O.U.R Eco-village
We visited O.U.R. eco village today. The village is a learning center for sustainable living.
I was excited to go here, because I have yet to find many other places where this type of learning is shared in a formal way. As you know I have an interest in education as well as architecture.
We arrived at lunch time and got to share our meal with some interns and some residents. The eating shack is a cob building with seating, windows and a fireplace build right into the clay walls. I cant tell you too much about cob, except that it is clay, it is built up by hand and sculpted as you go. The forms can be as organic and curvilinear as you like. It is not expensive, but the labor time is extensive and thats the limiting factor for a lot of people.
At Eco village they focus on training, so the buildings are quite small, because they are projects a class can accomplish in a week. I also learned that cob is not as good an insulator as light clay as it is more massive, and still by far, the most insulative material is straw bale. Although all three can be used in combination, depending on directionality, and design. The image in the picture is the sanctuary, and it is a combination of cob and straw bale.
My favorite little building was the children’s play building, that is a small shelter with a green roof, that is used to section off a part of the garden for a sandbox and play area. They had fenced off the little space with greenery and it was such a pretty, safe and central place for the kids to play. The little cob structure was colorful and sweet, and also I think that organic form makes a lot of sense for kids.
The center also has incredible gardens, and some livestock - pigs, sheep, chickens and turkeys. There are permaculture classes going on while we were walking around.
We didn’t have much of a chance to ask questions as the boys kept us busy, but I got the sense that I would love to come back for a future workshop, particularly in straw bale. Check their website if you are interested in taking a course as well.
