During this international workshop in Gelderland, the Netherlands (March 14-22, 2026), a group of eight students from the Faculty of Architecture had the opportunity to experience firsthand how building with CEB (Compressed Earth Bricks) works. This took place as part of the Master’s thesis ‘Con-structure Matters: Adobe’ (supervisor Laurens Luyten, co-supervisor Ignaas Back).
Over eight intensive days, they got to know clay as a building material by making CEB bricks themselves, designing with them, and ultimately realising their design at full scale. The focus was primarily on experimentation and building knowledge, with plenty of room for personal initiative. In smaller, mixed international teams, they worked on various parts of the construction process, such as the foundation, the walls, and the roof structure.
The end result was a small building, ready for use to dry herbs by a satisfied farmer. The workshop was part of the Erasmus+ project Crafting Clay, together with the University of Liechtenstein, NTNU (Norway), and the Academy of Architecture, Rotterdam.
The students involved in the workshop: Christina Chvanova, Eline Bricteux, Hagar Ahmed, Magdalena Ostrowska, Mathijs de Vries, Robbe Senave, Robbe Van Den Bosch, and Tiemen D’Olieslager