Posted by Michael Blaha, January 10th , 2006.
Dufferin Grove Park is a truly amazing place in Toronto, Canada. The community there, Friends of Dufferin Grove Park, have built a Cob Courtyard in the 14.2 acre park. You can see the construction process in their Photo Gallery. Dufferin Park is a city owned common space. There is no organization, no meetings, to redtape. Just a community that make use of this space of their neighborhood. Cafeteria, community gardens, puppet shows, Cob Courtyards - it’s inspiring!
There is a not-well-defined group called “Friends of Dufferin Grove Park” that’s busy in and around the park. It started with four people in 1993, and over the years it’s picked up between 80 and 100 people. There are no membership cards, nor a fee. We don’t have a mission statement. We rarely have meetings (the nature of open space is that people are talking to each other enough that most of the issues are talked about as the occasion arises).
The goal is to establish public space as a place where people in a neighbourhood can come to know each other, as little or as much as they want. The programs are mainly ones that other people — all sorts — bring to the park (dance, theater, stories, sports, music, whatever). My objective, my full-time hobby, is to remove blocks to such gifts to the neighbourhood. Somebody asked us what our “target population” is(tsk tsk, such language, targets are what you hit with weapons!). It is, quite simply, everyone in the neighbourhood. That means that the bad guys don’t get squeezed out when they’re acting good, and the middle class don’t get humoured when they’re acting bad. But the order of the day is “everyone welcome.”
Posted by Michael Blaha, January 7th , 2006.
Hunt Utilities Group, LLC is a forming a ecological living campus in Pine River, Minnesota. They have constructed a building system made of natural building materials; clay, sand, straw, and wood. They have also employed passive solar and geothermal heating to make it through the bitter cold winters. In this video Ryan Hunt shows us around the campus and the gigantic cob mixer. I have become a fan real of the HUG Progress Journal. This video was shot in the fall of 2005 by Michael Blaha, Organic Arts. Special Thanks to Ryan Hunt for the tour!
See the photo slideshow ยป
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Related Article:
HUG Eco Campus
Posted by Michael Blaha, January 4th , 2006.
The Solar Living Institute is a unique place in Hopland, California. They have workshops on permaculture, natural building, and renewable energy. They have been hit hard the recent heavy rain in Northern California. Much of the property has been damaged by the flood. It looks like half the site is under water! The SLI is a non-profit organization. They have set up a relief fund and are hoping to meet a $150,000 goal.
Posted by Michael Blaha, January 1st , 2006.
A while back Ianto Evans asked for ideas on a cob symbol / icon in the CobWeb. Many drawings have dots, scratches, circles and lines to represent different materials. I purpose the two crescent symbol to represent Cob.
Variations on the symbol could represent added material. For example the three crescent glyph could represent more clay; while the cross inside the C - more straw; the dot- more sand. This might be useful for designers to specify where to add more of a specific material.
In cob building, different areas require more of one material for maximum performance. An example might be the arch in the drawing below. This wall could benefit from corbel cobs, cob made with a healthy amount of straw, in the arch. The addition of the straw will make for a stronger arch due to the added tensile strength. A sandier mix might be used for the tops of the walls or as a plaster.
I’d love to hear what your thoughts are…