Sustainable Design Group Works With Nature to Create Self-Sufficient Homes and Communities

An Earth Home in Washington, D.C., created by the Sustainable Design Group.

With the philosophy that homes should have a zero-carbon footprint and communities should be completely self-sufficient, Sustainable Design Group looks to duplicate nature in its Earth Homes.

Earth Homes are designed to be in harmony with nature and the environment, while providing comfort and security for humans.

“We are duplicating biological processes in all of the systems,” says president John Spears.

Earth Homes work with forces of nature including the sun, water and resources. The homes are constructed with natural, local materials and wood from sustainably managed forests.

The sun heats the home naturally in the summer through the windows and the heat is stored in the home’s thermal mass, which includes the use of earth-brick technology.

Developed by Spears, earth bricks are made with local soil and are as strong as fired bricks or concrete, yet are more environmentally sustainable and cost-effective. The earth bricks become a heat battery when the sun goes down, heating the home.

In the summer, the house stays cool through natural shade and carefully constructed airflow channels. The homes are kept cool similar to a basement and therefore do not need air conditioning, notes Spears.

Rainwater is collected for drinking, washing and garden irrigation. The homeowners can grow their food in the garden, eat the food, and process the waste product onsite into organic fertilizer.

“(The fertilizer) goes back onto the garden to fertilize the garden, which is watered by your waste water to grow more food and the cycle continues,” says Spears.

Solar panels are used to generate electricity for the home and to heat water, where applicable. The homes use a solar oven for cooking.

“The building can sit there and produce all the needs of a family,” says Spears.

“You can put a bunch of these (homes) together and start connecting the systems and now you have a self-sufficient community.”

Sustainable Design Group is getting ready to create a 58-home zero-energy development in Frederick, Maryland. Another project is building a solar-powered garage for a client that owns several highway-capable electric vehicles made by Tesla Motors.

To learn more about the group. visit www.sustainabledesign.com.

-- Part One of a Two-Part Series

Read Part Two:
Saving the World Requires Radical Resources Paradigm Shift

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