mud for everyone: salvage

Alright, pop quiz, so what can you make with steel pipes, and some scraps of plastic corrugated roofing?

okay, okay, and a bunch of duct tape?

Answer: A fluted column form for a site-based, rammed earth experiment!

After reading all the books I could find on the subject and doing small batch tests with the local soil, I design the mix to be 16 : 3 : 1 (site soil, mason's sand, cement) for the optimal compressive strength and a finish that I won't have to plaster yet still withstand the elements.

We weren't entirely sure if the whole thing wasn't just going to collapse actually when we took of the form the following day. But it worked great!

I even threw in a couple layers of varying colors and textures

and sculpt a cob cornice at the top

A huge light reflector serves as the roof and gives a 3" overhang around the whole thing.

It's located at the entry of the Garden of Earthly Delights,

at the BRING Planet Improvement Center

and supports the beautiful reclaimed metal gate built by local metal sculptor, Jud Turner

Welcome to the BRING Planet Improvement Center!

I'm building a piece for their sculpture park called the Garden of Earthly Delights.

It's a totally ground-breaking, never been done before that I know of, cob-adobe hybrid spiraling loop-de-loop... yes, all that and some.

the 'before' shot

Laying the urbanite foundation

with a gravel bed below and reclaimed chimney bricks every 8 feet. Something had to break up the 50' long curved bench. The gently curving part is intended for classroom style seating when BRING wants to host groups to learn about sustainability, salvage and using reclaimed materials.

A group of high school students spends their spring break getting muddy and learning about how to build with cob.

We finish most of the length of the bench that week.

Then, I begin the loop

Building up the plynths

more cob,

even solo

finally the bases are ready

and I start the adobe arch, using a 5 foot diameter plywood form

a new friend, Jessica Gray, helps out

making arches is a total blast!

More cob, fleshing out the structural adobe arch

More builder friends join in to help with the integral roof/bench surface. We're using toilet tank covers to protect the cob.

We debate it for a long while and decide to go with a salvaged steel armature to support the overhang of the toilet tank covers. It's totally great working at a salvage warehouse, all materials right on hand!