This is an earthen oven with attached cob benches in the shape of a raven. It was built at Breitenbush Hot Springs over the course of 2010-11 with a series of small efforts in which the community members could get involved with its construction. The project was organized by Sarah Crampton and the roof structure was built by one of the community members named Patrick.
The ‘Loop-de-loop’ is a very large curving cob bench created for the BRING Planet Improvement Center, located in Eugene, Oregon. The project uses urbanite for the foundation and cob for the structure of the bench. The ‘loop’ was built using adobe blocks and a five foot clear span form. The roofing was created with salvaged toilet tank covers in twenty different colors that continue up and through the loop and back out the other side. The main part of the bench is intended for group seating for informational tours and student programs at BRING, while the loop creates a great place for employees to have lunch with a friend out of the rain. The bench is covered with earth plaster … Read More »
A passive solar greenhouse built from cob, light clay-straw and salvage materials. The existing backyard had several concrete pads for old sheds, so we cut them into squares and stacked them up for some thermal mass on the inside of the greenhouse, which are located to get direct sunlight only during the winter months. It also freed up the yard for garden space. The wood framing came from deconstructed sheds and decks on the property and we only needed to purchase a single piece of lumber! We infilled the wood frame with sculptural cob on the east and west walls, insulative clay-straw on the north wall, and reclaimed sliding glass doors as windows on the south. There are also operable … Read More »
This cob bench was built as part of a sculpture competition called "Art in the Heart of the City" on the Ithaca Commons. The foundation uses seconds stones from a local quarry. The arches were built with adobes and then cobbed together. The mosaic is set with earth plaster grout. The adobes were pre-fabricated and the bench was built during the Ithaca Festival of 2009. Hundreds of people got to watch its construction and learn about natural building. It was only intended to be on display for six months, but it has since survived several winters without a roof and remains a favorite play structure for the local kids.
This earthen oven was built during a three-day workshop. The design was inspired from the story of the Great A'tuin in Discworld, where a turtle's back supports four elephants which in turn hold up the world. With all the colorful mosaic going on on this turtle's shell, the world is sure be be supported. This oven gets a lot of use from it's owner and I am delighted every time I get invited to enjoy it.
