Building Bridges: Test and Turf – 9th-10th September 2021
9th and 10th September 2021
This is a 2-day learning experience which includes all tuition, materials, lunch and dinner and camping pitch (the night before and between the 2 learning days).
Evening talks and activities are included also.
Teaching is from 9.30 to 5 with a 1 hour break for lunch
Learning:
- Turf as a versatile building material
- The technicalities of turf construction
- An archaeo-based view on circular building
DAY ONE – ‘Double leaf’ turf construction
- Experimental archaeology
- Using formwork in turf construction
- Turf walls with compacted earth cores
- Cutting turf strips and complex blocks
- Ties and tensile strength in turf walls
- Building Icelandic herringbone patterns
DAY TWO – ‘Solid wall’ turf construction
- Principles of thin and solid turf walls
- Settlement and stability in turf walls
- Mortars and reinforcements in turf construction
- Turf copes and covers
- Cutting various turf block shapes
- Building a Roman-inspired turf wall
Description
Join us for a thought-provoking introduction to the long-forgotten tradition of building with turf. We will explore the use of turf through time and across the North Sea and North Atlantic region, from the Frisian Empire to the Viking Iceland. Immerse yourself in the wondrous world of turf by signing up for either or both of these complementary workshops. We look to accommodate anybody with an interest in turf as we symbolically (and literally) build a turf bridge between both halves of the site, linking the past to the present and the built environment to the natural world.
An insightful, interesting and practical 2-day immersive build experience providing hands-on experience of traditional techniques and knowledge on use of natural resources to build resilient and sustainable structures.
Additional information
As part of a wider immersive build-experience week, this 2-day course can be booked on its own or alongside We shape the Earth and the Earth shapes us – Introduction to Earth Building.
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