Archive for February, 2010

Vancouver, B.C.

http://www.greenshedcompetition.com

Tuition:$35 /$50

GREEN SHED: An open, international competition for small scale, sustainable design.

In dense urban settings, community gardens are an invaluable public resource – they not only provide the opportunity for city dwellers to grow their own food, but they may also educate the wider community about organics, food security, and sustainability.

Pandora Park Community Garden Society invites student and professional architects, landscape architects, builders, engineers, gardeners and designers of all kinds to take part in Green Shed: Pandora Park Community Garden Design Competition. The goal of this international competition is to generate buildable designs for a storage shed and outdoor common space for a new community garden that will showcase sustainable building strategies and materials. The winning design will be built by a team of volunteers over the summer of 2010.

Early Registration by February 26, 2010. Standard Registration by March 19, 2010. Submissions Due March 26, 2010.

For more information and registration, go to www.greenshedcompetition.com

Jacksonville, Oregon

Instructor: Coenraad Rogmans

http://www.HouseAlive.org

Tuition: $825

This workshop offers an incredibly rich learning experience that has made it our most popular for the last 5 years. During the workshop you will develop the confidence, knowledge and skills to design and build your own natural building and sustainable living project. This workshop is for you if you are interested in building your own natural cottage, want to use natural materials in you present house in the form of a “natural renovation”, or are looking to make some lifestyle changes.

House Alive workshops focus on “learning by doing;” be prepared to do a lot of building. Constructing a house takes determination and sustained physical activity. We believe building your own house can be possible for anyone and teach “democratic building” techniques: Simplicity of design, building in community, using simple hand tools, taking care of our bodies, and extreme affordability to free ourselves from debt. But you don’t have to build your own home to employ these techniques. You can improve the beauty, comfort, and affordability of any living space by employing “Natural renovation” techniques or using “appropriate technologies.”

mixing cob We will focus much of our hands-on time on building with cob. Cob is often considered the “mother” of all natural building techniques. It has been around for millennia, is practiced worldwide, and the materials can be locally harvested. Cob doesn’t rot or burn and offers great flexibility to shape spaces to fit our lives. You will learn how to find materials, mix them into cob material and build strong, beautiful walls. You also will learn how to deal with foundations and roofs, how to put in windows, doors, plumbing and electricity, how to easily add arches, niches, and other sculptural features, and how to finish buildings with earthen floors and plasters. Afternoons and evenings will include lectures and demonstrations on a wide variety of natural building and appropriate technology topics (see curriculum). Over the course of the workshop you will learn how to easily integrate various forms of natural construction, such as straw bale, light-straw-clay, adobe brick, natural plasters and floors, round wood, and more.

Paonia, CO

Instructor: Laura Bartels

http://www.solarenergy.org

Tuition: $795

If you are serious about building a straw bale home, in the planning and design phase, ready to build, or a professional looking to expand your design/build knowledge then you will want to take this course. This five-day hands-on workshop takes a deeper look at the design and detail considerations for straw bale construction. Expand your knowledge of the variety of styles and techniques of building with straw bales and learn more about the role and application of earthen plasters.

In this workshop participants will construct a small straw bale structure from the foundation to the roof. Tours of straw bale homes and guest instructors round out this amazing workshop designed for the homeowner and building professional. No prior building or design experience is required although people of all skill levels will benefit greatly from the information and hands-on activities of this class.

Topics Include
• All about bales
• Planning & design considerations
• Detailing for moisture
• Construction techniques
• Variations of foundation styles
• Window & door openings
• Roof styles and techniques
• Building codes
• Insurance & financing
• The continuum of plasters
• Mixing earthen plasters for basecoats
• Introduction to earthen finish and lime plasters and tools
• Preparation of walls for plaster

Quail Springs in Southern California

Instructor: Justin Kirmse, Brock Anderson, and Lyn Giesecke

http://livingcraftproject.org

Tuition: $3000. Includes all costs of living at Quail Springs (organic food, spring water, camping, library, and facilities).

Living Craft Project happily announces the successful completion of the 2009 natural building apprenticeship, and invites six new dedicated students to join us for a six week natural building intensive. During the intensive, students will build a 150 square foot modified load-bearing strawbale cottage, and gain experience in finish work (hand-crafted earthen plasters and troweled earthen floors) on a 350 square foot strawbale home.

The intensive will be divided into modules designed to lead students through both the structural and finish aspects of building an earthen home, with a high level of attention to craftsmanship and skill. Modules include, but are not limited to: carpentry, wall and roof systems, materials harvesting and processing, earthen plasters, earthen floors, and clay artistry. Classroom discussions include, but are not limited to: foundation design, passive solar design, natural wall system design, and pattern language recognition.

The intensive is for a dedicated few who want to gain the hand skills to build safely and healthily. Each student will also have the opportunity to participate in the community of Quail Springs, with access to events and feasts of all kinds.

O.U.R.Ecovillage,Shawnigan Lake, Vancouver Island Canada

Instructor: Elke Cole and others

http://www.ourecovillage.org

Tuition: $450 CAN

Call it a studio, a meditation hut, a garden shed, or anything else you like: many jurisdictions allow you to build a small structure without requiring a building permit. 100 square feet is a common size limit (do check with your municipality before you start).

In 5 days we will build a complete small straw bale building and you will have the skills to practice on your own.

Here’s how we do it:

Day 1: prepare base, intro to Straw bale building, prepare bales

Day 2: stack bale walls

Day 3: Top plate, roof framing, roofing

Day 4: pre-finish bale walls, trim, and prepare earth plaster

Day 5: Plaster

(Day 6: go home and start your own!)

Participants will work hands-on on all parts and will receive a step by step reference to take home.

Straw bale building is applicable in many locations- offering good insulation properties, compatibility with natural finishes and the beauty of thick walls. If you are looking to practice on a small straw bale structure before launching into a full size home this is a great opportunity to refine your skill.

O.U.R.Ecovillage,Shawnigan Lake, Vancouver Island Canada

Instructor: Cindy Walker and Elke Cole

www.ourecovillage.org

Tuition: $500 CAN

Make your home a natural beauty! Plasters can be applied to earthen walls, over base layers onto Straw bale and Light clay infill as well as drywall. This can be a do-it-yourself method for improving your indoor climate: clay plasters absorb humidity from the air and release it when the conditions are very dry. They also absorb odors. Colors are added to taste and other effects can be achieved by using different finishing techniques.

Natural plasters are made from clay, sand and fine fibre with the addition of other ingredients. They are available pre-mixed from natural home building suppliers but can easily be mixed from scratch. Learn recipes, mixing and application methods for plasters and natural paints, and save by doing it yourself.

Cindy Walker, http://www.naturalplasters.ca/, has apprenticed with North America’s best natural plasterers and has finished several natural homes. She brings her professional experience and generously shares her knowledge.
visit www.ourecovillage.org to register

O.U.R.Ecovillage,Shawnigan Lake, Vancouver Island Canada

Instructor: Elke Cole

http://ourecovillage.org

Tuition: $200 CAN

The first step to making the dream of a natural house your reality is creating a design. From choosing a good site, basics of passive solar design, space saving strategies… to choosing the appropriate materials for your project- we will present ideas, exercises, and information, share experiences and support your personal process. A packed weekend course to get you started.

TOPICS:

• Materials from Nature
• Steps to building a natural house
• Design tips to start your own Design

Shawnigan Lake, Vanvouver Island, Canada

Instructor: Elke Cole and team

http://www.ourecovillage.org

Tuition: $500 CAN

6 day Cob building workshop for all ages at O.U.R.Ecovillage (www.ourecovillage.org)
We’re building a bathhouse: cobwalls with windows, doors, sculpted benches,and… plumbing!