Architecture LIVE 15
16 Feb
Posted by: Peter Cowman in: Architecture LIVE, Living Architecture, The EconoSpace Project
| Architecture LIVE 15 |
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| The mini-EconoSpace lures me with promises whenever I stray close to its lair. Each time I am coaxed a little closer, touch and feel the empty shell as if it might give me a clear answer. |
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| I lay in a temporary floor. Oil the parched cladding boards. Contemplate the future through the empty frame of a recycled window. |
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| I am being taken apart cell by cell, each laid carefully away to be available for reassembly. I watch in fascination as I crack and dissolve. The world is a different place from this perspective. My emotions have come to the fore as if making up for the lack or corpuscular identity. Old hurts and embarassments parade by. Read the rest of this entry » |
| NATIONWIDE NO SHOW |
| 9pm Wednesday February 10th 2010 |
| A big apology to all of you who had expected to see the EconoSpace on Nationwide on Wednesday evening. |
| The broadcaster has now informed me – after the fact – that the piece was pulled at the last minute ‘because it didn’t sit well with the other pieces’. |
| At the moment I can only take a cynical view of this. |
| Broadcasting a show about mortgage-free shelter is just not politic at this point in time is my guess. |
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| THE ECONOSPACE ON NATIONWIDE |
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| If you liked what you saw on the Nationwide programme and would like to try something like that for yourself check out the EconoSpaceMaking DVD. |
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| DOWNLOAD FREE ECONOSPACEMAKING DVD SAMPLER pdf |
| Learn how to design and build a small, green, low-impact sustainable shelter – that you can be made in the average backyard without planning permission! |
| WATCH THE ECONOSPACEMAKING DVD INTERNET LAUNCH |
| ECONOSPACEMAKING DVD |
| €120 |
| SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY OFFER |
| SAVE 25% |
| €90 postage paid |
| MORE ON THE ECONOSPACE |
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| AND CHECK OUT THE LIVING ARCHITECTURE COURSE |
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Imbolc – Cross Quarter DayImbolc (Imbolg) has been celebrated since ancient times. It is a Cross Quarter Day, midpoint between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox, it can fall between the 2nd & 7th of February. In 2010 it falls on the 3rd of February. The other Cross Quarter Days are Beltane (early May), Lughnasadh (early August) and Samhain (early November). Together with the Equinoxes and Solstices the Cross Quarter Days mark the eight significant solar points of the year. Sheltermaker is published to coincide with the Cross Quarter Days. |
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| ECONOSPACE NATIONWIDE |
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| WEDNESDAY
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| FEBRUARY 10th
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| AT 7pm on RTE1 |
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| The Nationwide programme documents students attending a weekend course in mortgage-free living at the Living Architecture Centre. |
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| Starting out from the Community Resource Centre in Drumsna the programme follows the students to Ardlougher where they get hands-on with the building process – mixing clay-slip, making timber components and learning how to create a debt-free future. |
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| The star of the show is the charming timber frame with its clay-straw infill. This is the first of three conjoined buildings to be constructed on the three-quarter acre site. This offers a great degree of flexibility in dealing with the uncertainty that is becoming an all too familiar characteristic of modern life. |
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| The building featured on Nationwide is based on the EconoSpace and on Living Architecture principles as set out in the Living Architecture Course |
| ECONOSPACEMAKING |
| Learn how to design and build a small, green, low-impact sustainable shelter – that can be made in the average backyard without planning permission or a building permit! |
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| LIVE ECONOSPACEMAKING COURSE DATES |
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| Can’t make a LIVE Course? |
| Then you need the EconoSpaceMaking DVD |
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| DOWNLOAD ECONOSPACEMAKING DVD SAMPLER |
| EconoSpaceMaking DVD Special Offer |
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| ARCHITECTURE LIVE UPDATE |
| LAC THEME FOR 2010 |
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| FOOD & SHELTER |
| ARTICLE ON LIVING ARCHITECTURE |
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| “People think architecture is a thing; it is not a thing, it is a process that allows you to appraise your life.” |
| With these opening words journalist Seamus McGoldrick begins his exploration of Living Architecture. |
| It’s all here. The Truth About Mortgages. Reclaiming Your Time & Space. Suffering Existential Angst. Architecture As Experience. The EconoSpace Concept. Playing House. Time Is Money. |
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“The potential of the architecture not yet understood.” From a long interview with Peter Cowman, sheltermaker. DOWNLOAD HERE |
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| ARCHITECTURE 5¢ |
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Michael Hanson for The New York Times
BARGAIN BASEMENT John Morefield is one of thousands of unemployed designers who are reinventing themselves. Last year, he put up a booth at a farmers’ market in Seattle, advertising his skills for a nickel, and ended up earning more than $50,000 in commissions. |
| THE NO MONEY MAN |
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| Jon Henley spends the day in Bath with Mark Boyle, who last year decided to stop spending money … on anything … at all … ever. And guess what? He’s doing rather well for himself. |
| FORTHCOMING COURSES & EVENTS |
| Saturday February 6th |
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| EconoSpace |
| ‘Building Sustainable, Affordable Shelters’ |
| Presentation by Peter Cowman |
| 3.30 – 4.20pm |
| Neighbourhood House, 47 Forest St., Woodend, VIC |
| PART OF THE MACEDON RANGES SUSTAINABILITY GROUP |
| SUSTAINABLE LIVING FESTIVAL |
| Festival Entry: Members free, Single $5, Family $8 |
| Sat/Sun February 13/14th |
| EconoSpaceMaking |
| Castlemaine, Victoria, Australia |
| LEARN HOW TO DESIGN & BUILD A SMALL, GREEN, LOW-IMPACT, SUSTAINABLE SHELTER THAT YOU CAN MAKE IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD WITHOUT A PERMIT |
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| COURSE FEE: $150 Couples $250 |
| Can’t make a weekend course? |
| 1-day intensive EconoSpaceMaking Courses on Saturday March 13th and Wednesday April 7th |
| BOOKING & FURTHER DETAILS |
| Sunday February 21st |
| Invisible Architecture Presentation |
| 11.30am |
| Exploring the hidden dimensions of sustainable house design |
| By invitation of Owner Builder Magazine |
Seymour Alternative Farming Expo 2010 (Vic) – Building Seminar Programme |
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| April 10-14th |
| Earth Plastering Intensive |
| Castlemaine, VIC |
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| With James Henderson of Henderson Clayworks |
| A five day intensive course covering the basic skills and techniques of earthen plastering. |
| Saturday/Sunday April 24 – 25th |
| Discover Vastu Shastra |
| The Indian art of harmony of place |
| Castlemaine, VIC |
| DOWNLOAD POSTER |
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| With Anthony Ashworth |
| Anthony Ashworth is considered to be the Southern Hemispheres foremost Vastu Shastra expert, he is an international speaker teacher and a building designer and Vastu Shastra and Feng Shui consultant. Director of Chrysalis Dwelling Natural Building Design and director of the School of Sacred Place, see www.schoolofsacredplace.com |
| Irish EconoSpaceMaking Courses |
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| Sunday 27th June The Organic Centre, Co. Leitrim |
| Saturday August 7th Drumsna, Co. Leitrim |
| Monday August 23rd Drumsna, Co. Leitrim |
| Saturday September 4th Drumsna, Co. Leitrim |
| Sunday September 12th Drumsna, Co. Leitrim |
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| FOR BOOKING & ENQUIRIES CONTACT THE LAC |
| August 28 – 29th |
| Divining Earth Spirit Weekend |
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| with Australian geomancer and author Alanna Moore |
| Drumsna, Co. Leitrim |
| This will be the only opportunity in Ireland in 2010-11 for people to discover the world of subtle Earth energies by dowsing and get to meet the spirits of place at a field trip with Australia’s most well known geomancer |
| Alanna Moore is a master dowser, a founder of the New South Wales Dowsing Society (Sydney, Australia) in 1984 and author of seven books. She has discovered many highly energetic sites around Co. Leitrim, which the group will explore on the Sunday field trip (by car pooling). People new to dowsing are welcome to attend and even experienced dowsers will be fascinated by Alanna’s simple but effective techniques to ‘lift the veils’ to the subtle dimensions of landscape, the energies and consciousness imbued in nature. The Saturday programme will be an introduction to these techniques, which Alanna has been teaching around Australasia, Asia and Europe over the last 25 years. Alanna’s books have been highly acclaimed and they can be seen at pythonpress.com. Her latest book ‘Sensitive Permaculture – cultivating the way of the sacred Earth’ is about the gardening and agricultural applications of dowsing, and energetic awareness of nature and it is available from Amazon UK. |
| FOR ENQUIRIES & BOOKINGS 076 602 6046 |
| FURTHER COURSE INFORMATION AVAILABLE HERE |
| Next Sheltermaker: Equinox |
Food & Shelter 2
01 Feb
Posted by: Peter Cowman in: Food & Shelter, Living Architecture, The EconoSpace Project
| Food & Shelter 2 |
| The Solar Oven |
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| Meet Big Maggie. |
| She may not be much to look at but Big Maggie is a wonder. |
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| Running on solar power alone Big Maggie will cook stews, potatoes, rice, scones or whatever else you normally use precious fossil fuel to cook in your conventional oven. |
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| Maggie is from a humble background. Cardboard from the street. Tinfoil. Paste. Wool from Alanna’s llamas. A discarded window. A few scraps of wood. |
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| Maggie’s is made up of two cardboard boxes, one inside the other, with a layer of llama wool separating them. |
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| The recycled window sits on top of the boxes. |
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| To use – heat up the food on the regular stove then place it in the oven at mid-morning. |
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| The addition of a reflector will speed up the cooking. |
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| Results? By evening, delicious solar cooked food. |
| Solar ovens are one way that you can connect into the vital world of Food & Shelter. |
| Food & Shelter, along with water, are the pillars of the human survival mechanism. |
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| If we can provide ourselves with these essentials without compromising our commitment to sustainable principles we can begin to decouple from The Market which can only provide these at incredible cost in monetary, psychological and environmental terms. |
| Warning: Don’t be fooled by expensive imitations! |
| More to follow … |
Food & Shelter 1
09 Jan
Posted by: Peter Cowman in: Food & Shelter, Living Architecture, The EconoSpace Project
| Food & Shelter 1 |
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| James offered to build a clay oven here. I have wanted one of these for a while. |
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| The whole procedure was incredibly fast. First, I made a sturdy timber base. Then, the oven was built on top of this in just a couple of days. |
| Working with the clay and fire was pure joy. The feel of the moist earth was exciting. I remembered playing this intently as a child. Care-free. Judgment-free. Later, when the oven was fired up to dry it out, magic happened. The night receded into the background and a sense of ease descended around the oven. |
| I had not expected such a strong experience. It was similar to working with the clay-straw – it engendered a sense of knowing. This is what I am after on my Food & Shelter quest. An awakening of inner knowing. Masanobu Fukuoka in ‘The One Straw Revolution’ writes about this in respect of growing food. Nature wants us to survive. Knowledge of how to do this is in our genes. Growing food and sheltermaking and are very similar in this regard. |
| If we know how to provide ourselves with food and shelter where does that leave us? In a perfect place from which to view the modern world it seems. Surprisingly, this comes as something of a shock to most people. It is no easy thing to see the world so clearly. |
| The struggle to accept this state of affairs is played out in day to day life. Firing up the clay oven for the first time was a burning of the past. The new beginning which emerged from this is as yet vague and slumberous. I will now tease this into its fullness, open myself to its revelations. |
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| Next, an odd thing happened – the gas bottle ran out! There was nothing for it but to crank up the clay oven to cook dinner! Roast veggie, mini-pizza and lots of fun. Alleluia! We are underway! |
| Flames. |
| Woodsmoke. |
| The great outdoors. |
| Life. |
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| More to follow … |
Architecture LIVE 14
08 Jan
Posted by: Peter Cowman in: Architecture LIVE, Living Architecture, The EconoSpace Project
| Architecture LIVE 14 |
| I am landed. Re-oriented. Half exhausted from keeping up with the pace of events. |
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| As soon as I hit the ground it was down to work on the EconoSpaceMaking DVD. There was more to this than was apparent at the outset. |
| In the end the project took on a life of its own, delving into the heart of things in no uncertain way. This was reassuring as it clarified many of the ideas that I had being juggling with for a long time. |
| With the master disc completed an odd silence ensued. This held many questions. What now? What new challenge could I grasp and wrestle with? |
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| Almost noon at midsummer – note how the roof rafters cast a long shadow across the face of the building. This overhang will protect the building from too much solar gain. |
| The sad face of the 10sqm EconoSpace gave me an immediate answer! Neglected for six months, the frame stood like a grumpy bear newly awoken from hibernation. I found this out the hard way, stumbling around like a drunk on the open floor structure and almost impaling myself on a loose four-by-two. |
| The challenge now offered by this frame is pure EconoSpaceMaking. It asks as many questions as it purports to answer. |
| What is my purpose? Where is all this leading? |
| This interogatory chorus is audible above the clamor of practical questions which also challenge me. |
| How is the roof going to be completed? Where is the money going to come from? And the time? |
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| My life is held within the threads of this self-questioning, made visible in the half-made frame. I am mute in response. I try deep breathing and cleaning my desk, but to no useful purpose. Everything leads back to the same place. But a handful of weeks since I left the Irish EconoSpace to hibernate for winter, I gaze upon the face of the Australian EconoSpace at mid-summer. I suspect this to be a rack which will encourage the truth. |
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| Linseed oil is ordered. Clay sourced. The workshop re-opened. In contrast to the desk-bound nature of compiling the EconoSpaceMaking DVD – where amazing thing happen on the click of a mouse – the sheltermaking world is an uphill struggle where a large amount of physical effort oftentimes produce no apparant result whatsoever! In many ways this is the real challenge of sheltermaking – breaking through to the place where things become clearer and more relaxed. This is what Time does, when allowed to express its natural rhythm. I struggle to accept this even when I know it to be true. |
| The first objective in the building programme is to lay down a temporary floor. This will allow work on the roof and walls to get underway. This will encourage me to articulate my intentions for the space and for my life. I am excited and hesitant at this prospect. |
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| The building of a clay oven offers some diversion from the immediacy of EconoSpaceMaking. Handling the clay gave me lots of reassurance that all will be well on the physical front. It is just a matter of plunging in. It is the ‘life’ issues which now challenge me the most. |
| What is my purpose? Where is all this leading? What is the making of this EconoSpace telling me about my self? |
| From this perspective suddenly Ireland is a tiny place, half a world away. I have detatached from the EconoSpaces there and after drifting across the planet I am attaching to this EconoSpace in the Here & Now. |
| Here & Now is where the future begins. Here & Now is the mirror in which we see ourselves most clearly. |
| I am putting down roots. In some ways I am afraid to corroborate this reality, so I hesitate, prevaricade, roam the Internet like a lost dog. Clean my desk again. |
| Architecture LIVE 15 |
| Architecture LIVE 13 |
Architecture LIVE 13
06 Jan
Posted by: Peter Cowman in: Architecture LIVE, Living Architecture, The EconoSpace Project
| Architecture LIVE 13 |
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| After a crazy month of sheltermaking, including a LIVE EconoSpaceMaking Course and a visit from RTE1 Nationwide, the Irish EconoSpace is bundled up against the northern winter for the duration of my time in Australia. |
| The silver wings of ‘St. Arthur’ fly me across Europe to the threshold of new adventures. |
| Lost in the hushed confines of Frankfurt International Airport, I contemplate this future as documented in The International Herald Tribune. |
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| We feast on bread and cheese chased with a crisp courgette plucked from the garden this morning. This is our connection to the past, to the silent EconoSpace now shielded from the worst the winter weather might bring to the Irish northwest. |
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| My focus is now turning to central Victoria where the ‘baby’ EconSpace awaits my return. I plan to fill this with clay straw and love. As the gravity of the Irish EconoSpace slackens its antopidean mate strengthens its hold. |
| My impending return to Australia vigourously stimulates my interest. I look forward to reconnection with the look and feel of the earth, with the unabashed good humour of the people, with the dreaming lore of the natives. I want to surrender to this allure, to allow it carry me to a place from where I might return renewed to my own dreaming land. |
| Architecture LIVE 14 |
| Architecture LIVE 12 |
| Mid-Summer-Winter Sheltermaker |
| COPOUT15 |
Should this not read: COPOUT15 ? |
| For anyone hoping for collective sanity from world leaders, Copenhagen has been a disappointment. |
| It is clearly now up to people to set their own trajectories into the future. |
| Stepping outside the system has never been more inviting. |
| Establishing a degree of control over one’s needs for food and shelter is pivotal to the success of this. |
| Joining forces with like-minded people is also essential. |
| A new decade of the twenty first century awaits our choices. |
| We cannot rely on political leaders to make these for us. |
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| We must declare our own Accord – mutual support in the quest to provide ourselves with healthy food and nourishing shelter, free of institutional debt and in harmony with the natural world. |
| 2010 AT THE LIVING ARCHITECTURE CENTRE |
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| 2009 was the Year of The EconoSpace. Much progress has been made as a result, with 10sqm and 25sqm EconoSpaces being developed. The real breakthrough in this work was been the marrying of the peter-post frame to the clay-straw infill. |
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| The generous support of Sligo-Leitrim VEC Adult Education Programme has also made possible the compilation and publication of the EconoSpaceMaking DVD. This details how you can create a habitable building on a shoestring in your own back yard – with no planning permission required. |
| Creating a small building such as an EconoSpace is the first step in relearning the sheltermaking skills essential to survival – and to meaningful personal development. This last part is the payback for the sweat involved! |
| 2010 at the Living Architecture Centre will concentrate on the theme of Food & Shelter. This will focus on the role architecture has to play in food production and in assisting us to live our lives. EconoSpaceMaking will play a major part in this exploration. |
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| Work the 10sqm EconoSpace in central Victoria is about to resume. The building is currently being opened up after its winter hibernation. Like a grumpy bear the structure looks a little ragged but nonetheless is clear eyed and obviously ready to rock ‘n roll. |
| A generous coat of linseed oil will now be applied to the cladding, inside and out. This will nourish and revive the wood. Externally, the cladding will be finished with a naturally pigmented linseed oil paint. |
| The cladding will also act as a permanent shutter for the clay-straw infill which will form the walls. |
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| Firstly, however, the roof will be installed! |
| You can follow this work at Architecture LIVE |
| The building of a ‘Fire Kitchen’ is also on the agenda. This will include a cob oven and rocket stoves – a complete fire-based cooking system independent of gas or electricity use. Details in forthcoming Sheltermakers. |
| The cob oven is being built by James Henderson of Henderson Clayworks. James will be delivering an Intensive Earth Plastering Course in central Victoria in April – see below for details |
| On the ‘Food’ side of things I”ll be detailing the making the making of ‘wicking beds’ – an ideal solution for growing healthy and nourishing food almost anywhere utilising grey or rainwater. Linking wicking beds with EconoSpaces is an excellent way of integrating the two essentials we need to sustain our lives – Food & Shelter. |
| When we consciously join these two essentials together we are offered the opportunity to see life in a whole new way. This ‘experience’ of growing food, creating shelter and then enjoying the ‘fruits’ of this endeavour, offers new insight into the meaning of being alive. |
| It is from this vantage that we can choose a forward path. |
| More on the ‘Food & Shelter’ theme in forthcoming Sheltermakers |
| Sat/Sun February 13/14th |
| EconoSpaceMaking |
| Castlemaine, Victoria |
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| Experience architecture in this hands-on design/construction course with a focus on low-cost, self-build. |
| This weekend course will get you up close to the reality of designing and building your own mortgage-free shelter. |
| This mix of theory and design will bring it home to you how easy it can be to create small sustainable buildings with limited resources. |
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| Instruction in drawing, modelmaking, construction techniques, materials, tools, planning – and more! |
| Enquiries & Booking: 03 9005 5833 |
| $150 Couples $250 Vegetarian lunch included |
| Free Camping |
| Sat/Sun February 19/20th |
| Invisible Architecture Presentation |
| Peter Cowman BArch. |
| By invitation of Owner Builder Magazine |
Seymour Alternative Farming Expo 2010 (Vic) – Building Seminar Programme |
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| April 10-14th |
| Earth Plastering Intensive |
| Castlemaine, Victoria |
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A five day intensive course covering the basic skills and techniques of
earthen plastering. This course will cover all aspects of clay based plaster,
clay based paints and move into lime based plasters. Along the way
participants will learn how to refine the basic materials, apply plasters,
use pigments, create relief work, do fresco and polish earth & lime plaster.
This course is not a workshop it is a serious learning experience.
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Due to the hands on nature of the corse the number of people is limited to ten.
$500 per person, $100 deposit by April 1st. Food and free camping provided.
For more information contact jshendos@gmail.com |
| Sat/Sun April 24 – 25th |
| Castlemaine, Victoria |
| Vastu Veda |
| The ancient Indian tradition of architecture and place |
| With Anthony Ashworth |
| Australia’s foremost exponent of Vastu Veda |
| $250 Early Bird Booking up to April 1st – $220 |
| Free camping and vegetarian lunch provided |
| Enquiries & Booking: 03 9005 5833 |
| THE ECONOSPACEMAKING DVD |
| 3 YEARS IN THE MAKING |
| 10 YEARS IN THE DREAMING |
| A LIFETIME IN THE LIVING |
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| Sustainability begins in your own backyard. That is the compelling argument put forward on the EconoSpaceMaking DVD, a dynamic combination of text, drawings, photographs and video. |
| By learning how to create a small sustainable shelter – with no need to first obtain planning permission – you are offered the opportunity to regain territory lost to an economic system which depends on mortgage debt to fuel its insatiable growth. |
| From drawing to modelmaking, from concept to built reality, EconoSpaceMaking provides you with the means to create your own living architecture and to discover, in the process, who you really are. |
| Get a taste of what EconoSpaceMaking is all about: |
| INTRODUCTION TO ECONOSPACEMAKING |
| FROM THE ECONOSPACEMAKING DVD |
| CONFIGURING AN ECONOSPACE |
| 10min EXCERPTS FROM THE 45min MOVIE ON THE ECONOSPACEMAKING DVD |
| WHAT’S ON THE DVD |
| A 63 page A4 fully illustrated Manual detailing how to design and construct your unique, low-cost EconoSpace |
| Over 2 hours of video instruction offering invaluable insights into the design and construction processes, including - |
| How to make and read drawings |
| How to build scale models |
| How to survey a site |
| How to budget for construction work |
| How to build your unique EconoSpace design |
| Model templates, allowing you to design and assemble your EconoSpace in miniature before constructing it full size |
| Working drawings for 10sqm and 25sqm EconoSpaces – all the information you need to create your unique building |
| EconoSpaceMakers can also participate in a dedicated online Forum where they can exchange ideas and information and help each other make their EconoSpaces happen. |
| DOWNLOAD FREE ECONOSPACEMAKING DVD SAMPLER pdf |
| ECONOSPACEMAKING DVD |
| €120 Europe $120 Australia |
| eMail sheltermaker at gmail.com for details |
| Sensitive Permaculture |
| Australian geomancer, writer and permaculturist Alanna Moore’s new book ‘Sensitive Permaculture – Cultivating the way of the sacred Earth’ explores the living energies of the land and how to connect with them. Along the way it features the clay-straw EconoSpace in Co. Leitrim. |
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| The book, largely written in Co. Leitrim over the summer months, draws on indigenous wisdom from Australia, Ireland and elsewhere, combining the insights of geomancy and geobiology with eco-smart permaculture design, offering an exciting new paradigm for sustainable living. |
| Brimming with practical tips for eco-spiritual gardeners, it encourages us to live sustainably in harmonious co-operation and sacred custodianship of Country. |
| This book is now available to purchase online: |
| Order from Amazon Europe |
| Order from Amazon USA |
| NEXT SHELTERMAKER – IMBOLC |
| 09 Samhain Sheltermaker |
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| Now that I am back in the antipodes the Australian dreamtime is working its magic on me. |
| After a deft leap from Ireland via Singapore, Perth and Sydney, delivering workshops along the way, I have come to earth in central Victoria where it is spring. |
| Gradually I am shedding layers, like an old snake or a chrysalis. |
| From this birthing a new me is emerging. |
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| As the old order dissolves the new begins to emerge. |
| No one is quite sure what this is to be like. |
| What is certain is that it cannot be ordered online. |
| This sustainable life will have to be lived to be experienced. |
| Invisible to our usual ways of seeing, it is only by opening our hearts can we appreciate the delights this way of life holds for us … |
| Saturday, November 28th 2009 2 – 4.30pm |
| Invisible Architecture |
| An exploration of the secrets of architecture |
| Castlemaine Community House |
| Lyttleton Street |
| Castlemaine, VIC |
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| DOWNLOAD POSTER |
| This energising mix of theory, fact and real life drama is an invitation from Irish architect Peter Cowman to enter the secret world of architecture and discover its many hidden dimensions. |
| Whether journeying from Architecture to Economics or from Dream House to Built Reality, this excursion within the invisible realms of the built environment will fascinate those interested in a deeper understanding of the role of architecture in our lives and in the creation of a sustainable future. |
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| Some topics to be covered in this presentation: Why are Buildings and People so alike? SpaceTime & Architecture Activating your Sheltermaker Gene The Exploration of Inner & Outer Space The Gender of Territory Living Your Architecture |
| $10 Including free Living Architecture DVD |
| THE SMALL HOUSE MOVEMENT |
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| The Small House movement is to homes what the Slow Food movement is to dinner: a celebration of sustainability, simplicity and nourishment. It’s a trend that’s gained momentum in recent years thanks to the trifecta of increasing climate change awareness, the global financial crisis and rising real estate prices.
The Small House movement is most active in the US, where people of all ages and incomes are foregoing “trophy” houses for small, even tiny, abodes that free up their time and money … |
| Small Houses as featured in Sanctuary magazine |
| Johnny Gogan’s EconoSpace |
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| This little jewel of an EconoSpace was self-built by Leitrim based film-maker and writer Johnny Gogan. Using hemp-lime wall infill, recycled windows and doors and a sand-lime render the building functions as a studio for Johnny’s Bandit Films operation. |
| EconoSpace to feature in new book … |
| Australian geomancer, writer and permaculturist Alanna Moore’s new book ‘Sensitive Permaculture – Cultivating the way of the sacred Earth’ explores the living energies of the land and how to connect with them. Along the way it features the clay-straw EconoSpace in Co. Leitrim. |
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| The book, largely written in Co. Leitrim over the summer months, draws on indigenous wisdom from Australia, Ireland and elsewhere, combining the insights of geomancy and geobiology with eco-smart permaculture design, offering an exciting new paradigm for sustainable living. |
| Sensitive Permaculture will be published by Python Press later this month and will be available in Europe early in 2010. |
| Brimming with practical tips for eco-spiritual gardeners, it encourages us to live sustainably in harmonious co-operation and sacred custodianship of Country. |
| Further details in Mid-summer/winter Sheltermaker |
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| EconoSpaceMaking |
| Sustainable Shelter on a Shoestring |
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| 3 years in the making |
| 20 years in the dreaming |
| A lifetime in the living |
| Work on the EconoSpaceMaking DVD Course is nearing completion. |
| Combining text, video and working drawings, this versatile package will brook no excuses as to why a person cannot move towards a sustainable way of life. |
| Featuring full design information on 10 and 25sqm EconoSpaces – which can be built free of planning control – this Course will allow you not only to dip your toe in the water but to take the plunge all the way into mortgage-free living! |
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| Presenting unique and proven design and construction methodologies, along with unparalleled insights into the mysteries of architecture, this information package will allow anyone, anywhere, to make some sustainable space for themselves in the privacy of their own homes – on a shoestring. |
| Based on over 20 years of hands-on sheltermaking experience and on insights garnered from a lifetime commitment to mortgage-free living, this Course will have you scrambling for excuses as to why you simply can’t do it! |
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| Whether its figuring out how to build with recycled materials, or guessing how the planning office will react to your EconoSpaceMaking exploits, the Course will be there for you all the way. |
| Drawing, modelmaking, costing, passive solar design, the use of natural materials and basic carpentry skills are all covered – along with the ‘invisibles’ which make life what it really is. |
| By understanding that building is about life you are offered a chance to make some space for yourself, in the real world, in the comfort of your own back yard. |
| Course participants can also join a dedicated online EconoSpaceMaking Forum to share ideas, developments, skills, insights, etc. |
| Generously supported by Sligo-Leitrim Arts Education Programme this groundbreaking Course will be available before Christmas! |
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| Register your interest by replying to: sheltermaker at gmail.com |
| Not for the fainthearted! |
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| INVISIBLE ARCHITECTURE WORKSHOP IN NSW |
| ‘An awesome workshop …’ |
| ‘ A great day, really great …‘ |
| ‘Still buzzing from yesterday’s workshop …’ |
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| Consideration being given to the dynamics of this fledgling eco-community … |
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| Making plans for a sustainable future … |
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| Planning your 10sqm EconoSpace |
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| Envisioning a mortgage-free future |
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| Sunday December 6th |
| Yapeen, Castlemaine, VIC |
| Architecture Playhouse – making space for your life |
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| DOWNLOAD POSTER |
| Imagining your Dream House and coaxing it into Reality is the theme of this fascinating 1-day hands-on workshop. |
| Using simple materials and tools plus a generous dash of creative thinking this free-fall into the world of architecture will forever change how you think of houses, jobs, mortgages and even life itself! |
| This hybrid of instruction and play will encourage a deeper understanding of the role buildings play in our lives and foster the rediscovery of the timeless architecture of childhood. |
| Make and take home your dream space! |
| $85 Materials and vegetarian lunch included |
| Booking Fee: $40 Balance payable on Sunday December 6th |
| Limited places available! |
| Phone Booking: 03 9005 5833 |
| February 19/20th 2010 |
| Invisible Architecture Presentation |
| By invitation of Owner Builder Magazine |
Seymour Alternative Farming Expo 2010 (Vic) – Building Seminar Programme |
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| NEXT SHELTERMAKER – MID-SUMMER/WINTER |
