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Nubian Vault Workshop – Presidio, TX

Kurt — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:21:53 +0000

In October of 2009 I attended a Nubian vault-building workshop held by Simone Swan’s Adobe Alliance in the Big Bend country of West Texas. I have been following Adobe Alliance’s activities for many years but this is the first time I have had the opportunity to participate in one of their workshops. The Nubian technique of vault building allows the builder to create an earthen roof without the use of any type of form. The vault, a series of mud-brick catenary arches, literally goes up in mid air. Simone studied with Hassan Fathy and is the authority on adobe dome and vault construction in the USA. For those looking for more info on woodless adobe vault and dome construction I recommend reading Hassan Fathy’s “Architecture for the Poor”. Please see the pictures below for a visual overview of the workshop.

Rammed Earth Project – Volkenroda, Germany

Kurt — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:20:24 +0000

In late August of 2009 I visited a monastery in Volkenroda, Germany where I observed and assisted with a rammed earth project. The structure will eventually become the living quarters of some of the brothers. The rammed earth technique was typical for Germany – first a two-story post and beam structure is built followed by rammed earth infill in the wall cavities. All of the earthen materials were supplied by Lehmbau Thilo Schneider and were of local origin. The company spent a day showing the brothers the rammed earth technique and then they were left on their own to complete the work. For more info on the potential of the rammed earth technique I highly recommend reading “Earth Architecture” and “Rick Joy: Desert Works”.

See the captions below each picture for more details on the construction process.

Lehm 2008 Conference – Earthbuilding in Germany

Kurt — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 02:17:58 +0000

In the fall of 2008 Quentin Wilson and I traveled to Germany to attend the Lehm 2008 Earthbuilding Conference in Koblenz. The conference gave us a great opportunity to network with other earthbuilders and material suppliers from around the world. Below are some companies and organizations we met which earthbuilders in the US might also find inspirational:

Latest Horno Project

Kurt — Thu, 22 May 2008 19:20:27 +0000

I built a new demonstration horno for my latest online “Horno Design and Construction” class. I videotaped the entire building process for this and future online horno classes. I decided to give this oven an insulated earthen floor instead of the usual fire brick. So far it seems to be working really well. As always, I used all natural materials from the local area. The final finish is an experimental mud plaster with wheat paste mixed in and lots of chopped straw. We just had a nice rain so it will be interesting to see how it held up. Earth ovens perform better with natural plasters but you have to be willing to touch up the plaster once a year. The tiles were purchased from Habitat for Humanity, Santa Fe and were inserted directly into the final mud plaster coat. My next online horno class begins in late June.

Ampersand Sustainable Workshops

Kurt — Thu, 22 May 2008 18:57:08 +0000

I participated in 2 workshops at Ampersand Sustainable Learning Center in Cerillos, NM in May. The weekend workshops covered earthen plasters and earthen floors and were both excellent. Taos master plasterer Carole Crews taught the earthen plaster workshop and shared important plaster recipes and techniques with the group including a recipe for an aliz. Jim Harford taught the mud floor workshop sharing his excellent floor leveling and hand troweling techniques with us. I am extremely thankful for the knowledge Ampersand and the instructors so openly shared with me. Keep an eye on Ampersand’s website for news of upcoming workshops on passive solar water heating and other sustainable topics.

Horno in Abiquiu, NM

Kurt — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 22:53:48 +0000

Completed an horno (clay oven) in Abiquiu, NM. This is the first one I’ve built using a sand form to shape the dome. We used all natural materials from the area. Looking forward to bread and pizza very soon! Click on thumbs for larger pics…