IN THIS DAY AND AGE when corporate science has come up with a myriad of ways to manufacture materials that are super-strong, most of the solid objects in our homes and in our yards are thin, thinner than logic dictates, thinner than makes sense to our minds. There are good reasons for this; space comes at a premium: in downtown houses, on property lots, in transport trucks, and in cargo holds. Size and weight increase the cost of shipping, and larger lots with bigger buildings raise prices. So market forces mean that all other things being equal, indoor and outdoor furniture is going to get thinner over time.
BUT IS IT POSSIBLE THAT the thickness of an object can serve a purpose other than structural stability? If you’re ever spent the night at a cheap motel, you know that thin walls don’t do a whole heck of a lot to muzzle acoustics. Then there’s insulation and the heat island effect; thin objects aren’t all that good at keeping the heat in, or keeping the heat out, depending on the desired result. But most importantly, thin walls are poor performers in terms of embedded energy, and it’s almost impossible to really recycle any part of them. So if you can spare a few extra square feet and care about the ecology, maybe you should consider cob?
Some of the incredible benefits of Cob:
GREEN APPLE PIE HAS PREPARED another trilogy of blog articles, this time about cob, a method of constructing benches, walls, and even entire houses out of earth. Like adobe bricks and rammed earth, cob walls are made out of all-natural materials sourced locally — clay, sand, and straw. What makes cob extra-special is the fact that it can be sculpted into curvy organic shapes, pleasing to the human eye — and the human heart. We hope that you take the time to read up on cob, because once you see some gorgeous photos, you may become infatuated and want some in your own backyard as soon as possible.
COB WALLS FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
IN Part I – The Healthiest Housing in the World, I take you all around the world for an overview of the various kinds of earthen building techniques. In Part II – Intersections and Interventions, I examine the way that the modern metropolis is laid out, its negative effects on our collective psyche, and how earthen furniture might remedy these. And in Part III – Everything Earth, I look at a few different cob projects that you can realize in your own yard, even up here in Eastern Canada. And for a Green Apple-produced full-length feature documentary about cob building, check out FIRST EARTH – Uncompromising Ecological Architecture.
Fireworks Restaurant, Corvalis, OR
