stonework
The „Alte Bahnwerk“ is an approximately 100-year-old brick building, constructed in different phases. During that time, good building materials were scarce, resulting in evident variations in the quality of the cement used, and the percentage of mixture between sand and cement. At some walls of the old brick buildings, the composition used was too sandy, so that wind and water washed out the cement joints that hold the bricks together. In those areas we the renewed the stone joints, which basically means: scratching out loose material and re-filling the gap between the bricks with fresh cement. With this repair, the wall regains its original stability. It is a repair that needs just a small quantity of material, but lots of time and patience. We used the time our hands worked to have intense conversations with the persons next to us – philosophy on the scaffold 🙂
To be able to reach the areas of concern, we had to use a scaffold. For some of us, it was the first time using such a device. As we were also on the spot when the scaffold was set up, we learned a lot about stability and the logic of setting up a construction safely.
Exploring the different stages of construction allows us to delve into various masonry techniques and building methods. There are numerous approaches to constructing buildings using stones, cement, clay, straw, or natural stones. The key factors lie in establishing a stable foundation and ensuring a solid connection between the individual components.
Through this experience, we gain valuable insights into diverse materials and potential connections. Additionally, we have the opportunity to examine deteriorating structures in close proximity, enabling us to deduce the causes of their collapse.
Furthermore, we did some research about the energy efficiency, carbon footprint and longevity of the different materials to define how sustainable they really are. Therefore, we split into different working groups who informed themselves about one specific material each. As we didn’t have access to english books, we mainly used the internet. In short presentations, we collected the information and compared them to each other.
Interestingly, traditional construction methods prove to be the most effective in this regard, which explains the resurgence of straw-clay construction techniques.