Natural Building Summer in Review

It has been a busy spring and summer of natural building and I feel fortunate to have so much to share! I've been trying to come up with an inspirational narrative for this post, but it's been months and I finally realized that waiting for inspiration has clearly turned to procrastination. So lets get on with the update:

Greg Allen and I instructed a series of natural building workshops again. The season began with a natural plaster course at Pickard's Mountain Eco-Institute in Chapel Hill. It's always a joy to return to Meg and Tim's beautiful sustainability learning center where we built our first cob building years ago.

It was exciting to host the inaugural run of courses at Greg's Mud Dauber School of Natural Building with a 7-day cob immersion and a 9-day straw bale and plaster course. The workshops were both very successful in regards of the building accomplished, friendships formed, and learning/teaching happening in all directions. I learn so much from each workshop group, and always leave a workshop so inspired by the energy, ideas, and diverse personalities of the group.

The Oak Tree Collective had another great year building in Planet Roo at the Bonnaroo music festival. Our priority was improving pieces we've built over the years, including finishing the straw bale post office with a natural lime plaster. Lime plaster offers a dramatic visual change from the red clay finish that festival attendees have come to know and love, but will provide superior weather resistance in the sometimes stormy, open festival grounds. We left the lime a natural white color, but will likely tint the building with a pigmented lime wash in the future.

Here is the Oak Tree Collective looking good and happy on one of our last tasks before the festival opening, refreshing the oak shade pergola with new green bamboo.

I'm excited to share more of what I've been up to, including a round timber and straw clay cabin/greenhouse that I built in rural North Carolina. Also my current activity of lime plastering an owner-built strawbale house in upstate NY. Check back soon, it won't be so long again!

Thea Alvin @ Duke

I had the good fortune to work with master stone mason Thea Alvin this winter on her installation at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment in Durham, NC. Thea is a remarkable mason, laying stone in striking and often whimsical forms that inspire me to reconsider the limits of basic natural materials.  Her work on the front lawn of Environment Hall will serve as a contrast to the new building's LEED Platinum concrete, steel, and glass facade. I'm thrilled to have Thea's work so near to me in Durham, and look forward to visiting this lovely piece on my occasional trips to campus. You can learn more about Thea and her work at www.myearthwork.com

Natural Building Workshops Spring 2014

Greg Allen and Michael McDonough are happy to announce the upcoming opportunities to learn about natural building through hands-on experience in the North Carolina piedmont:

workshops spring 2014:

Intro to Natural Building through earthen plasters [link]

April 26-27

Pickard's Mountain Eco-Institute

Chapel Hill, NC

7- Day Earthen Building Immersion [link]

May 4-10

Mud Dauber School of Natural Building

Snow Camp, NC

9-Day The Permitted Natural Home [link]

May 17-25

Mud Dauber School of Natural Building

Snow Camp, NC

Follow the links above for more info, email with questions and registration information. We're happy to chat about the courses on the phone as well. risingearthbuilding@gmail.com

These workshops mark an exciting development as Greg and Danielle begin to host workshops at their home and initiate the Mud Dauber School of Natural Building!

Finishing Dani's house

A few photos of Dani's house, plastered and nearing completion. We're working inside; finishing the floors, hanging doors, trim-out, cabs, counters, fixtures.

Dani's House

It's been a busy season and I haven't taken a picture in months, so here's what the great room looked like this summer. We used fans and a blower-door to hasten the drying the straw-clay mixture, and are currently finishing up the final interior plaster. I guess I have to take some new photos to share, things are really coming together over here on blackwood mountain!

Straw clay and Lime plaster

My focus this summer has been on leading the construction of the straw/clay walls and natural finishes for a new house in rural chapel hill. It's been an exciting project to work on, the house is unique in many ways.  I'll write more about the process and technical details later when I have a little more time, lime plastering is underway!

Introducing the Oak Tree Collective

After five years of growing enthusiasm for this project we finally realized that we were on to something and have started an organization. Visit our website at oaktreecollective.org and see photos of our work at Bonnaroo 2013 via instagram at http://instagram.com/oaktreecollective

The idea for a grand entrance to planet roo had been tossed around for a few years. Design criteria included the use of locally sourced natural and reclaimed materials, a variety of finishes and textures, and plants growing on top. We decided 2013 was the year to build the arch early on, but the specific design didn't evolve until we were on-site and discovered what materials were around to work with.

The arch sits on a foundation of reclaimed concrete slab. This masonry footing was fast and easy to build and the materials were gathered from a broken driveway on the farm. Next, an armature was framed with random lumber scrounged from around the site. This skeleton was covered with various materials, including cob, which is an amalgam of site soil, sand, and straw. Cob is a load bearing structural material, but for speedy building, we simply attached a few inches of cob "venner" to the arch framework via wire fencing.

The top of the arch is finished with rough cut oak boards and local bamboo. To cap it off and complete the look, a variety of living, breathing, plants were perched happily on top. The piece became interactive, as "Rooers" touched, carved, and wrote in the fresh clay plaster. Some festival goers enjoyed the experience of pitching in with re-plastering throughout the weekend as we continued to refresh the surface with new mud.