![]() ![]() "We had a really good opportunity to come in looking a lot like dirty hippies who want to build a house out of garbage, but actually, we had an engineering firm and project management team on board already." "We spent six months pre-planning," he said. Their $40,000 glass windows allow for maximum sunlight penetration, while an indoor garden allows for food production. In fact, the structure required careful engineering. Earthship engineeringÄespite the heavy use of recycled materials, Platz says there is a common misconception that Earthships are made of garbage, and that they're cheap and easy to construct. It took them two years to gather all the recycled components - hundreds of rubber tires, glass bottles and cans - as well as purchase other materials, and then actually build the Earthship. The couple decided to build one after watching the documentary, Garbage Warrior. Platz and Bennett's home is known as the first of its kind in Manitoba, and is one of roughly 50 Earthships in Canada. Kris Platz and Nicole Bennett built walls out of dirt-filled rubber tires. "And if we can reduce our cost of living, then we don't have to work as hard or as long for our lives, so we can hopefully retire earlier and just reap the benefits of what we're doing out there." "I'm a city kid - or I was a city kid - and I just like living in the country now, so this is just a great option to continue with this type of lifestyle," Platz said in an interview with Outside The Box. Platz and Bennett share their solar-powered Earthship with their baby daughter, the young family living behind 30 metres of glass windows, surrounded by walls of dirt-filled rubber tires. The concept of Earthships began in the desert of New Mexico roughly 40 years ago - a more eco-friendly home built by digging below the earth and constructed partially out of recycled and natural materials. ![]() In fact, it's an Earthship - part of a growing off-grid, self-sustaining architectural movement. ![]() Andrews, Man., looks like a glass-fronted hole in the side of a man-made hill. From the outside, Kris Platz and Nicole Bennett's home in St. ![]()
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