architectural pieces that give something back to the space they occupy. Buildings that enhance the natural world around them fascinate me and Prince’s designs do just this. Here is one of my favorites:

According to Prince’s site, the Height Residence, a weekend home near Mendocino, California, was designed, “With a continuous undulating roof which provides a buffer to the wind on one side while opening to ocean views on the other.” I love how this house looks like it completely belongs here — almost like it grew out of the ground. The colors and shapes work directly with the landscape instead of overwhelming it.

Personally, I’ve always been curious about what goes on in the mind of individuals who have such such an original focus; so I was thrilled when Prince agreed to answer some questions I sent him about his work.

Background:

The New Mexico born Prince, is recognized internationally for his unique residences. Prince was awarded the Record House of the Year Award in 1989 for the Brad and June Prince Residence and again in 1991 for the Joe and Etsuko Price Residence. Other accolades, among many, have included featured works in numerous exhibitions, the 2004 International Excellence in Design Award, and Prince is recognized as one of The AD 100 by Architectural Digest. Now this is just a smidgen of a bio. You can find out much more at Prince’s website.

I asked Prince if he always imagined himself designing offbeat and unique structures or if there a specific moment, such as at the College of Architecture at Arizona State University or after meeting Bruce Goff, where he decided to build unusual projects vs. the average project. Here’s what he had to say:

“I’ve never really thought of my work as particularly ‘offbeat’ though I guess that word has probably been used on occasion to describe it by others. What I’ve been interested in since I was very young is CREATIVE work. Work that is RESPONSIVE to each individual situation, site, climate, client etc. I can remember going to kindergarten in Santa Fe and wondering why people lived in these dark, creepy brown buildings. I don’t know why at age five or six I was so affected by these things but I was. I didn’t know what an architect was and at that age I didn’t really know how buildings came about but I certainly thought we MUST be able to do better! I began making my own designs and models to show people what we could have. I never thought of my ideas as anything but serious attempts at creating something beautiful for our own age.

I came across the work of Frank Lloyd Wright when I was around 8 or 9 years old and I was amazed that such beautiful work was possible. I learned that he was an ARCHITECT and that architects actually DESIGNED these buildings. I knew that this was what I wanted to be. By the time I got to ASU I had been working on my own trying to design buildings I thought were more interesting, unusual and beautiful. While in high school I saw a few of my designs built by a local contractor who had asked me to do drawings for houses he was building. This was good experience since instead of learning how a building was supposed to be built, I learned a lot about how buildings WERE built while at the same time realizing there were others ways they COULD be built.

One of the things that made me decide to attend ASU’s School of Architecture (aside from the fact that it was a very good school at that time) was the proximity to Frank Lloyd Wright’s home and studio just outside of Scottsdale. Paolo Soleri was also working near there and I got to know him as well as many people who lived and worked at Taliesin West. While at ASU Bruce Goff came to give a talk and that is when I got to know him and his work (I had seen a few things prior to that but didn’t know where Goff lived and worked . . . that was before the internet and it was not so easy to find people). Goff was very interested in the designs I had been making and I went to work with him that summer. After graduating I continued my work with him until I opened my own office in Albuquerque in 1973. One way that Goff was an inspiration was that I could see he had an interest in Wright and other very creative people but he was able to find his own way and do work which was not imitative of them. This is something I felt was very important.”

To have these amazing ideas in your mind is one thing; explaining them to a potential client is a whole other issue. Prince’s site offers some very cool random models and drawings in order to show how he communicates designs to clients and later contractors.

Groves drawing above, and below a Groves model.

With all of these cool designs it can be hard to pick a favorite. I asked Prince what his most interesting design request from a client has been and he said:

“All design requests are interesting. I once had a client who needed a design that looked beautiful from the air as opposed to the typical ‘front elevation’ most people are concerned with. True ARCHITECTURE has no front or back, top or bottom. This client went everywhere in a helicopter and wanted his house to be something extraordinary from the air as he approached it. He wanted a helipad where he could land, push a button which opened the door to the hangar while a platform on tracks pulled the helicopter inside and the door closed behind. I gave him what he asked for but it’s no helipad or hangar like you’ve ever seen. He also wanted his kitchen to be able to move from the den to the dining room to the upper view room all of which were on different levels. That’s what he got!”

Below, a residence near Glorieta, New Mexico.

I don’t know the background of the Glorieta residence, but it almost looks like an airplane landed down in the desert. Very cool. What do you think? Would you like to live in a house like this?

Tomorrow (technology willing) I’ll post some more Prince Q&A and more of his amazing designs. So stay tuned.

All photos courtesy of Bart Prince. (Thanks Bart!).

Post from: Blisstree

Offbeat Hot: Q&A With Architect Bart Prince