EARTHSHIP: What is that Odd-Looking Structure Along Bath Road?

When you are driving north or south on Bath Road in Bristol, it’s hard to miss the structure that kind of creeps on you out of the corner of your eye and says “hello!”

As you go by it, as I did one day, you ask yourself: What is that? And why is it there?

That is just what we did on one sunny day where the echoes of winter and promise of spring started to collide.

The Silver Lake Nature Center’s Earthship is a structure that catches your attention whether you walk, bike, or drive by it.

The tires, layered nine high, are filled with dirt, which are packed tightly.

Spaces in between the tires are filled with concrete, glass, bottles, and other recycled materials.

Lorraine Skala, education director for the nature center, warmly refers to it as “tire pounding 101.”

It’s all in effort to build a fully sustainable carbon-zero building, based on the architect of Micheal Reynolds, designer and founder of Earthship Biotecture, a company specializing in self-sustaining structures.

As Skala explains the Bristol Township Earthship, it is an educational site.

“We want to show people there are ways of living without being dependent on fossil fuels,” she said. 

An example she cites is the water system that collects rain water and turns it in to drinking water through a purification system.

“We are using the resources of the land, using what we have, building on indigenous materials, turning this into a living breathing structure,” she said.

Although incomplete, Skala expects work start back up on the earth ship as spring takes hold.

The building, which will house a 25 seat classroom, will become the center of a number programs at the nature center once its complete.

So far, Skala said, the community has embraced and supported the project, and people have had lots of questions which we’ve been more than happy to answer.

The next time you’re driving Bath Road, take a peek and look for the Earthship, the interesting building that it is.

For more information about Silver Lake Nature Center’s Earthship or any other center attractions please visit http://www.silverlakenaturecenter.org.