October 25-30, 2010

A six-day intensive workshop in Elgin, Texas

Learn How to Build Your Own Cordwood Masonry Home, Cottage, Chicken Coop or Other Special Structure.

This comprehensive workshop will take participants through all aspects of cordwood house building, including:

• Building a rubble and trench foundation
• Cutting and preparing cord wood logs
• Concrete work
• Window and door prep
• Lectures and materials for you to take home for your own cordwood construction project

The workshop will be led by builder/craftsman Rick Nation. Rick brings years of experience building cordwood homes and structures, including Willie Nelson’s beautiful cordwood home.

Slapdash Farm is the organizer and producer of this workshop. See the Slapdash website for fees and details. Design~Build~Live is assisting with outreach and registration. A portion of your registration fee will go to support the work of DBL.

Register in one of two ways:

1.) Immediately with a credit card via DBL: If you don’t already have a DBL account, you will be asked to create an account. Once you have created an account and are logged in, from the “What would you like to do?” pull down menu select “Current Events”.  Then select the cordwood workshop. Upon registration, an acknowledgment will automatically be emailed to you.

2.) With a check or via PayPal via Slapdash Farm: Complete the online registration form and you will be emailed an invoice for payment via check or PayPal. Please enter “Design~Build~Live” under “Name of person who referred you”.

Natural, Green, Life-Centered Design and Remodeling To Live For!

Featuring author, columnist and eco-architect extraordinaire, Carol Venolia

Three Events – June 17 and 19, 2010, in Austin, Texas

Are your home and landscape in need of some “greening” and improvements to make them more supportive of your health and happiness and more in sync with nature and natural cycles? You will not want to miss these special opportunities to benefit from Carol’s unique and amazing ability to perceive, integrate and communicate human/site/nature relationships into simple to advanced ideas that you can put into action.

Who Should Attend? Anyone who lives or works in a house, owns a house, is remodeling a house, is building or designing a house, selling a house, or wants a greener indoor environment (Homeowners, Architects and Designers, Green Builders and Remodelers, Renters, Realtors)

Thursday, June 17, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm, at Texas State Teachers Association, 12th & Lavaca

Natural Remodeling

Any home of any vintage can be made “greener” and more natural. This presentation, lushly illustrated with examples, will help everyone from homeowners to design and building professionals understand how to look to the gifts of Nature for better health, more efficient resource use, and a deeper connection with the living world. Book signing follows.

Admission – $30 in advance, $35 at the door, $15 for students, $50 for both presentations, $65 for this presentation + workshop, $85 for all 3 events.

Registration information below.

Saturday, June 19, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm, at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Southwest Parkway

Life-Centered Design

We human beings have spent millions of years co-evolving with natural cycles of daylight and night, sound and silence, color, aroma, texture, and rhythm. In our modern lives, we can choose to benefit from this rich biological heritage by making fully informed—and science-based—decisions that support our sanity, our health, and community. Learn how to create living spaces that tap into our human strengths and our human story. Book signing follows.

Admission – $30 in advance, $35 at the door, $15 for students, $50 for both presentations, $65 for this presentation + workshop, $85 for all 3 events.

Registration information below.

Saturday, June 19, 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm, South Austin Residence

Natural Remodeling Workshop

Green and natural remodeling principles can and should be applied to a real not-so-green houses and sites. Learn how to evaluate an existing house and site for its gifts and challenges in relation to sun, wind, water, landscape, and neighborhood; clarify a set of priorities and strategies; and allow life-supporting design responses to emerge from that process. Book signing follows.

Prerequisite – Attendance at Thursday’s “Natural Remodeling” presentation or familiarity with Carol’s book, Natural Remodeling for the Not-So-Green House

Admission – $45, $65 for 1 presentation + this workshop, $85 for all 3 events. Advance registration required. Limited to 30 participants.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION- PLEASE READ!!!

DBL members will automatically receive a 10% discount on all events prior to checkout. (YOU MUST BE LOGGED IN TO YOUR ACCOUNT)

- If you already have a DBL account, log in, and select “Current Events” from the “What would you like to do?” pull down menu.
- If you don’t have a DBL account, you can create one (it’s free and without strings attached). Then log into your new account and proceed as above by selecting “Current Events”.

An acknowledgment will be emailed to you automatically upon registration.

>>TO REGISTER, CLICK HERE<<

Carol Venolia is an architect with a 40-year track record in ecological design and a passion for restoring the connections between humans and the rest of life. Her latest book, Natural Remodeling for the Not-So-Green House (with Kelly Lerner), is a beautiful, practical guide to bringing existing homes into harmony with nature. She also pens the “Design for Life” column in Natural Home Magazine, is the author of the acclaimed book Healing Environments: Your Guide to Indoor Well-Being, and once published Building with Nature Newsletter.

All proceeds from these Austin events will support the educational efforts of Design~Build~Live. Thanks to our sponsors:

Saturday, May 22, 2010, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm (rescheduled from March 27)

Instructors: Kirby Fry, Southern Exposure and Gayle Borst, Stewardship, Inc.

Location: North Central Austin, Texas

Fee: $75 ($67.50 for DBL Partners) – Register HERE; Limited spaces

Experience Level: Beginner to Intermediate

For those seeking a more sustainable solution for foundations, high-embodied energy concrete can be minimized or even eliminated through use of a rubble trench foundation. This low-impact technique, used extensively by Frank Lloyd Wright, uses rock (rubble) to support the building above.

During this hands-on workshop we will construct the foundation for a small cob cottage and will cover all the steps required to complete a rubble trench foundation, including:

• Importance of dealing with water flows around a foundation
• How to lay out and set the batter boards for the building
• Materials selection and sources
• Construction of the rubble trench
• Forming up the bond beam on top of the rubble trench

The project is the first step in the construction of a small cob cottage behind the Rosedale home of owners Mina Loomis and Robert Norris.

The instructor, Kirby Fry, has over 15 years of experience as a building contractor, including several natural building projects.  Kirby studied Natural Resource Conservation at Texas A & M University, served in the U.S. Peace Corps in Guatemala, and is a Permaculture designer, teacher and builder.

Assisting Kirby will be Austin architect and DBL Director, Gayle Borst, who constructed a rubble trench foundation for a studio behind her own home several years ago.

Fee for the workshop is $75 for non-members and $67.50 for DBL Partners. (If you are not already a Partner, join now and receive the discounted workshop price.) Included are a healthy vegetarian lunch and all necessary workshop materials and tools. Water, tea and snacks will also be provided. Enrollment is limited to twenty people. For questions contact Gayle at 512-478-9033.

Registration closes at 8:00 pm on Friday, May 21. Please call Gayle if registering on 5/21/10.

Registration required. To register, click HERE. If you don’t already have a DBL account, you will be asked to create an account. Once you have created an account and are logged in, select “Current Events” from the “What would you like to do?” pull down menu. An acknowledgment will be emailed to you automatically upon registration, along with the project address.

May 8-15, 2010, Dripping Springs, TX

Join us for a week of natural building construction and education in the rolling hills of the Texas Hill Country. The workshop will cover cob construction from start to finish including: siting, design, budgeting, foundation, wall construction, windows/doors, swimming hole selection, roof, plasters, arches, niches and relief sculpture. Families welcome!

Instructors: Kindra Welch & John Curry, www.ClaySandStraw.com; Sara Schmidt, and guest instructors

Cost (includes camping and all meals):

•Early Bird registration (paid in full before 4/17): Adult tuition, $700; Second adult family member $450

•Regular registration (after 4/17): Adult tuition, $800; Second adult family member $500

•Kids 4 and under: Free; Kids 5-12: $150; Young Adults 13-18 with parent: $350

The workshop will begin at 1:00 pm on May 8 and conclude at 2:00 pm on May 15. For more information, please contact Kindra or John.

Registration required. TO REGISTER, click HERE. If you don’t already have a DBL account, you will be asked to create an account. Once you have created an account and are logged in, select “Current Events” from the “What would you like to do?” pull down menu. An acknowledgment will be emailed to you automatically upon registration.

October 01 – 10, 2010

Hempstead natural builder David Reed is now taking registration for this 10-day cob workshop with Christina Ott of Barefoot Builder.

During the workshop participants will learn the fundamentals of building with cob from foundation to finish.

For details, go to http://newjurabuilding.info/ and select the “Upcoming Events” tab. Or call David at 713-314-6145.

A One-Day Design~Build~Live Workshop

Saturday, March 13, 2010, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Instructors: Kirby Fry, Southern Exposure and Gayle Borst, Stewardship, Inc.

Location: North Central Austin, Texas

Fee: $75 ($67.50 for DBL Partners) – Register HERE; Limited spaces (Registration closes at 5pm on Friday, March 12)

Experience Level: Beginner to Intermediate

So, you want to transform your urban or rural homestead into a productive, sustainable Permaculture landscape. You may have read the books and gone to lectures, but how do you start to DO it?! This workshop is designed to teach by doing as we begin taking a Permaculture site design into the reality phase.

Using a site plan developed for an existing central Austin homestead, we will discuss and build various Permaculture basics, including:

• Site-specific master planning & site design
• Importance of dealing with water flows
• Material selection and sources
• How to construct berms, swales and paths

The project is the first phase in the implementation of a Permaculture site design for an existing home and proposed cob cottage. Owners Mina Loomis and Robert Norris continue to “green” their 1930s Rosedale homestead.

The instructor, Kirby Fry, studied Permaculture under the original master, Bill Mollison, then went on to become a Permaculture teacher and design consultant.   In addition, he has over 15 years of experience as a building contractor, including natural building.  Kirby studied Natural Resource Conservation at Texas A & M University, served in U.S. Peace Corps – Guatemala.

Assisting Kirby will be Austin architect and DBL Director, Gayle Borst. Gayle worked with Mina to develop the site design from which we will be working.

Fee for the workshop is $75 (Partners: $67.50) and includes a healthy vegetarian lunch and all necessary workshop materials and tools. Water, tea and snacks will also be provided. Enrollment is limited to twenty-five people. For questions contact Gayle at 512-478-9033.

Registration required. To register, click HERE. If you don’t already have a DBL account, you will be asked to create an account. Once you have created an account and are logged in, select “Current Events” from the “What would you like to do?” pull down menu. An acknowledgment will be emailed to you automatically upon registration, along with the project address.

Saturday, March 6, 2010, 9:00 am

You are invited to participate in this FREE Thangmaker sponsored workshop in far west Austin.

Cob Cottage instructor, Brian Burnoski,will facilitate the construction of an earthen oven this Saturday.  Brian is a passionate, bright cob builder and sustainable thinker.  He’ll be talking about mud technology, yurts, biodiesel, education and many other things as we all build an oven from start to finish in one day.

Please be willing and eager to get dirty, learn and have fun. Email or call Frank Meyer of Thangmaker Construction for workshop address and details and to reserve your space: thangmaker@gmail.com, 512-517-9272.

WHAT TO BRING: Sack lunch, work clothes, hat, water bottle, good spirit. Snacks will be provided.

Saturday, February 27, 2010, 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

Instructor: Kindra Welch, ClaySandStraw

Learn how to transform average, nondescript drywall walls into luscious, artful, healthful, natural surfaces.

Whether you live in an existing frame home or plan to participate in the building of a new home, you may have some drywall (“sheetrock”) wallboard that needs finishing or refinishing. Or perhaps you want to enliven a room with a single, special accent wall – Earth plaster is a great do-it-yourself alternative to paint. Earthen plasters of various colors and textures can be used to create wall finishes that look and “feel” wonderful and are completely nontoxic.

During this workshop you will learn how to:

• Select materials (clay, sand, pigments, additives)
• Mix and apply an adhesion coat
• Apply earth plaster to new drywall
• Apply earth plaster to old drywall
• Create a non-dusting finish

The project is the plastering of kitchen and living room walls in a 1958 frame house that Martina has been “greening up” since last February. Each room is to receive a different type of earth plaster, so we will be learning at least two mixes and applying them to two different types of surfaces.

The instructor, Kindra Welch, trained in architecture at Rice University, later completed an apprenticeship at the Cob Cottage Company and went on to establish herself as a respected designer/builder/educator in the natural building world. She and husband John work their magic as ClaySandStraw.

The fee for the workshop includes a healthy vegetarian lunch and all necessary workshop materials and tools. Water, tea and snacks will also be provided. Enrollment is limited to fifteen people.

To register, click HERE. ***WORKSHOP IS FULL, BUT PROCEED IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ADDED TO THE WAITING LIST***

For questions, contact Gayle through “Contact Us” or 512-478-9033.

October 22 – 29 2009

Bastrop, TX (east of Austin)

This workshop will be a hands-on building intensive and is designed to prepare you to build your own cob home. We will actually construct an entire cob cottage from the ground up! You will have the chance to get hands on experience with every stage of cob building so you can go home with the confidence and skills to build your own house. We will cover foundations, walls, windows, doors, roofs, plasters, sculptural work, testing your cob mix, using a tractor to mix cob, passive solar design, rainwater collection, dealing with the building department, electricity, plumbing and more! This is an ideal workshop to take if you are considering building your own cob home or any fully enclosed building.

$799.00 (10% discount when mentioning Design, Build, Live)
For details, see “Upcoming Workshops” at www.barefootbuilder.com

Saturday and Sunday, March 28-29, 9am – 4pm

Norm Ballinger and Lester Germanio are hosting a rain jar workshop. Rain jars are ferro-cement “jars” from 75 gallons to huge for harvesting rainwater. Jars are built in place and finished to look like large ceramic pots. The workshop is free for those who sign up. This workshop is limited to 20 people. But don’t worry, we will have more!

What to bring: Pot luck dish to share, eating utensils, beverage, pliers (lineman’s pliers work best).

Please call (512-921-9482) or email Norm (n_ballinger@yahoo.com) if you’d like to participate.

Saturday, April 4, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Instructor: Norm Ballinger

Location: Between Manor and Elgin, Texas

Fee: $75 – Registration required

• To register, click HERE. If you don’t already have a DBL account, you will be asked to create an account. Once you have created an account and are logged in, select “Current Events” from the “What would you like to do?” pull down menu.
  

Experience Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Straw bale walls are perhaps the best known of all the natural building elements. These thick walls are valued for their incredible thermal insulation as well as their beauty. Several straw bale structures have been built in Central Texas over the last two decades, ranging from garden walls to three storey homes and even commercial buildings.

Straw bale wall raisings, like old-fashioned barn raisings, bring people together to share knowledge, skill, work, food and camaraderie. During this upcoming workshop we will learn many of the skills needed to build a house of straw, including:

– Preparing foundations for straw bale walls

– Stacking and securing bales

– Making custom bale

– Stabilizing with external pinning

– Attaching window and door bucks

The project is a 2,000 square foot home for Sarah Graham and Brent Jones, who fell in love with the beauty and sustainability of straw bale construction after reading just one book on the topic. Read about their story and see the project’s progress at www.safiandshmuel.com .

Austin musician and natural builder Norm Ballinger will lead the workshop and complete the walls. Norm and his wife, Cat, live in “The Treehouse”, a three-story straw bale home in South Austin.

Fee for the workshop is $75 and includes a healthy vegetarian lunch and all necessary workshop materials and tools. Water, coffee and tea will also be provided. Enrollment is limited to twenty people. Register for the workshop HERE or contact Gayle at 512-478-9033.