Earthship Biotecture
An off-grid eco-housing complex built from used tires, glass bottles and earth. Self-guided visits to demonstration homes are available.
Architect Michael Reynolds has been experimenting since the 1970s with 'Earthships' on the wasteland west of Taos. Walls are built from earth-packed used tires, and decorative windows are made from glass bottles. The homes rely on solar power, rainwater harvesting and indoor planting to live off the grid, and their unusual shapes look like an alien base. The visitor center offers self-guided tours of demonstration homes for about US$10, and you can also book a stay. It lies about 3 kilometers west of the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, beside US-64, so the two can be visited together.
Opening hours
About 09:00–17:00
Nearby sights
- Rio Grande Gorge Bridge
- Manby Hot Springs
- Taos Box Rafting
- Hacienda de los Martinez
- Millicent Rogers Museum
- San Francisco de Asís Mission Church
- Harwood Museum of Art
- Blumenschein Home & Museum