A week-long training event in Buckinghamshire offers ‘deep immersion’ in the wonders of earth building.
Clayfest, an annual training event dedicated earth building will take place from Monday 15th July to Saturday 20th July 2024. The first four days will be hosted by HG Matthews at its factory in Buckinghamshire and will include workshops on earth building methods and materials, with informal talks and events in the evenings. Clayfest will end with a one-day conference on Friday 19th July followed by an evening ‘Shindig’, both at The Elgiva Theatre, Chesham, within easy walking distance of Chesham tube station.
The event is an opportunity to get up-to-date information about sustainable construction projects, archaeology, conservation, policy, research and teaching and includes workshops on a range of finishing from plasters to pigments, and structures including details for openings and insulation. There will also be sessions on earth floors and woodburning stoves.
Earth building comes in many different forms from finishes, plasters and colours and has been used by clients including Apple Stores and Nando’s restaurants to structures. Recent high-profile projects include the Tribeca natural science labs in Kings Cross, where site spoil was turned into blocks by HG Matthews and then returned to contractors on site for the 6m walls.
Clayfest tours will include visits to old vernacular buildings and new projects in Buckinghamshire including a 5m loadbearing earth block dome built on compacted flint foundations and a retrofit project which combines a range of materials and techniques useful to many older and not so old buildings.
Book your ticket and find out more.
Join Rowland Keable’s School of Specification module on Earth Building.
Source: Architecture Today