Archive for February, 2009

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Make your own earthen plaster and paint. We’ll cover ingredients, sourcing, mixing, sculpting and application. Tools and materials provided. Cost: € 175,- incl. organic vegetarean lunches. Contact: +31224298729. http://www.buildingtraditions.eu/en/agenda

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

We will build an outdoor Rumford fireplace and garden wall using natural and recycled materials. Cost: € 175,- incl. organic vegetarean lunches. Contact +31224298729. www.buildingtraditions.eu/en/agenda

Amsterdam, NL

We will explore the possibilities of cob in interiors. Custom furniture, modifying heating systems, sculpting and plastering techniques. We will build a bench and make plaster trials. Organic lunch, coffee and tea included. Cost: € 175,- . Contact +31224298729. http://www.buildingtraditions.eu/en/agenda

Carbondale, CO

During this two-day workshop, we will cover basic design principals, as well as a variety of styles and techniques used in the evolving field of straw bale construction. Participants will gain hands-on experience assessing a good straw bale for construction and prepping bales for wall construction. This course is designed for future homeowners, architects, builders, designers who want a foundation in the principles and guidelines of straw bale construction. No prior building or design experience is required and people of all skill levels will benefit greatly from the information in this workshop. Cost: $250. Contact 970-963-8855 or see http://www.solarenergy.org/workshops/builditwithbales.html

Saint Laurent Sous Coiron, France

In this intensive two-week workshop students will experience a full-spectrum natural building project that they assist in designing and developing for our hosts at the Art Farm. We’ll spend the first few days thoroughly analyzing our host site, getting to know the climate, topography, water movement and availability, land use patterns and available natural materials while concurrently exploring the building and structural needs of our hosts. With this information, we’ll participate in a group design intensive, developing an ecological building design that is appropriately suited to these parameters. The remainder of the course (approximately ten days) will be spent building our collective design using locally available, natural materials including stone, clay, sand, fiber, wood and more. We will explore and experiment with a number of different natural wall systems including cob, straw bale, wattle and daub, dry laid stone, and light straw clay and examine their respective pros and cons in a range of climates. Through lectures, slide shows and most importantly, hands-on construction, we’ll experience all aspects of the building process, including foundations, walls and roofs and take a deeper look into building science with a particular emphasis on siting, insulation/thermal mass, passive solar design, super-efficient wood heating systems and the design of functional, energy-efficient small structures. Finally, recognizing that buildings do not exist in isolation from other aspects of our environment, the workshop will be taught within a broad, permaculture-inspired framework, thereby creating connections between the structure and function of our buildings within the wider world. $1780. Contact 802 999-2768. Web site: http://sgnb.com/learn .

O’ahu, Hawai’i

Join professional builders Lizabeth Moniz and Skip Dewhirst at beautiful MA’O Organic Farms in Wai’anae, Hawai’i to participate in a workshop teaching the time-honored art of timber framing. This style of building incorporates hand-cut mortise and tenon joinery held together with wooden pegs rather than nails and other metal hardware. In this workshop, students will learn how to accurately lay out joinery on rough-sawn locally-harvested timbers using the ’square rule’ system. Hand tools such as chisels, mallets, framing squares, and saws will be employed to achieve beautiful joinery. Tool sharpening and maintenance will be covered. After completing the cutting and then raising the timber frame, Tim Rieth will join Skip and Lizabeth as students learn about different wall building systems and possibilities for natural wall infills, potentially including wattle and daub, wood-chip clay, adobe, and cob. This is a unique chance to learn and build in a subtropical environment. Participants will also have the opportunity to gain a better understanding about Hawai’i beyond the tourist mecca of Waikiki, while supporting the community-building efforts of MA’O. $1100 tuition. Contact Tim at tim [at] sgnb.com with further info available at sgnb.com

O’ahu, Hawai’i

This weekend class hosted by MA’O Organic Farms is an earth construction and natural building primer. Participants will learn the basics of cob construction, including how to prospect and test for appropriate building sediment, how to mix cob, various cob wall building techniques, methods for wood attachment (e.g., doors, roofs), and how to sculpt niches, shelves, and furniture. Clay plaster, adobe, wattle and daub, and masonry may also be part of the hands-on learning. $200 tuition. Contact Tim at tim [at] sgnb.com with further info available at sgnb.com

O’ahu, Hawai’i

Participate in the first cob and natural building course in Hawai’i, hosted by MA’O Organic Farms (www.maoorganicfarms.org). The workshop focuses on cob construction but will also include hands-on experience with additional natural building methods such as adobe, wattle and daub, and clay plaster. Students will learn how to smoothly integrate various natural building materials to create the best possible building solution for each individual situation. The course will teach you how to prospect and test for appropriate building sediment, how to mix cob, various cob wall building techniques, methods for wood attachment (e.g., doors, roofs), and how to sculpt niches, shelves, and furniture. As a complement to the hands-on building the course will include slide shows and discussion sessions covering natural building design, with an emphasis on tropical/subtropical environments, earthquakes and earth construction, siting, foundations and drainage, moisture and heating/cooling dynamics, roof construction, natural plasters and finishes, utilities, and building codes. The workshop is designed for novices, professional builders, architects, and engineers who want to delve into designing/building with natural materials. $650 tuition. Discounts are available for participants enrolling in more than one of the MA’O Organic Farms natural building workshops. Contact Tim at tim [at] sgnb.com with further info available at www.sgnb.com.