The beginning of another Survival Pod is underway at our headquarters with the second session of Academy students for 2013. Along with the completion of another Global Model and classroom time, the students have been spending time building and learning about the concepts of simple survival.
'The Simple Survival Model Earthship evolved from the very basic prototype we constructed in Haiti. The purpose of the original Haiti build was to reevaluate the concept of necessity. This was important because the budget for the Haiti prototype was basically non existent. Haiti is a third world country and the people there have nothing... and even less after the earthquake. No matter how well the "developed world" Earthship prototypes worked, they were absolutely out of the ball park of what could be achieved in Haiti. This caused us to take life itself to the basics and try to apply the globally proven Earthship concepts at a ground zero level.'
More information: http://earthship.com/simple-survival
In the first couple of weeks, the structure was laid out in line with the first S-Pod built with last Spring's academy students. These are located on a 2-acre piece of land with the EVE structure. Designated as a "Sustainable Testing Site," this is a piece of legislation that allows testing of housing and living methods in a day to day living circumstance, with real people, outside the encumbrance of conventional living concepts, codes and regulations.
Reference: http://earthship.com/Earthship-Designs/sustainable-development-testing-site-act.html
Five courses of tires have been pounded in place while the site is being prepped for the next stages. Earth is being strategically moved that will eventually backfill the building acting as thermal mass. The first double layer of thermal wrap has been laid around the entirety of the structure that will insulate the thermal mass.
Two cooling tubes were added for each 'U' of the building and prepared for the placement of the cistern to be buried in the back of the tire wall.
The S-Pod roof is a steel, ferro-cemented vault that is framed using rebar and then held in place with concrete. The two vaults for this building have been completed and using the group, lifted and carried into place atop rebar staples in the top course of tires. The vault will be tied in with wire until the completion of the bond beam that will be formed to encase the staples with concrete and hold each vault into place.
In the next few weeks, the building will be worked on including more exterior work to the vaults and burial of the building.
