[Cob] Rainbow Ranch

[claysandstraw]

Well I don't know what photos Ianto has, but I have talked quite a bit with
Gayle Borst who was one of the people who was there through the whole
process of the Rainbow Ranch project here in Texas.  Its always interesting
to hear other versions of the story, but here is what I heard:  the owner of
the property insisted, against clear protest from many people, that the cob
be located in the 100 yr. flood plain of Onion Creek.  Workshop was held
(taught by Ianto) and later many many volunteers spent hours finishing the
building.  About 2 years later Onion Creek did have a 100 yr flood.  Gayle
saw it afterwards and said that the damage was clearly due to the current in
the flood waters and if the windows had been left open their might have been
discussion of salvaging the building.  Meanwhile, there is political and
funding difficulties at the non-profit that owns the land and they are
unable to take the necessary steps to determine if the building is worth
saving. And, none of the volunteers who so lovingly finished the building
the first time really wanted to do the whole thing over again.  So the
building was ultimately demolished by a bulldozer.

So big points for cob for making a stand where no conventional construction
would have stood.  At the colloquium this fall Massey Burke plans to present
photos of the flood damages to various natural building structures at Real
Goods Solar Living Inst. I'm looking forward to it!  Kindra


> On 22 Jul 2007, at 15:50, Ocean Liff-Anderson wrote:
>
>> one of the cardinal rules with cob:  never build in a flood plain.
>> basically, flood is catastrophic for cob.   ianto has some great
>> "before and after" shots of a beautiful, completed cob that he helped
>> build for some folks in texas - who insisted it was a "hundred year
>> flood plain" - turned out the year after the building was finished
>> was the hundred year flood.  totally destroyed.
>>
>> don't do it.  of course, my restaurant's cob was is also in the
>> hundred year flood plain.  and the last "big" flood was in 1970.  but
>> you never know...
>>
>> ocean