Earth & Bamboo Workshop

Are earth and bamboo only materials of the past, or are they also materials for the construction of a sustainable future?

EARTH AS A BUILDING MATERIAL

This short workshop at the Auroville Earth Institute is intended as an experience workshop in earth construction with both traditional and modern earth techniques. Participants will learn the basic principles of soil identification and how different soils can be used for earthen construction. They will split into groups to build walls with both traditional raw earth construction (e.g. adobe and cob) and modern stabilized techniques (e.g. stabilized rammed earth and compressed stabilized earth block or CSEB). Construction with the traditional “waddle & daub” earth technique will be integrated into the workshop at the Bamboo Centre.

This experience aims to give students a series of physical inputs – to ask a beginning set of questions about ecologically sensitive construction, use of local materials, climate appropriateness of buildings, and social aspects of labour in construction.

Objectives:

• To offer hands-on experience building walls with earth
• To impart knowledge of traditional and modern earth techniques
• To give students a “material imagination” for design

BAMBOO AS A BUILDING MATERIAL

The Auroville Bamboo Centre workshop aims at teaching the participants the basics of working with bamboo, a plant with amazing characteristics. First, the students will learn how to harvest, treat, and work with bamboo using both traditional and modern techniques. After the brief theory, they will split into groups to build structures which are intended for real use after the workshop ends. Over the years, students have built bridges, storerooms, showrooms, workshops, houses, public toilets, domes and many fanciful structures using a variety of techniques which integrate bamboo, steel, jute, lime, and earth as their primary components.

Objectives:

• Learning how to use bamboo as a building material
• Applying the proper construction methodologies for the task at hand
• Solving problems as they arise
• Setting priorities and keeping work on schedule

PARTICIPANTS

We invite anyone with a sincere interest in earth and bamboo construction techniques. All skill levels are welcome to participate (e.g. engineers, architects, technicians, supervisors, masons, students and laymen). This is a limited capacity and a highly interactive workshop that requires the active participation of all attendees.

For group enquiries visit here.
To see all our upcoming workshops visit here.

To see videos on some of our previous Earth and Bamboo workshops visit E&B 2015, E&B 2016