Presented by the Conscious Design Collective, with support from UBC Farm:
Essentials of Natural Building
Join us for an informative and practical introduction to the essentials of Natural Building.
Cob and Earthen Plaster represent a simple, sustainable, appropriate and entirely available resource for Vancouver residents. With a media-rich and design focused presentation followed by a hands-on session, you will learn the essentials of working with this ancient material and ways to incorporate its use into your life.
Topics covered include:
- Rock and Urbanite Foundations
- Post and Beam Construction
- Cob
- Earthen Plaster
- A Pattern Language
- Urban Cob and Earthen Plaster applications
Time: 9:00am – 4pm
Location: UBC Farm Centre (go to: http://www.landfood.ubc.ca/ubcfarm/ for directions)
Date(s): July 11th OR July 18th (Choose a date that works best for you)
Maximum participants: 15
Instructor: James Richardson
Cost: $40+ $1 registration fee
Registration: To register, go to: http://naturalbuildingubcfarm.eventbrite.com/ for the July 11th event OR http://naturalbuildingubcfarm2.eventbrite.com/ for the July 18th event.
What to bring: Clothes you don’t mind getting quite muddy, and hands and feet ready for stomping in the mud; writing and design materials (pens, pencils and a creative spirit); potluck lunch item to share.
Presenter Bio:
James Richardson is currently engaged in a Masters of Advance Studies of Landscape Architecture at UBC exploring urban form and sustainable food systems. He has co-taught Permaculture workshops at OUR Ecovillage, B.C., Lost Valley Education Centre, OR, University of Northern British Columbia and University of Victoria. James brings an experiential flare to his teachings, following a teaching career in Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. James has studied Permaculture, natural building, biodynamic farming and community and brings to UBC Farm a deep understanding of the art and science of sustainability.
Tentative Agenda:
9:00am – Introduction(s), goal setting, amend agenda (inside)
9:15am – Introduction to patterns, cob, strawbale design (inside)
10:00am – Mini-design exercise (sector analysis) (children’s garden)
10:30am – Morning tea break (children’s garden)
10:45am – Earthen plaster practical plaster workshop and mural design (children’s garden)
11:30am – Community presentation – the stories our built environments tell (children’s garden)
11:45am – Cob building tour and reflection (children’s garden)
o Strengths and weaknesses of current design
o Test brick exercise
o Living design strategies and design process: Everyone’s an artist.
12:00pm – Lunch (children’s garden)
1:00pm – Cob mixing and soil assessment and test brick activity (children’s garden)
1:15pm – Earthen plaster start, Cob start (children’s playhouse and building)
3: 30pm – Clean up (children’s garden)
3:45pm – Gratitude and reflection circle (children’s garden)
4:00pm – Closing (children’s garden)
