Bottle Houses - Something Old, Something New

Pthena's comment on my bottle tree thread led me on a rabbit hole exploration. As it turns out, houses made of bottles (or jars) aren't actually a new thing. I was both surprised and amused to find out that Wikipedia has a longer article on bottle wall construction that includes a section on bottle houses and that they actually date back to the Roman times, when they'd embed wine jars in concrete walls to make the load lighter (they didn't have iron rebar.)


As it turns out, the air is a great insulator so it doesn't get too hot or too cold. But note that they're not making the roof of glass bottles.

Here's a glass bottle house from the 1920's
www.ecofriendlyhouses.net...

And there's one in Michigan...

John was the owner of Northwestern Bottling Works and had access to an almost limitless number of used soda pop bottles. He took advantage of this perk, using them to build his dream home. Completed in 1941, the house was constructed of brick, wood, and - most importantly - over 60,000 glass bottles.

source: atlas obscura

They are also used in "Earthship structures", which are a type of off-the-grid housing.

A building cannot be considered an Earthship unless it addresses six principles or human needs: 1) Thermal/solar heating and cooling, 2) solar and wind electricity, 3) contained sewage treatment, 4) building with natural and recycled materials, 5) water harvesting, and 6) food production

It was quite a fun little exploration. If you find links to other bottle house types, post them here!

a reply to: Byrd

So in plain technical aspect:

Pros vs Cons?

Lots of earthships just up the road from me...

greenpassivesolar.com...

a reply to: Byrd

It was the William F. Peck house in Tonopah Nevada that I saw back about 1970. Torn down in the 80s though.

Bottle Houses | Roadside Archetecture
Then there's the Calico Ghost town bottle house:

I don't like to think about how long ago that was, but 4th Grade School Field Trip, it was the gift shop at that time. I bought a small trilobite fossil there.

a reply to: Byrd

I want to make one - so bad

I've bookmarked a bunch - which of course means nothing. I did find these






beautiful from the inside

a reply to: Spiramirabilis

I think a lot of them are a bit homely on the outside, but I agree... with the light shining through the colored bottles, they're amazing on the inside! Who wouldn't love that beautifully colored light?

a reply to: Byrd

I kind of like the homely on the outside part

Like they're just a big lump of dirt, then you go inside and - magic

I've always wanted to build my own adobe. I like the whole tiny home thing too - so tiny adobe bump with bottle walls works :-)

I have more earth ship files somewhere - but I'm too stupid tired to even read right now, so I'll look them up and post later

originally posted by: pthena
a reply to: Byrd

Then there's the Calico Ghost town bottle house:

I don't like to think about how long ago that was, but 4th Grade School Field Trip, it was the gift shop at that time. I bought a small trilobite fossil there.

Love it, so neat not a bottle out of place

originally posted by: Byrd
Who wouldn't love that beautifully colored light?

The colour blind ?

So, found these...I am like the Queen of Pinterest. I kinda hate to have to admit that - but it's a very good place for collecting resource material - and of course a bunch of stuff that I just like

Extreme Recycling: The Bottle Houses of Prince Edward Island








16 beautiful Earthship designs that are out of this world!

Hitching a Ride on an Earthship


Less about bottles, but still cool

Solving the Earthship Enigma


The aerodynamic forms resist hurricanes and the structures pass California’s earthquake codes. They are flood and fire resistant as well.

My dream house...


Or, one of them

a reply to: Spiramirabilis

Some of those are exquisite!