Bath School of Design, at the University of Bath Spa, is located in the former Herman Miller Factory, an iconic building designed and subsequently re-designed by N. Grimshaw / Grimshaw Architects. The creative campus is equipped with tools and spaces for a versatile range of creative practices. Cosy and convivial, the building houses architecture, ceramics, painting, print-making, sculpture, textiles and a great range of other workshops.
The Architecture School at Bath Spa opened just over 2 years ago. The current 3rd year students are the first cohort to attend the school. On a foggy Friday morning, these trailblazers took part in a material prototyping workshop.
Several projects looked for sustainable and fire resistant materials. Most also featured the use of waste materials, whether broken ceramics, jeans, broken plasterboard. One project alchemically deployed pineapple leaves and potato peal in making bricks.
A number of discoveries were made throughout the day:
- Recycled plasterboard can be oriented horizontally to do away with supporting structure
- Rammed earth does not need any water adding: most soil already has sufficient water content
- Hempcrete is good in compression, whilst straw is good in tension; straw and sawdust make insulation!
- Ceramics are strong, mycelium is ductile in tension. Sealed together, they can be used to make bricks. If made quickly and efficiently, the material can be used as a quick method of construction in disaster relief
- Gutters can be made from paper; the substance to make them waterproof and rigid needs further testing
The discussion sessions at the end of the workshop were used by the participants to reflect on their thinking process and the upcoming steps. The prototypes are built in to be used as vehicles for material testing and presentation for the remainder of the projects during the coming months
no.balsa 