House Design Online

(Source: www.theholliesonline.com)

Upcoming courses:

 1-3 May Healthy and Affordable Homes with natural Materials

A 3-day workshop with Ulrike and Thomas Riedmuller.

Cost: €180 including lunch.

A thorough introduction to the world of natural building in an inspiring environment: cob, clay straw, bale cob, cordwood, wattle and daub. Profound insights into a wide range of building techniques. You will gain an overview and a practical feel for cob…what it can do for you and what it can’t – the kind of thing you don’t get out of books. Let yourself be inspired by a beautiful cob home, earthen and lime plasters, natural paints, earthen floors, unique wood work, and many other sustainability features – and all by the people from whose mistakes you can learn.

Some previous participants of our weekend course went away and built their own cob house. Others came back to do the 9-day cob course for more profound learning.

19-27 June The Hand-Sculpted House

A 9 day workshop with Ulrike and Thomas Riedmuller and Jo Forsythe.

Cost: € 750

After the great success in previous years we are looking forward to run this very comprehensive building course again this year. At the end of the 9 days you will know all you need to be able to go off and build a cob cottage. This intensive course will be hands-on, and you will learn every aspect of the construction of a cob building. From locating and testing the right kinds of soils for cob, to different ways of mixing it, wall building techniques and all the sculptural details. Get practical experience with windows, doors, arches and niches. Lectures cover siting, passive solar design, drainage, heating, plumbing and electric, natural roofing, and flooring.

Through the length and intensity of these courses they tend to create a real sense of community between the participants and team, so if you are interested in building a house, and want a life-changing inspirational immersion into the world of natural building this really is a course no to be missed. We expect this course to fill up very fast, so please book early to avoid disappointment.

11June-19August Natural Building Apprenticeship

with Ulrike and Thomas Riedmuller and Jo Forsythe.

Cost:€3200

This program is run in conjunction with the Cob Cottage Company in Oregon, USA.

Concerned about the world’s state of affairs? Wish you could make a change? Yes, you can! Begin now, start with home. A program to guide you in making changes in your lifestyle, consumerism, health and well-being, career and livelihood, based on ecological values and Natural Building principles and practices. The Apprenticeship is designed to support you into creating a life that you, your family and community can feel proud of.

Learn the practical skills to design and build your own Natural Home in just 10 weeks. Building experience, though welcome is not essential.

The program will help you to become skilled as a professional Natural Builder and/or teacher 

Open Day at The Hollies Centre

 an opportunity to see our organic garden, orchards and earthen buildings,

get guided tours, talks and demonstrations,

enjoy bread from an earth oven

 SUNDAY, 25 April 2010

2-5pm

at The Hollies Centre (on the Enniskeane-Coppeen Road, 2.5 miles from Enniskeane on your right)

FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE

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Hemp Symposium, Kenmare, Ireland 2009

The site has recently been updated with new information on the speakers giving presentations at the Symposium.

The Symposium will offer a broad insight into the wide ranging possibilities of the Hemp Building

system and the contribution hemp materials can make to the world of Low carbon and Natural building.

As we search for ways of reducing our CO2 emissions and addressing the issues of energy peak and food security, Hemp is proving it has a lot to offer to the production of resources.

The 1st International Hemp Building Symposium will highlight the innovative ways in which hemp materials can be used to make Hemp Fibre insulation, Hempcrete made of Hemp-lime or Hemp-clay, and Hemp Plasters, together with the design, construction and the lifestyle benefits of living in such buildings.

16-18th September 2009 in Kenmare Bay Hotel, Kenmare. Co. Kerry, Ireland.

• Presentations

• Talks

• Demonstration

• Q & A Sessions

• Displays

• Networking & Education

For More information – click on picture below

For more information - click here

Designing and building sustainably is often an afterthought or at most a “consideration” for many people. “We would like to have an ecological house but ….” Solar panels for water heating are sometimes given the same consideration as a sun roof in a car, “would be nice”.

Renewable energy technologies and type of building materials need to be part of the design package. If they get relegated to “add on” status, then they no longer become useful and may well just appear as expensive optional extras.

One of the essential considerations when designing a home for yourself is “future-proofing” at design stage. We may, for example like to plan for a time in our life when we are not as agile as we are now so that we have fewer steps and good space at ground level or consider possibility of changes in lifestyle enforced by the global economic downturn, where prehaps a space could be easily converted to a workspace for home office or for childcare.

Similarily our design needs to enable our family home to be more resilient to a time when we will no longer afford be dependent on fossil fuels to meet our energy needs.

Picture yourself and you family, where you will be in a decade or so from now and to consider what you need to include at design stage now.

Minister Ryan announces National Insulation Programme

16m in insulation grants for up to 12000 homes

Unprecedented level of interest in Home Energy Saving Scheme (more…)

Build your own Wind Turbine

Congratulations to Peter, Alanna and all involved in the Eco Living Festtival which took place over the weekend.  The festival took place in the scenic little village of Drumsna on the banks of the majestic Shannon River near Carrick-on-Shannon in Co. Leitrim.

There was something of interest for anyone interesting in ways to live more sustainably. I was particularly interested in a demonstration on how to build your own wind turbine. Suprisingly, it doesn’t seem to be so difficult, especially when explained by the people at Eirbyte.

Is it practical? Is it affordable? Is it sustainable? Yes to all, I would say. Lets all step out of the mode of mass production for a moment. Yes we could order something like these from China. But what is every local community started to teach local people how to build turbines locally.

The blades are manufactured using timber and many of the other componnents could be derived from recycled materials.

According to the people at Eirbyte, one doesn’t need to be an expert, many of the skills are taught at workshops throughout the country.

Within most local communities  however, we havethe expertise, We have carpenters, welders, electricians, mechanics and engineers, many of whom are underemployed at the moment. By consolidating these skills, local communities could become more resilient.

For more information on the Eco Living Festival and on building your own wind turbine, please follow the links below:

EIRBYTE

ECO LIVING FESTIVAL

BUILD YOUR OWN WIND TURBINE

SCORAIG WIND ELECTRIC

There are also a number of books which might be of interest:

It is interesting how many people who would dearly love their own home are put off the design process by their perceived lack of knowledge. We could equally say: “what do I know about walking”. Walking is a natural process, It wasn’t learned straight away. As children we tried and stumbled and tried again and stumbled again.

The ability to walk for most of us is an innate ability. As children we develop many abilities by a process of trial and error and of course play and imagination. Our ability to design and make a house for ourselves is innate also. (more…)

If you are interested in strawbale building, there are a couple of websites that might be of use.
The first is Strawbale.com and is dedicated to anyone interested in building their own straw bale house. The site has offers on Strawbale building resources including very useful instructional DVDs.  If you are brand new to straw bale or a straw bale construction specialist there’s something for you at StrawBale.com.

Another useful site is Amazon Nails , which has a wealth of useful information and resources for anyone considering strawbale building.

Check the events calendar for details of upcoming courses and events on strawbale building

Workshops Basics of Cob Building 7 day intensive workshop – Morayshire, Scotland

Inspire yourself and tantalise your senses during a week connecting with the earth at a beautiful rural location in Scotland. During the week you will discover how it’s possible to use the ground beneath your feet to sculpt your own cob building.

During the week you will be helping to sculpt a small building with stone foundation, cob walls and roundpole timber living roof, the structure will be completed with lime and earth plasters . You should leave the course with all the skills necessary to begin a small earth-building project of your own.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE

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County Tipperary’s “Little Belfast” is going green in the hope of attracting some new residents.In these challenging times, what with the economic meltdown and global warming, you might find yourself searching for simpler way of life.

Residents of a village in the Republic called Cloughjordan think they have found a way to escape the rat race.

They are building their own eco-village and hope the venture will breath new life into the area.

WATCH ITEM HERE

Led by ‘Amazonails’ Strawbale building experts this course will look at the history and use of straw bale buildings, different techniques, planning considerations and how to build. There will be practical workshops on the load bearing method, plaster and render preparation, and lime and earth finishes.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE

Centre for Alternative Technology,  Machynlleth, Powys, SY20 9AZ, UK

ONLY A FEW PLACES LEFT SO BOOK NOW IF YOU WANT A PLACE!

This course is suitable for builders, architects and anyone who wishes to undertake the refurbishment of an existing building with minimal environmental impact both on-site and in use.
It accepts that 99.9% of us are never going to design
and build our own eco-houses, and outlines best practice (and the compromises involved) in eco Refurbishment.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE

ECO LIVING FESTIVAL
JUNE 6th/7th 2009

The first Eco Living Festival will take place on the weekend of June 6th/7th at the Drummsna Community Resource Centre, Drumsna, Co. Leitrim (on the N4 near Carrick on Shannon).

The weekend event will have a packed program, with many speakers from across the country, as well as demonstrations, local produce stalls, nature walks, field trips and hands-on permaculture gardening practice in store.

It will be the showcase event for Permaculture Ireland this year, where we offer the public many positive solutions to global problems – solutions that can start in our own homes and backyards.

With admittance pricing at a meagre €5 Euros (€10) and many sustainable living ideas to be had, who cannot afford to come along to our Festival?.

Peter Cowman BArch.,
Director

Living Architecture Centre

Do we really need all these new “green technologies” in order to be more energy efficient?

Not necessarily is the view of a group of academics and sustainable energy practitioners who suggest that money spent on micro-renewable energy systems would be put to better on extra insulation and draught-proofing

Speaking in Trinity College at the Trinity Week Academic Symposium “Low Carbon Society: Waste Not Want Not in association with Trinity Haus, it was suggested that attempts to make buildings more energy-efficient by installing expensive “green technologies” have resulted in the rise of “eco-bling”.

The symposium heard some expensive technologies such as photo-voltaic cells, which take energy from sunshine, can take up to 50 years to pay for themselves in saved energy costs. However, photo-voltaic cells often have a useful life of just 20 years, making them effectively “eco-bling”.

In his lecture, “Nega Watts – the antidote to Eco-bling” Howard Liddell of Gaia Architects said preventing heat loss was by definition among the best ways to achieve energy efficiency.

He said he had never seen a heat pump in operation which offered a return as good as three units of energy output for each unit which went in, yet these were regularly advertised as “four units of output for one unit in”.

Photo-voltaic cells which make energy from sunshine offered a 50-year payback, but all too often have a 20-year useful life.

He was critical of new housing schemes which advertised “10 percent of energy from renewables” when research showed clearly the best way to achieve energy efficiency was simply to reduce waste.

This is valuable advice if you are designing your own house. Be wary about what companies out there are trying to tell you. Always ask from where salespeople are getting their figures and check them out yourself.

For More information click these links

Green energies give rise to ‘eco-bling’ – Irish Times May 14, 2009

Trinity Week Academic Symposium

Trinity Haus

A unique opportunity to learn some practical natural building skills and have a holiday experience of a lifetime would be an Eco Holiday at the Boghill Centre at the foot of the Burren  in beautiful North County Clare on the West Coast of Ireland

The Boghill Centre is a residential activity centre situated off the beaten track, in a natural bog land setting between Lisdoonvarna and Kilfenora. SEE www.boghill.com
Although it is only two miles from Lisdoonvarna and four miles from Kilfenora it has a quiet and secluded atmosphere, making it the perfect place to relax and unwind.

They are running a series of Eco Experience weeks during June, July and August 2009.  This summer the series of Eco Experience weeks will centre around Cob building.   Cob is an ancient building material that has been used for construction since prehistoric times. It is made by mixing clay-based subsoil with straw, sand and water. This earthen mixture is then ladled onto a stone foundation and trodden onto the wall by workers in a process known as cobbing.

For more information click … ECO EXPERIENCE WEEKS

An important starting point in designing and building your own home is a visit to self-build exhibitions which are happening in most towns.

The Self-Build -Entend & Renovate show is happening at the Galway Racecourse, Ballybrit.

There will alsobe a full programme of seminars delivered by professionals from the construction industry covering topics such as Building Energy Rating, Planning Permission and Passive Housing.

If you are thinking of building or renovating, the Seld Build shows which are held at different venues  throughout Ireland over the year.  You get the chance to talk to a number of suppliers in the one place. It’s also a good place to haggle.

If you have a sketch or a plan bring a few copies along.

For more information click … SELF BUILD – RENOVATE & EXTEND 2009

The Energy Show 2009 Organised by Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) will be held at the RDS Main Hall, Dublin

This business to business event is a must for anyone with a professional interest in or responsibility for energy use.

Registration for the Exhibition has now closed. You can register on the day. Entrance is free to the Exhibition on production of trade ID.

Now firmly established as the showcase event for Ireland’s energy sector, this year’s event follows the highly successful format of previous years. A cutting edge technology and trade exhibition with leading Irish and European product and service suppliers will showcase the very latest in energy innovation offering visitors a unique experience in seeking low energy solutions for buildings and the opportunity to engage those experts leading the energy sector both here and abroad. (more…)

Two independent 1 1/2 day courses with Thomas and Ulrike Riedmuller
Dates:Sat/Sun April 25th/26th and
June 30th/31th at The Hollies
Cost per course:€100

For great outdoor fun and the real Italian taste these wood fired Bread and Pizza Ovens built with Cob are hard to beat. Learn how to build your own in just 1 1/2 days from firebricks, clay, sand, earth and straw. After this course you’ll be equipped with enough skill to go home and build your own in the garden and cook in it.

For More Information Check out THE HOLLIES

Venue: The Organic Centre in Rossinver, Co Leitrim

Course Date: 24 May 2009
Instructor: Peter Cowman
Course Fee: €90.00

Peter will explain various techniques including economics, planning, passive solar design, alternative energy systems, the use of timber and other natural materials as well as self build.

Peter is the originator of the “living architecture” concept and believes that “our homes engage us on a physical as well as an emotional level”.

Special attention will be paid to ‘mortgage-free housing options’

For More Information. Click THE ORGANIC CENTRE

Sustainable Design with a special focus on the creation of affordable, mortgage-free dwellings

• Venue: Carraig Dulra in Glenealy, Co Wicklow

Course Date:
16 May 2009
Instructor:
Peter Cowman

The workshop will allow students to understand the process involved in creating a sustainable house design. Peter will explain the inspiration behind the development of the Econospace, his design for a low-cost, self-buildable sustainable shelter. Then he will focus on the practical aspects of its construction.
Price: €90.00

For More Information CLICK HERE

How to build a Low-Cost, Planning-free, Sustainable Space In Your Back Garden

The Ecoshop, Meridian Point, Church Road, Greystones, Co. Wicklow, Ireland

(Beside SuperValu car park, 2 minutes from DART station & buses)

Course Will be presented by Architect/Teacher/Writer
Peter Cowman B Arch. Director of The Living Architecture Centre and originator of the ‘Living Architecture’ concept

For More Information Click Here

Converting your Home for Sustainable Living on a shoestring.

The Ecoshop, Meridian Point, Church Road, Greystones, Co. Wicklow, Ireland

(Beside SuperValu car park, 2 minutes from DART station & buses)

Course  Will be presented by Architect/Teacher/Writer
Peter Cowman B Arch. Director of The Living Architecture Centre and originator of the ‘Living Architecture’ concept

FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE

Date: Monday 27th April, 2009

Location: Tipperary Institute, Thurles, North Tipperary

Price: Free but booking essential by Friday 17th of April

Booking:                              Tel. 01 674 5773

More Information CLICK HERE

Organised by Cultivate, Tipperary Institute, The Village, Irish Rural Link and Carnegie Trust

Supported by COMHAR, the National Sustainable Development Council, Dublin City Council, Department of Environment Heritage and Local Government, Sustainable Energy Ireland and the Carnegie Trust

Over the last couple of decades policy makers have tended to regard Irish rural communities as dependent on urban centers rather than as drivers for change. This conference brings together stakeholders from a wide variety of sectors to explore how we can work together to build resilience in a future of energy, climate and economic uncertainty.

What are the actions and positive changes we will need to make to enhance the quality of life of our communities? How will we provide livelihoods and strong rural economies? How will communities of the future provide for their food needs? What are the opportunities for sustainable transport and how will we heat and power our communities?

What do we do to engage people to address the ever more complex problems facing us today? All of this will require for us to work purposefully together to build resilience in these challenging times.

10.00 Registration

10.30 Opening

Representative from North Tipperary County Council

Conversation Starters

10.35 Towards Sustainable Rural Communities
Ciaran Lynch – Tipperary Institute

10.45 From Vulnerability to Resilience
Prof. Peader Kirby

10.55 Regional Food
Helen Lawrenson – Falkland Centre for
Stewardship, Scotland

11.05 Rural Transport
Seamus Boland – Irish Rural Link

11.15 Break

11.30 World Café (view YouTube clip about World Café)

“Given where we are at, what are you already doing to build resilience in your communities?”

12.00 World Café plenary

13.00 Lunch (not provided)

Conversation Starters

14.00 Entreprise, Livelihoods ands Jobs
Ben Whelan – Cultivate and the Village

14.10 The Power of One Community
Seamus Hoyne – Tipperary Energy Agency, Paul Allen, Centre for Alternative Technology and Zero Carbon Britain

14.30 Planning For Rural Sustainability
Bridget Kirwan and Catherine Corcoran,
Tipperary Institute

14.50 Education and Training for Local Resilience
Davie Philip, Cultivate and the Village, Michael Kenny NUIM

15.10 Break

15.20 World Café (view YouTube clip about World Café)

“How do we work together now to build resilience in our communities”

Beyond The Talking Shop

16.20 Making the Transition

Chris Chapman, Change Exploratory and Nick Wilding, Carnegie Trust

Given the recent downturn in the building business, much more consideration is being focused on renovationg old houses. In the past few years the idea of renovating an older house was deemed troublesome as builders opted for the “Quick Build”  and the “Easy Buck”.

In Ireland we have a rich tradition of renovating older houses as most people had basic construction skills. Many of our  thatched cottages date back to the 19th century and evolved over time from one-roomed windowless hovels to the postcard-pretty cottages that dotted the countryside until the last few decades.

Renovating and conserving old houses is not just about the preservation of old houses but also of the preservation of old skills.

With the proper skills and training,  old houses can be renovated to the maximum standards of energy-efficiency.

A public lecture will be held on the subject on Thursday March 17th in the Cultivate Centre, Essex Street West, Temple Bar, Dublin starting at 7pm, Cost: €25.00

To find out more CLICK HERE

Hemp building Course

A Hemp Plastering course will take place on Saturday MARCH 14th 2009 at K.A.T. Gortagowan, Sneem, Co. Kerry 9.30am -5.00pm lunch included € 90 venue

ALSO
International Hemp Building Seminar!

Provisional dates for the Seminar next year are23-24 June 2009 IRELAND

For more information CLICK HERE

If you want to discover a bit more about Passive Houses, it might be worth visiting the Ecobuild & Futurebuild Conference whis is taking place in Earl’s Court, London from Tuesday 3rd to Thursday 5th of March 2009.

For more information, please click here

On the first day of Ecobuild (Tuesday 3 March) BRE will be holding a free PassivHaus seminar in the Thames Lounge.

MORNING SESSION: Creating a PassivHaus culture
Chair Gavin Hodgson, PassivHaus UK, Managed by BRE

10:30 Making a case for PassivHaus: lessons for a crisis – Chris Herring, Director, Green Building Store/Chair, AECB
11:00 PassivHaus in the UK – where are we now? – Oliver Child, Senior Consultant, BRE
11:30 Case study: new materials in PassivHaus design – Howard Liddell, Principal, Gaia Architects
12:00 PassivHaus construction and the skills gap – Malcolm Bell, Professor of Surveying & Sustainable Housing, Leeds Metropolitan University
12:30 Close

AFTERNOON SESSION: There’s no haus like PassivHaus
Chair Justin Bere, Bere:Architects

12:45 Case study: the UK’s first completed PassivHaus – Justin Bere, Bere:Architects
13:15 Case study: PassivHaus is for everyone! – Andrew Bissell, Chair, Blue Property
13:45 PassivHaus retrofit – Mark Siddall, Senior Architect, Dewjo’c Architects Ltd
14:15 Learning from the Swedish experience – Henrietta Lynch, Associate, The Good Homes Alliance

The seminar is free to attend and as there is no pre-booking available for the seminar, attendance is on a first-come-first-served basis. The seminar will be held in the Thames Lounge.

For information on the Passive House Seminar click here

The Sustainability Institute based in Westport, Co. Mayo in the West of Ireland is running a number of both short and long courses during 2009, which are worth checking out for anyone planning to build or renovate in a sustainable manner during 2009 or beyond.

One and Two Day Courses Offered in 2009 include:

• Introduction to Low Cost Design and Construction
• DIY Insulation and Draughtproofing
• Basic Domestic Energy Auditing
• Renovation of Stone Cottages
• DIY Solar Thermal
• DIY Off Grid Electrical Systems (Wind and Solar PV)
• Construction Courses and Workshops
• Monglian Ger and Yurt Construction (new)

Longer Courses and Modules:

12 Month Practical Sustainability Course

• Practical Low-Cost Design and Build Module 1
• Practical Low-Cost Design and Build Module 2

Click here for more information