Philadelphia University's Design Build
Crefeld School Permaculture Center
Figuring out the Details....
Collaboration, Trials and Errors
After coming up with a solid design, we thought it would be beneficial for us to build a prototype of our strawbale wall (A wall constructed out of strawbale and covered in plaster). We learned a lot during this process and how to overcome any struggle for Build Week.
The Chicken Coop team decided it would also be a good idea to come up with design plans and build a prototype of the chicken coop they were going to build during build week.
As you will see in our final photos, it was in deed a very good idea to make prototypes before build week.
Build Week Preparation...
Let's Dig!
Knowing that we had put a lot on our construction plate, we decided to make two trips to the school prior to build week. The site was not properly cleared out during the collaboration phase so we came in and cleaned it up a little bit. We also decided to get a head start on our foundation for our strawbale wall. We thought that since it takes a couple of days for concrete to firmly set, we wanted to get that taken care of before build week.
From the Beginning...
Charette, Research and Group Work
It all started on a beautiful day in May. The graduate students and community members of Chestnut Hill along with The Crefeld School came together for a charette to discuss the upcoming project. A charette is an all day brainstorming session. It is a quick and effective way to figure out the base idea and plan of what is going to be done.
After the Charette the class met to narrow down ideas of what we think would be the most beneficial for the school to have immediately.We decided on the Greenhouse, incorporating Aquaponic technology, and a Chicken Coop. We separated into different focus groups to figure out the best design solutions to make the project a success.
From Beginning to End....Our Design Process
