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The basic structure of Earthships consists of bearing walls made by pounding earth into used automobile tires. This resuits in what has been called a "rubber-encased adobe brick." The details are very similar to adobe construction, with tires laid in staggered coursings like bricks. Every room is based on a module (a "U") of three three-foot-thick temperature-storing bearing walls that act like a battery-storing up excess energy and discharging it when needed. The fourth "wall" faces south and is open to the energy of the sm. This basic structure takes no skill to execute, and when operated by the owner is virtually cost-free. A 1,500-square-foot Earthship uses anywhere from 500 to 700 tires, which can be "pounded out" by two people in less than a month (25 to 40 tires can be pounded by two people per eighthour day depending on the conditions present as well as the endurance and strength of the builders).

The roof is made of beams, spanning from bond beams on the top of each wall. The beams are decked, well-insulated, and roofed with earth bermed up over the rear of the structure so that the Earthship is effectively buried on three sides. This method makes the Earthship ideal for a gentle, south-facing slope-the Earthship is simply "carved" out of the hillside.

Minor interior "partition walls" are made from aluminum cans laid in cement mortar. Cans, like the tires, are also used like bricks — except that it takes much less skill to lay a can than a brick. But since they are so lightweight, much more dynamic forms can be created with cans. Underground domes and vaults and arches have been built with this "aluminum brick" using relatively unskilled labor. Inside the Earthship, cans are used to build curved walls, bathtubs, stairs, and many other "living" features.

All surfaces, tires, and cans are filled out with mud or cement to smooth planes and finished in the same way conventional adobe houses are finished. Interior walls are usually covered with a mud-plaster finish common to the Southwest but applicable anywhere. Mud walls can be painted with latex paint or durable finishes. Once finished, tire and can construction becomes indistinguishable from conventional methods.

Electrical and plumbing rough-ins are somewhat unique to this system, but still require no extra time or materials. Materials needed for construction are available anywhere in the country — your local automobile service center will be happy to be relieved of useless used tires. Best of all, you'll cut down on the millions that are dumped into the nation's landfills.

Michael Reynolds: Vital Statistics

Age: 46

Family: Wife, Chris; daughter, Tanya, 22; son Justin. 21 ,son Jonah, 18

Education: Bachelor of' Architecture, University of Cincinnati, '69 (the university now offers student work-study programs with Reynolds)

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