Cob: Natural Building Convergence

[Elke Cole]

Apologies for double postings!

To: All Natural Builders Everywhere

From: The Natural Building Convergence 2002
      Organizing Collective, Portland, Oregon

Convergence Dates: May 10th - 19th, 2002


To the Members of the Community of Natural Building;

This is a first informational signal about what is
already happening, and what is being planned in
Portland, Oregon. We are on the move. There is a
tremendous amount of activity already underway as we
get closer to the Natural Building Convergence, which
will be held here from Friday, May 10 through Sunday,
May 19.

Though the Convergence will be much like a Coloquium,
there will be a very intentional emphasis on building
permanent prototypes which will reside in public
locations throughout SE Portland. One of the goals of
this Convergence is to make a major impact within the
urban grid where there is already great receptivity to
good ideas. These prototypes will therefor be built
simultaneously, and other, larger projects on private
land will also be underway. The public projects will
each be led by a well-loved Natural Builder, and these
will include:

A Memorial 'Life House' with a bench, three
Information Stations with fountains or benches, and
one Gateway with Benches. All of these will feature
living roofs, bioswales, and photovoltaic systems to
power lights or a pump. Because many neighborhood
residents will be involved the impact of all this
simultaneous work will be considerable. The Site
Leaders will include Joseph F Kennedy, Becky Bee,
Robert Bolman, Elke Cole, and hopefully Michael Smith.
The private site leaders will likely include David
Eisenburg, and we are still looking for another cob
leader. The City Repair Project will introduce Ianto
Evans who will open the Convergence with a keynote
presentation. These folks are being supported by
grants and other sources. 

The build-up to the Convergence will include these
significant events:

* March 20th - The first cob building in Portland will
open. Known as the Solar Sanctuary, it is a hybrid
structure which incorporates double cob shell walls,
wattle enclosed compressed straw insulation cavities,
hemp wall sections, wool roof insulation, recycled
pallet beams, a living roof, and solar shade trellis.

March 31st - People's Food Cooperative will begin the
construction of a 75 foot sculptural cob wall as part
of their new store expansion.

* April 20th - The Earth Day Village will feature the
construction of a permanent public gathering place
made of cob, and a public demonstration of how to
build a strawbale home.

* May 10th - 19th - The Natural Building Convergence,
with five public places built of natural and recycled
materials which will begin simultaneously with at
least two larger private sites. The Convergence will
include large numbers of neighborhood residents
working on their local Natural Building projects while
the private sites will serve as Convergence demo
sites.
There will also be morning, afternoon, and evening
presentations. These will include a variety of
activist presentations from throughout the spectrum of
the movement for sustainable culture. The Convergence
will be followed after the last day by a public
discourse between four prominent European Green
Builders and Natural Building Leaders of the
Convergence.

A number of other projects are being designed now for
construction following the Convergence.

Because we are in an urban setting the logistics will
be different from the usual rural environment of a
Colloquium. More information about the schedule of
things and accomodations will be coming soon.

The financial numbers for attendance look like 200
dollars from start to finish, with food and lodging
provided much in the same way as a Colloquium.


For more information, please inquire at
moontrout at cityrepair.org. Also, let us know if you
wish to reserve a place with us, and whether or not
you are a presenter.

Thanks very much!

The Natural Building Convergence 2002 
Organizing Collective, Portland, Oregon