[Cob] cob with buttresses

[tms at northcoast.com]

>
> So, in building with anything--cob, bales, steel, wood, concrete, stone (I
> remember reading about the invention of flying buttresses as a great
> innovation)--we need to try to destress our building.

+++++++++++++

Actually I believe  the flying butress was a desperate solution to
supporting a large wall to remove stresses.
 Mostly for those big churches in Europe.

While I love them and the ones on the Notre Dame are gorgeous they came
about after the technique
of building was lost during the dark ages. The Pantheon built by the
Romans is still a marvel,
and the ability to make large spans was lost for 1,000 years, hence the
buttresses  solution.

( for a cool book o the subject read The Pillars of the EARTH" by Ken
Follett..about the building of the cathedral
(prolly ND, but not clear which, all about the  hundreds of years of
stone masonry  problem solving and creativiy needed wrapped in a good
human story about one builder )

Buttresses are beautiful, and if made of cob and sculpted creatively  they
could be  part of an outdoor
atrium, conservatory, special space to walk through and around.   sounds
cool to me!!.
Kind of Gaudi-esque to image winged buttresses radiating from cob
dewllings...

Ms. Charmaine  Taylor/ Taylor Publishing
http://www.dirtcheapbuilder.com
http://www.papercrete.com