One Man’s Trash: Architect Michael Reynolds
Audio File
What do you get when you combine the contoured and colorful aesthetic of Gaudi with the sensibility of an ecological innovator? You might get my guest today on Sea Change Radio. Michael Reynolds’s vocation, Earthship Biotecture, represents something of a revolution in architecture. Using what most architects would consider trash, Reynolds began working in the 1970s to create experimental homes that were designed to be completely energy self-sufficient.
Due to the experimental nature of the projects, and the fact that many of the methods he was using in his buildings were untested, Reynolds ended up losing his credentials as an architect. So he renamed what he does – it’s not architecture, it’s Earthship Biotecture. Now that he has been at it for several decades, Reynolds has perfected methods for solar heating, geothermal cooling, and greywater capture, all using materials with low or even negative environmental impact. He’s heralded among many environmentalists as a visionary, and joins host Alex Wise today from his New Mexico home.
