J. Matt Thomas
Matt is an architect based in Northern New Mexico and the founder of the start-up design firm Studio Viga. His work focuses on regionally appropriate design that encompasses sustainability with an attention to reclaimed materials. His research and consulting work explores strengthening communities with projects in Malawi, Mexico and Lebanon.
Receiving his Bachelor of Architecture from Kansas State University (2001) and Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University (2008), Matt has taught at The American University of Beirut in Lebanon, Columbia University’s Architecture and Urban Design Program (GSAPP) and Parsons New School for Design in New York City, and Chongqing University in China.
Matt has previously held positions with a number of organizations working with sustainability in the build environment: The World Hands Project, Raising Malawi/Child Dental Relief, The Earth Institute, The Santa Fe Department of Affordable Housing, The US Green Building Council, and Habitat for Humanity.
| |
|
SUSTAINABLE DWELLINGWe help people create low-cost, energy efficient dwellings from natural and salvaged materials. WHAT WE DO• natural building
Expand your world!Go to our Training page for more details! |
About UsWorld Hands Project started with people from building/designing backgrounds and coalesced into a formal group in 2003. Since then, we have been designing, building, and facilitating educational workshops in sustainable dwelling methods. We have worked in different locales around the world and within the United States. Please see our Project Gallery page for a listing of our activities. What Guides Our thinking
• We support decision-making guided by a consideration for the welfare of people and planet in sustaining a living web of relationships.
Core Staff |
| |
|
|
|
Dafyd Rawlings
Dafyd joined World Hands Project after the first Santo Nino Clinica Guadalupana addition in 2004 and has facilitated workshop projects including One Straw House, the second Santo Nino Clinica Guadalupana addition and the Las Abejas Womens’ Restaurant Cooperative. He is a LEED accredited professional, permaculture-certified designer, and a student of building biology. Over the last two decades, he has taught natural building and permaculture at the Ecovillage at The Farm in Tennessee, Spirit Pine Sanctuary in CA, Lama Foundation in Northern New Mexico, Ecoversity in Santa Fe, NM and at World Hands Project events. Before graduating with a Master’s Degree in Architecture from the University of Oregon, he worked for nine years in various countries around the world on three continents and traveled extensively. He has also worked with Habitat for Humanity and the Santa Fe chapter of Architecture for Humanity. |
| |
|
|
|
Gloria
Gloria currently serves as both General Director and massage technician at the Santo Nino Clinica Guadalupana which was our largest and most extensive building event. It is a complicated position involving the coordination of patients, parents, Sister of Charity nurses and workers as well as the development and maintenance of services for children with neurological disorders. She worked her way up into her current position first starting out as a parent of a developmentally-challenged child and rapidly learned the techniques available to these children. Since then she has trained herself in the workings of the clinic and is now responsible for one of the greatest and most impactful aspects of the Rancho Anapra neighborhood. Gloria was also a recipient of one of the first pallet truss roofs ever built in Anapra. If you attend a building event in Anapra, perhaps you will be lucky enough to hear one of the incredible stories from her life. |
Gloria is a resident of Anapra. She has been a cook, cultural and language interpreter, coordinator of food and housing and a friend since WHP first started building houses and civic structures in Anapra.
|
|
|
|
Email contactsEMAIL ADDRESSES
2nd Clinic Workshop Participants
COSBA
NATURAL BUILDERS
|
| |
|
Check us out!openarchitecturenetwork.org OUTREACHWe are always looking for ways to spread the word about responsible dwelling:
|
NewsRecent News • Builders Without Borders NM Workshop is Fundraiser for Haiti: On August 14 & 15 in Kingston, New Mexico, architect Alfred von Bachmayr will teach a hands-on workshop on earthen plasters and earthen floor installation. Builders Without Borders (BWB) co-directors Derek Roff & Catherine Wanek will also give presentations on Rainwater Harvesting, Composting Toilets and Straw Bale Building Design Essentials. For full details check out our Events page.
• UPDATE: We are now waiting on funding sources for this project. Please donate to help us get on the ground to start helping people in Haiti.
• Work has now begun on a manual describing our process working with communities to best manifest appropriate interventions in the built environment. • Dean Coil and his wife Lupita were featured in a Chihuahua City newspaper, the El Heraldo, June 7th 2010, for the alternative/natural material construction techniques they used in building their house. Check out the article: Coil_House_article.pdf They will be offering a training workshop in the same kind of construction in the Fall. Look for it on our Events page as soon as we have all the details. • Alfred gave a presentation at the 2010 ASES National Solar Conference on our past work and got good feedback from those in attendance. We hope this type of public outreach will help us help others.
Progress
Anapra
CA Homesteading
|
| |
|
|
|
Dean Coil
Dean has extensive experience living, traveling and building in Mexico and Latin America and now lives full-time in Chihuahua City. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Latin America Studies and is a fluent speaker of Spanish. As a professional contractor, Dean has built in both the United States and Mexico for many years. He first came to building in Mexico through Anunciation House of El Paso and has been general contractor and project manager for World Hands Project events on numerous occasions including our most extensive project, the second addition to the Santo Nino Clinica Guadalupana Project and the last Anapra project, Las Abejas Womens’ Cooperative Kitchen.
Dean brings a wealth of experience of planning, on-site design and building, and a knowledgeable appreciation of culture and contemporary issues relevant to the Northern Mexico region as well as a humane, conscientious and compassionate approach to our work there. |
Dean is the lead builder on all projects in Northern Mexico. In this role, he is the principle point person securing materials, coordinating local workers, and arranging for accommodations and other participant needs during an educational workshop. Recently, Dean, with his wife, became the Managing Directors of our Chihuahua City Educational Campus.
| |
|
|
|
Alfred von Bachmayr
He has a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Colorado. After graduation and internship, Alfred started his own architectural practice concentrating on energy efficiency, passive solar features, non-toxicity, small/efficient designs, and renewable resource energy.
In the late 1980’s, Alfred turned to low-income housing and was a founder of the Affordable Housing Alliance in Boulder, CO. In the 1990’s, Alfred worked with Habitat for Humanity in Santa Fe and was Director of Earthworks Institute (EWI). During his time at EWI, Alfred lead a project in the Fiji Islands. The project involved low-cost structures from native materials in a developing world context. After Fiji, Alfred was one of the founding members of Sustainable Communities Inc. (SCI) in Santa Fe that focused on sustainable development throughout the Southwest. With SCI, Alfred built the Mary Lowe straw bale house in the Navajo Nation.
Through his continued involvement with SCI, Alfred became interested in the Zero Emissions Research and Initiatives (ZERI), a systems thinking utilizing natural cycles to eliminate waste streams. In 2003, Alfred was certified by ZERI and now applies these principles to housing and development projects. |
As founder and executive director of World Hands Project, Alfred is the lead designer and organizer for all WHP projects coming on line.
| |
|
|
|
ResourcesHere is a partial list of organizations and like-minded groups we would like to share with you. Please check here for information, articles and updates on new groups. If you are a member of a group and want to be recognized here, please contact us. Architecture for Humanity An international design aid organization Kleiwerks An international grassroots natural building organization Open Architecture Network A Project of Architecture for Humanity Natural Building Network Bringing the Natural Building Community together Development Center for Appropriate Technology Cobworks Committed to building natural structure-based in Mayne Island, Canada EarthNStraw A Gallup, New Mexico based Straw Bale housing group Greenbuilding Professionals Directory & Resources Sustainable Communities Inc., ZERI, NM Renewable Energy Policy Project The California Straw Bale Building Association International Journal of Straw Bale Building Architecture 2030 Committed to reducing greenhouse gases by 2030 via sustainable design Fr. Bill Morton and Lomas de Poleo land conflict Columban Order website about this issue |
| |
|
|
|
ContactAlfred von Bachmayr
|
| |
|
WISH LIST• New Projects!
CONFERENCES• 2009 Adobe USA Conference
ARTICLESEl Heraldo de Chihuahua
Periodico El Diario
Dwell Magazine
Quarterly Journal
|
Project Gallery: Sustainable Design and BuildingOur work is funded through donations and participant fees. All organizational work is accomplished through volunteered time. We welcome any contributions of money, knowledge and enthusiasm. Please consider helping us; no donation is too small and everything is used wisely in helping to meet our mission. Coil Compound, Chihuahua City
One of our team members, Dean Coil, and his wife Lupita, have constructed the first building of their compound on the outskirts of Chihuahua City, Chihuahua State, Mexico. They were also featured in their local paper for their work in building naturally [click Coil_House_article.pdf to read it], but also for their outreach in their community offering their expertise to their neighbors in educating about alternative building methods and materials.
Homesteader Pallet Barn
In 10 days, Dafyd facilitates the construction of a pallet barn using similar methods to the home building in Anapra. The nearly 600 SF barn now houses a tool storage area and room for supplies, food and tack for the farm animals.
San Pedro ClinicAlfred ventured into Mexico to facilitate the building of a straw-bale clinic in the highlands of Mexico west of Mexico City. Surviving frigid temperatures, Alfred and local builders manage to create a comfortable straw-bale structure to house clinic facilities for denizens of this rural mountainous region. Pictures coming soon! Las Abejas Womens’ Cooperative Kitchen
In two weeks, and in collaboration with Las Hormigas Community Development Organization, two new roofs with new insulation, and a light straw clay wall envelope were added to the building to be used by a local womens’ cooperative entrepreneurial venture. Also installed were a Watson Wick for the greywater from the kitchen and a solar hot water heater. WHP was featured in El Diario, a local newspaper in Ciudad Juarez, for our work in ecologically renovating the building they use.
Urban Backyard Pallet Shed
The first urban scale backyard shed employing pallet and straw-clay infill technology from our Mexico projects. Depending on pallet size and programmatic requirements, these custom sheds offer excellent climate control and endless possibilities.
Anapra Pallet House #3: Azusana and Jose Luis’ House
This project, conducted mostly during a week-long cultural immersion workshop, utilized the local version of light straw/clay stuffed pallet walls with earthen plasters and our recycled pallet truss roof system. The result was an economical, culturally-accepted building method made with natural materials to provide a comfortable and better insulated home.
Straw Bale Expansion #2 of Santo Nino Clinica Guadalupana
We were excited to once again work with Fr. Bill Morton of the Columban Mission of Anapra and the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati to expand the Santo Nino Center for Special Needs Children in Anapra that we had helped retro-fit 3 years before. The new addition was made of straw bales. Roof trusses were constructed of recycled pallets and a metal roof placed above straw insulation and a sheetrock ceiling for fire protection. All walls are earthen plastered with locally available materials.
Anapra Pallet House #2: Samuel and Rafaela’s HouseThis was our launch workshop for the Pallet House Program in Anapra, Mexico. Participants gained both cross-cultural awareness and learned basics of natural building. The week provided an opportunity to expand yet again our world view. Utilizing light stray/clay, pallets, earthen plasters and our recycled pallet truss system, we worked with locals to create an economical, locally accepted building method enhanced through eco-methods. Anapra Pallet House #1: Socorro’s House
We used the smallest pallets we’ve ever seen before to build this house with the local building crew. A new development occurred with this project with the pallet trusses built to be top-chord-bearing as you can see in the images. This modification allowed for a much stronger and rigid connection between trusses and walls. We also saw young people taking up parts of the work and enjoying their new-found skill sets!
Penasco, NM Straw-bale Farm House: Rick and Heather’s HouseThis project was an economical, passive solar, 1600 sq. ft. straw bale farmhouse dwelling for a three-person family. The land itself is an organic Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm one hour north of Santa Fe. This modified post and beam house was designed by the owner/builders and Alfred von Bachmayr. The World Hands Project team taught the basics of straw bale building: raising, pinning and strapping bales; construction of pallet trusses; building wooden window and door bucks; and, earthen plastering of the bales. This workshop was a great opportunity for future owner/builders to experience straw bale construction first-hand. Strawbale Expansion #1 Santo Nino Clinica GuadalupanaThis clinic is staffed by a group of catholic nuns and trained locals and is the only option available for health care or emergencies in the Anapra colonia. This project was our first outside of housing and became an opportunity to help people who need a larger and more comfortable place to receive healthcare. Cinder block building with an uninsulated metal roof is the most common choice of construction in this neighborhood. Unfortunately, these types of buildings become extremely uncomfortable in the heat of summer and the cold of winter because of the lack of insulation in the roof and wall systems. In this workshop we expanded the current building and insulated it with straw to make the building more comfortable year round. We taught the basics of straw bale construction as we added on one large straw bale room, and installed a new pallet truss roof system over the strawbale room and an adjacent room. Finish work included earthen plastering. Watson Wick Installation
World Hands Project always wants to stay on top of technological developments regarding the simplest and most ecologically-sensitive ways of dwelling on the planet. To this end, we participated in the installation of the Watson Wick, developed by Dr. Tom Watson, at the Casa de la Cruz dormitory in Anapra, Mexico to demonstrate an alternative to Banos Secos commonly used in that community. The Watson Wick system delivers solid and liquid wastes into an underground covered area where biological activity turns waste into food for nearby plants whose roots work into the wick to drawn nourishment.
Anapra Strawbale House #5: Brenda and Carlos’ HouseAnapra Strawbale House #4: Norma’s HouseOmetepe, Nicaragua: Isabella and Apache’s Restaurant Balgue
Restaurant Remodel: This work produced a new washing station, new walls and roof and plenty of community building for a family business in Omatepe ...and it also utilized our knowledge for building in hot and humid climates.
Anapra Strawbale House #3: Adriana’s HouseAnapra Strawbale House #2: Maria’s HouseInsulated Roof Project: Gloria’s HouseAnapra Strawbale House #1: Jose Luis Rocha’s House
This was the first strawbale house in Anapra and our first complete strawbale house project there. We worked with locals and USA residents to create a comfortable home for this family.
Fiji Projects
Community Center and Thatched Residence, Vale Qule, FIJI: Early on in the evolution, we had two projects in Fiji which was a huge learning experience. We worked with the locals to determine not only what their needs were, but what resources were available and what the history of their building technologies is. What resulted was a collaborative building event combining academic process and knowledge of advanced technologies with local tradition, resources and labor. In the end, two buildings were constructed for the community.
Strawbale House in the Navajo Nation: Mary Lowe’s HouseThis was our first official project for WHP partnering with the Navajo Nation and Sustainable Communities to build Mary’s house. |
| |
|
Have Concerns about Academic Credit?We can work with students to document their work, create required assignments and will vouch for their experience. Faculty and InstructorsAre you looking for a way to give your students a real world challenge while helping people in other countries? We can help you to design a course of study from one week to one semester. |
Training: Sustainable Dwelling PracticesWorld Hands Studio seeks students with an interest in any field of study pertinent to sustainable dwelling to work under the guidance of teachers, graduate students, licensed professionals, architects, experienced designers, builders and trades-people during our training events. We will work with you to document your work with us should you decide to pursue academic credit. Students will be responsible for generating their focus in concert with their academic advisors and WHP staff. Becoming knowledgeable of tradition, social conditions, economics and culture will greatly enhance the ability to create specific studies appropriate to border contexts. Each project offers a full complement of cultural considerations, strict environmental standards and economic challenges. Hands-on site work will range from different natural and recycled material building systems to green and passive energy technologies to regenerative waste recycling. Students will be required to reach beyond the conventional to create solutions that fall within the strict parameters of developing world conditions. This will be a challenging, but fun and enlightening time for those at the beginning of their careers and offers those select students the unique chance to confront and analyze real world problems. |
| |
|
|
|
Get Involved! |
| |
|
Want To Do Something Meaningful?Get real-life practical experience. See our Training page for more details! |
World Hands Project Home |
| |
|
PAY HERE
JOIN US!We design, build and teach natural and salvaged material building techniques. We educate participants about local situations where we work. We strive to become part of the communities where we work and make friends for life. GAIN A SKILLPast participants have gone on to work as natural builders, planners, designers and tradespeople. |
EventsBuilders Without Borders NM Workshop is Fundraiser for HaitiOn August 14 & 15 in Kingston, New Mexico, architect Alfred von Bachmayr will teach a hands-on workshop on earthen plasters and earthen floor installation. Builders Without Borders (BWB) co-directors Derek Roff & Catherine Wanek will also give presentations on Rainwater Harvesting, Composting Toilets and Straw Bale Building Design Essentials. Santa Fe, NM architect Alfred von Bachmayr is the founder of World Hands Project (http://www.worldhandsproject.org). BWB and WHP have both submitted project proposals to the government of Haiti to create prototype building systems that are seismically-resistant, ecological, and empowering to the Haitian people and their economy. All workshop proceeds will go to support rebuilding projects in Haiti. The January 12, 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince was an enormous tragedy for the people of Haiti, causing the deaths of 230,000 and leaving 1.4 million homeless. Yet in its wake there is an enormous opportunity for Haiti to rebuild, restore, and revitalize itself in ways previously not possible. Since the earthquake, Berkeley architect Martin Hammer has twice visited Haiti on assessment teams from the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute and the World Monuments Fund. He is currently working with Builders Without Borders to contribute to sustainable reconstruction, and Martin is giving a series of presentations about his experiences and vision for Haiti. (for more information visit http://www.builderswithoutborders.org) The August natural building workshops in New Mexico will help support both BWB/Martin Hammer’s work , and the World Hands Project proposal in Haiti. The workshops will be held Saturday and Sunday, August 14 & 15 at the Black Range Lodge in Kingston, NM. The cost is $75 per day, or $115 for both days, including lunch. (call for more information 575-895-5652. ) Free camping is available in the nearby Gila National Forest. For overnight accommodations contact the Black Range Lodge. (http://www.blackrangelodge.com) For a short introduction to building with straw and earth, and rainwater harvesting, and a tour of a straw-bale house, the general public is welcome to visit the Black Range Lodge on Sunday afternoon, August 15, 2010, from 2 PM – 5 PM. Admission is free. A $5 donation for rebuilding in Haiti is suggested.
For more information contact:
Current Scheduled Pallet House Workshops:We have no currently scheduled pallet workshops. However, if you have a project with which you would like to partner with World Hands Project, please contact Alfred von Bachmayr at 505.989.7000 or vbarch@comcast.net We are also wanting to develop partnerships with established organizations/sites that have ecologically-minded/sustainable living objectives. We want to work with you to get out the message and training in sustainable living practices! Projects in the Development Stages:
Haiti School Project
UPDATE: Preliminary designs has been generated. A proposal has been sent to potential funders and we are waiting on that process to hopefully result in full funding of this school project.
Chihuahua City Housing/Community Center Projects
UPDATE: Moving forward with logistics planning and design development.
Natural Building at the Tesuque Pueblo FarmsTesuque Pueblo is located a few miles north of Santa Fe, NM. They are interested in constructing a number of natural buildings. We hope to work with them to establish an overall plan so we can establish workshop dates and learning opportunities for our participants. Pima Indigenous Group School, Yepachi, Mexico
Schools are desperately needed in this region and we look forward to being able to offer both school buildings for the Pima children wanting an education and informative workshop experiences for participants.
|