Jack Ehrhardt

Going Quiet Kingman, Arizona · By Charlie Laurel Jack Ehrhardt and his contracting company, ACE Builders, built the ﬁrst “Earthship” in Arizona for a client in Dewey in the early 1990s. An Earthship is a self-sustaining, passive solar home made from used tires packed with dirt, cans, bottles, and other discards. The home was designed […]

The Hogan Project

Reconnecting the People and the Forest Cameron, Arizona · By Peter Friederici and Roberto Nutlouis From most of the western Navajo Nation, in north-central Arizona, the diamond summits of the San Francisco Peaks are landmarks on the horizon. To the Diné, as the Navajo call themselves, the Peaks are one of the four sacred mountains […]

Charlie Laurel and Margaret Spilke

Way off the Grid Alpine Ranches, Arizona · By Ashley Rood and Rose Houk The name “Earthship” might raise the question whether the alternative home design this word refers to is something of this world or perhaps the next adventure into space. In fact, these homes are quite earthbound and represent a self-sustaining, self-determined masterpiece […]

Susie Harrington and w/Gaia Design

Designing from the Outside In Moab, Utah · By Roger Clark Susie Harrington sits cross-legged on the floor of her living room, which doubles as a yoga studio. “Buildings consume approximately one-half of the energy in this country,” she says, then pauses, allowing her group of visitors to write notes. “One of my goals is […]