During the workshops 2017-2018, 6 experimental buildings were constructed. Each represents a different technique and organisation. We have now followed our buildings, and the communities, to learn from the process. What has worked well? How have the materials aged, any issues or reflections on the techniques?

The purpose of this guide is to enable anyone interested in self-construction to prepare for a future project: as an organizer, participant, beneficiary, neighbour, or decision-maker, in full awareness that material and humans play here in constant interaction. For this in each part, we will find a list of tools to best support these factors in the daily workshops. This guide was the specific task of the HE2B team (Haute Ecole Bruxelles Brabant) and its CÉRISÈS laboratory within the LearnBi0n partnership.

Design and Build with Ø km (local and recycled materials), a 4 week building workshop in Milan, Italy. During this workshop we built with recycled materials and low tech building methods to suit the needs of the Casa Chiaravalle community.

During this workshop we built a small rammed earth library to suit the needs of the local community in Valverde de Burguillos, a small village located in Extremadura, Spain

Design and Build with Canes, a 4 week building workshop in Colleserola Natural Park , Spain. During this workshop we built an external covered space of 30 sqm to be used for cultural meetings and for theoretic classes during CanyaViva’s courses cane construction.

Design and Build with Cordwood, a 4 week building workshop in Östertälje, Sweden. During this workshop we built a cordwood building to suit the needs of the newly established social enterprise Eko-Odlarna. They cultivate organic produce on a small plot of land on the outskirts of Östertälje.

Design and Build with Wattle-and-Daub and Light Earth, a four weeks workshop in Casaprota, a town of 740 inhabitants in the inner Sabina region, Italy. During the workshop we colonized an abandoned concrete-skeleton using natural building techniques and aiming at revitalising it as a venue for community gatherings and small events.

Design and Build with Compressed Earth Blocks, a 4 week building course, in Montemor-o-Novo, Portugal. During the workshop we built a prototype for artists in residence at Oficinas da Cerâmica e da Terra, a research department from Oficinas do Convento ONG.

Our common principals

The Learn BIØN – A Handbook Guide for Hands-On Learning from the Building Impact Zero Network was made during our first Erasmus+ project LearnBIØN.

Here we collectively wrote down the common ground for the network, our principals. Our aim is to share knowledge, practices and experiences, in order to contribute to the built environment and to our communities.