'This was the right place for the pavilion: along the line of beech trees, under the canopy of leaves, with a view to the somewhat bewildered garden. But it wasn't until we had cleared the  enourmous pile of pruning waste - that was assembled by the pastor, during his lifetime at the Pastorie - that we could see the full potential.

On one side, we digged a lengthy whole and filled it with reclaimed sand, gravel and pavement stones as a foundation for the bench. On the other side, we opted for screw foundations as a light and reversible choice.

We made concrete slabs to fix the brackets for the A-frames and to evenly spread the weight of the CEB's for the bench. The slabs are prefabricated and can be reused in future.

We tested the dimensions of the wood structure with a 1:1 mock-up and refined the detailling accordingly.  The assembled the frames out of 2m-length wooden beams: reclaimed oak for the horizontal and vertical sections, pine (from  written-off formwork) for the roof trusses.

In between the A-frames, we earth-masoned a bench and back wall with CEB's to give the construction its weigth and prevent it from being lifted or deformed by the wind. The floor, seating and  top of the wall are made from short-length oak leftovers, treated with a biobased and nature friendly oil.

The ridge cap and gutter are custom made, new,  in aluminium because that is the only material that withstands the tanine dripping from the shakes and the overarching beech trees.'

'After participating in the hands-on wood workshop, led by Ante Corthals, we were absolutely convinced to cover the roof of the pavilion with hand-made shingles - or rather, shakes - because of their tactile beauty and durability.  We didn't know what we were getting ourselves into!

Our journey began with purchasing eight 12-meter chesnut logs at the annual auction of Natuur & Bos, sourced from local trees felled to maintain healthy forests. We (Ramses!) chopped them into 50cm quarterpieces, for easier transport to Helchteren.

Hand-splitting shakes is a time consuming activity, but is a more durable techique than industrial methods. The quarterpieces are cut into smaller slices and carefully split along the natural grain with a shake axe - a task that can only be done with freshly harvested wood.  Next comes the meticulous work of removing the soft parts, timming each slice into a rectangule, smoothing the surface and partially flattening it. Then repeat,  ... 2000 times! 

By mid-June, we were exhausted. The constant rain, the grey skies, sleep deprivation and sheer scope of the task left us drained, with still 800 shakes to go. Yet, knowing we were building this for the Friends of the Pastorie, the neighbors, and everyone we’d met during the festival renewed our energy. We set up a ‘shake factory’ to streamline the tools, workflow, and team spirit. It was an incredible experience that taught us the power of shared determination and collaboration.'

'While the pavilion required precise hands-on skills, the oven was a true 'build-by-all' project. Children, young mothers, grandparents, and curious onlookers who wanted an oven in their own gardens gathered around, getting their hands (and feet) dirty, all while chatting and laughing together.

The shape of the oven is defined by the inner dome,  built to bake two to three pizzas at a time, and by the vision of creating a welcoming garden landmark. 

The body is crafted from MEB's- or moulded earth blocks - which are not weatherproof, so we gave it 'boots' with a plinth of reclaimed pavement bricks, a 'hat' from a salvaged metal cover, and a 'raincoat' of  two layers of our selfproduced local plaster.

The slanting sides were built in 'terraces' and smoothened with two finishing layers of plaster. Created by many hands, they are not perfect, slightly wavy, but that is exactly what gives the oven its story and charm.'

With our ambition to make the beauty of building with bio and geobased materials tangible, we integrated different types of earthen materials in our project, starting from their specific technical characteristics, touch and feel. We used earth blocks (MEBs and CEBs) and earth mortars, produced our own cob and local earth plaster. 

The concept of harvesting infused every stage of the realisation, not only as a goal but as a way of life. Beyond salvaging materials for the foundation, structure, and finer details of their garden interventions, beyond the development of a repurposed, local plaster, the students gathered second-hand housewares to make their stay at the Pastorie more comfortable, and cooked daily meals from Too Good to Go ingredients.

Fueled by the dedication of a few, the nearby Proximus building, just a kilometer from the Pastorie, became a live case for harvesting materials. Thanks to the students’ commitment, the Municipality, Werkvennootschap, CVO (Center for Vocational Training), and the Friends of the Pastorie are now actively discussing the potential for urban harvesting from houses set to be cleared for the North-South project. To be continued…