CEB course’s first goal accomplished

The first week of Design and Build with CEB workshop in Portugal has passed with the achieved goal: the foundation is finished!
19 participants from 7 different countries engaged in the challenge of building a prototype that can host 2 residents/volunteers in our Oficinas da Cerâmica e da Terra. As part of our educational practice we have made field trips to earth buildings in the area, to learn and experience the results of different techniques and get an overview on how they relate to the context. For the south Portuguese climate, the earth constructions provide great comfort in the dry season, and the material is readily available throughout the region. The technique has been widely practiced and we can see examples from different time periods, from small homes to larger structures. A theoretical framework has also been provided, through lectures and a hands-on approach. Through empiric tests we experimented with plasticity, consistency, cohesion of the raw material and discovered the potential with earth architecture.

As the first week is coming to an end, we can conclude that a lot has happened. We completed the foundation, that was built with a combination of granite stone, cement, a DIWO reinforced concrete slab, NHL5 and a lot of sand. We finished the weekend with listening to the presentation of the BION partners, presenting their workshop proposals, and framing the intentions with the BION network.