I’ve been drawing buildings for some time now. It’s really taken over my drawing time… instead of drawing pictures of landscapes or pretty little flowers I spend my time creating what I would call organic architecture. I hope to post more drawings, plans, and ideas as time goes on.

Drawings Gallery »

1. It’s sculptable. Almost any shape can be created with cob.
2. It’s non-toxic. It’s friendly to both you and the earth.
3. It’s available locally for cheap or for free.
4. You can re-work it. It’s both additive and subtractive.
5. It’s sticky and malleable when wet and dries like stone.
6. Colors- You can use different colored clay and tints.
7. Finishes - If you’re one for patinas there are hundreds of recipes for finishes. Bee’s wax, lime plasters, manure, paper-cob, straw-flakes - oh the list goes on and on.
8. Plays well with others - You can use cob with wood, metal, cement, earthbags, strawbales and other materials.
9. Recycle it. Once your cob object has reached the end of its life span - recycle it. No special accommodation needed. Let it melt away into the earth from which it came.
10. It feels good… squish.

The Watts Towers, located in the Watts neighborhood in Los Angeles, was created by an Italian immigrant by the name of Simon Rodia. Construction began in the 1920s and was completed in the year 1954. He created the towers as a labor of love… “I had in mind to do something big - and I did it”.

The materials he used to erect the sculpture consisted of steel rod and pipes, wrapped with a wire mesh coated with mortar. This is a form of ferro-cement. FE or ferrum has it’s roots in the Latin word for iron. Steel is a metal alloy whose major component is iron. Most of the metal in the Towers were from near by railroad waste. The mortar was typically made from cement and sand. Rodia covered the structure with mosaics consisting of shells, glass bottles, pottery and tile.

It is said that he worked on the project for decades and then, in 1955 left - never to return.

Links

Watts Towers on Flickr »
A great panorama by Spherical Panoramas »
Try Watts »
Watts Park site »

Recently I visited the Franconia Sculpture Park’s FSP Gala Art & Artist Celebration in Shafer, Minnesota. There were many new works since I’ve been there last. They have started to develop the new property too. While there a couple of works really caught my attention.

Continue…

Here is a new natural building design code-named GardenFire Pod. This is a cob garden shed, wall, bench, gate with rumford fireplace, and a cob oven on top.