There is good news from Aysun the Sütçü, whose story and project we follow with admiration, as well as the way 8,100 people have covered. In June, natural building workshops start at Gündönümü Çiftliği. The series of workshops appealing to both amateur and professional construction and design enthusiasts will continue until October. Workshop introductions, dates and details are below!
Natural building materials and passive solar building design are extremely important for reducing the energy consumption and ecological footprint of a home. These innovative building techniques are based on age-old traditions and an understanding of the natural environment in which we live. These techniques are being rediscovered today by the innovations of designers by combining modern comfort standards with what nature offers for building construction.
During the summer season of 2016, we invite you to the Gündönümüş Çiftliği (Silivri/Istanbul) to build together three small natural houses. At the end of the workshops, you will leave the farm realizing the benefits of natural materials in terms of health, comfort and ecology.
Aysun and Mehmet Sökmen, the founders of the Solstice Farm and the creators of the project called “8 thousand100 dreams”, intend to create 100 sustainable communities in each of the 81 provinces in Turkey with this project.. The construction of these 3 small natural houses will not only be a step towards the realization of “8k100” at the Solstice Farm, it will also allow the project vision to be presented to the future project partners.
Each of the houses will be built by teams of volunteers, and the total will take place over the summer. In 5 different workshops, you will discover different construction techniques such as straw bale, sherbet straw, adobe, earth sacks using materials such as straw, soil, natural fertilizer, recycled car tires, wood and reeds, as well as the applications of wooden framework, thatch roof and natural plaster techniques. Each workshop will focus on a specific construction technique, ensuring you gain enough practical experience and basic knowledge to start your own building project.
Each workshop to be organized will offer you the chance to experience the applied techniques practically, one-on-one and experiment on the materials, as well as provide you with tips on working with the materials used and what precautions can be taken in the face of surprises that may be encountered. Theoretical presentations and transfers that will be given at the workshops will provide you with information on which materials should be selected when designing your own building and which steps should be followed while designing your building. Finally, each workshop will offer you the opportunity to build an entire structure, from its foundation to its roof.
1. Homemade with sherbet straw (light adobe) – 24 June-3 July 2016
Syrup is an abundant material on cow farms. For this reason, the use of dry straw that is not consumed in winter in wall construction is considered a good example of creating a new use for straw. In this workshop, we’ll first learn how to build a foundation from recycled tires to support walls, and how to make an insulated floor using unused glass bottles and local sandy soil.
On top of this created floor, we will build the timber frame that will support the straw bale insulated roof. Then we will fill the wooden framework with slurry straw, which is a mixture of short straw pieces and flowing clay soil, which is quite light and has high thermal insulation properties, to obtain the walls. While applying this construction technique, German and American construction standards prepared for grout straw will be taken into account. The inner walls of the building will be made of adobe material, from which various motifs will be created. At the end of the workshop, before plastering and floor covering works, windows, doors and roof applications will be made to protect the structure.
The price of the workshop is 450 TL per person. If you register before 20 May, the early registration price is 350 TL.
This fee includes participation in workshops and breakfast, lunch and dinner between June 24 (evening) and July 3 (morning).
You can visit here to attend the workshop.
2. Homemade with straw bales August 5-15, 2016
Straw is a material that grows back every year and stores a lot of carbon until it dissolves in nature. Therefore, straw bale walls made with the straw found on the farm will reduce the ecological footprint of the building. Throughout this workshop, we will build tire foundations, use recycled bottles, and make insulated floors using local sandy soil to support the walls. On top of that, we will build stacked straw bale walls, following the appropriate standards accepted in France and America. The inner walls of the building will be made of adobe material, from which various motifs will be created. At the end of the workshop, before plastering and floor covering works, windows, doors and roof applications will be made to protect the structure.
The price of the workshop is 450 TL per person. If you register before 30 June, the early registration price is 350 TL.
This fee includes participation in workshops and breakfast, lunch and dinner between August 5 (evening) and August 14 (morning).
You can visit here to attend the workshop.
3. Homemade with adobe 19-28 August 2016
As everywhere, there is plenty of soil on the farm and the presence of both clay and sandy soil will allow us to make very strong bricks by combining these two different soils together with natural cow dung. Throughout this workshop, we will build tire foundations, use recycled bottles, and make insulated floors using local sandy soil to support the walls. On top of that, we will build a masonry adobe wall, following the appropriate standards accepted in Turkey and New Zealand. The inner walls of the building will be made of adobe material, from which various motifs will be created. At the end of the workshop, before plastering and floor covering works, windows, doors and roof applications will be made to protect the structure.
The price of the workshop is 450 TL per person. If you register before July 15, the early registration price is 350 TL.
This fee includes participation in workshops and breakfast, lunch and dinner between 19 August (evening) and 28 August (morning).
You can visit here to attend the workshop.
4. Coarse and fine plaster
The appearance of a building depends on the shape of the structure, the material covering its walls and its colours. Plaster application is also an important task for building safety and requires a lot of time. For this reason, a workshop will be held that only focuses on rough and fine plaster techniques and uses natural materials such as soil, lime, natural fertilizer, straw, egg, molasses, marble powder and various natural color pigments in applications. In this workshop, where plastering techniques such as tadelakt and sgraffito, which enable the creation of waterproof and colored surfaces, will also be tried, the walls will be plastered with a thick layer of protection to protect them from rain and wind. The application of soil plaster techniques on different surfaces (wood, concrete, gypsum panel etc.) will also be mentioned.
For detailed information about the workshop, you can visit here.
5. Earth and wood floor construction
The last step before starting to use the structure is the construction of a floor that is strong, water resistant, easy to clean and comfortable. Earthen and wooden floor construction are traditional techniques and these techniques can be applied to create long-lasting and decorative surfaces. This workshop will give us the chance to try out the traditional wood and earthen floor construction and improve it with materials found in the immediate surroundings.
For detailed information about the workshop, you can visit here.