MicroHouse April 2014 Workshop

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Dates

Friday, April 18, 2014 at 6:30 PM - Wednesday, April 23, 2014 at 6:30 PM (MDT) Maysville, MO

List of Participants' Logs

Helpful Links

Overview

This 5-day workshop empowers participants to create their own MicroHouse through hands-on, experiential training reinforced by conceptual learning in basic sustainable design. The central activity of the workshop is the construction of a MicroHouse shell using open source equipment including a tractor, soil pulverizer, and brick press. Extreme manufacturing concepts of parallel processing and prefabrication are applied to achieve rapid on-site assembly. Philosophy of open source development is also emphasized, and the participants become more than just builders, they become active collaborators in the MicroHouse evolution.

A weekender option exists for those interested in getting an introduction to the ideas of open development and sustainable design but do not have the time for the full, immersive experience.

Learning Outcomes

  • Design
    • fundamentals of passive solar design and natural ventilation
    • building envelope basics and importance of detailing
    • understanding of thermal mass and insulation in relation to performance
    • open source development philosophy
    • hand-sketching basics
  • Construction
    • understanding and applied safe use of basic construction tools
    • CEB construction techniques
    • basic framing methods
    • installation of doors and windows
    • basics of electrical work
    • parallel processing for rapid building
  • Documentation
    • using Trovebox and Dozuki for instruction manual creation
    • using and adding to the Development Board
    • Sketchup basics

Typical Daily Schedule

  • 8:00am Breakfast
  • 8:45am Morning Meeting
  • 9:30am Build Session
  • 12:30am Lunch
  • 1:30pm Build Session
  • 5:30pm Dinner
  • 7:00pm Some Days - Evening Lecture/Session

·

Pre-Workshop Information Sent to Participants

First Email Introducing Dozuki and Dev Board

Hello Workshop Collaborators!

We are excited that you will be joining us for the construction of MicroHouse 2. You will experience, hands-on, open hardware machinery in action to create this addition to OSE’s prototype modular CEB dwelling. And we’re going to have a great time in the process!

I want to begin providing you with resources to help you prepare for this experience. I’ll be in touch with you throughout the next couple weeks with more information leading up to the build.

To start with, I am providing you with some essential links that we will use constantly throughout the process, both before and during the event. There will be several more of these, but I want to ease you into this, so we’ll start with just a couple :)

MicroHouse 2 Development Board This spreadsheet contains a link to nearly all the design assets for MH 2. Feel free to take a look through these links to see the evolution of the design. This is the one-stop-shop to go to at any point to find information you may be looking for. You can even download the sketchup models that have been used throughout the design process, if you want to virtually tour the design :) https://docs.google.com/a/opensourceecology.org/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ArNBTd6xfT7MdE5TUnozdXNuMEc5NXpCdThuZWRzdHc&usp=drive_web&pli=1#gid=1 We are excited that you will be joining us for the construction of MicroHouse 2. You will get to experience, hands-on, open hardware machinery in action to create this addition to OSE’s prototype modular CEB dwelling. And we’re going to have a great time in the process!

MicroHouse 2 Dozuki Guides We will be using these before the event to familiarize yourself with the build procedures, and during the event as our instruction manual. I am building out all the instructions now, so you will see lots of activity over the next week as the current skeletal framework gets filled in. As part of the workshop, we will be adding photos from the actual build to supplement the instructions made with the 3d model. You will be part of OSE’s real-time documentation process that has evolved over the course of many build events like this one. http://opensourceecology.dozuki.com/c/Microhouse_v2

I highly recommend placing bookmarks in your web browser for these links and making them easily accessible on your bookmarks bar. Like I said, we’ll be using these a ton!

Finally, a couple of logistics items: The workshop begins on Friday the 18th at 6:30pm (central time) with introductions, a tour of Factor e Farm, and an overview of the whole workshop. Please plan to arrive between 5:00 and 6:00pm so that we can all be ready to go promptly at 6:30.

I have created a spreadsheet for all of the workshop participants. Please follow this link and add the other information to your row, like your phone number, what time you will arrive, what type of transportation you will be taking to FeF and any special concerns or comments you have. If you need picked up at a bus station or airport, make sure to note this in the comments section. https://docs.google.com/a/opensourceecology.org/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ArNBTd6xfT7MdEVQQ2lDcHp2WFUyN1FPeWhacTVoeXc#gid=0

I’ll be in touch soon with more information. Don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions. You can reach me at this email or by phone, at 812-325-5989. We’re all looking forward to meeting you in a couple weeks -- if we haven’t met before. Building projects at Factor e Farm are always an incredible amount of fun, and it’s the awesome people like you that make them that way!

Thanks! Chris

Second Email About Setting Up a Log Page

Hello MicroHouse collaborators!

The time of our "barn-raising" draws near :)

I'm looking forward to meeting all of you, and our list of participants keeps growing... it's going to be a great group!

Many of you may already be familiar with the OSE wiki - it's the massive repository of information for all of OSE's work: http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/Main_Page

Log Pages on the Wiki All collaborators with OSE set up their own log pages where they place links to the contributions they make, along with notes, thoughts, or anything else related to OSE work. During your stay at FeF, you'll be using your log page each day to record your contributions to the project. If you've never used a wiki before, don't worry!! We'll help you out at each step of the process.

That's why we're getting started now. Ideally, we can troubleshoot any challenges before the workshop begins. Please visit the wiki and set up your log page. You'll need to log in to the wiki in order to do this. This link describes how to log in: http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/How_to_Get_an_Account_on_the_Wiki

Creating Your Log Page 1. Log into the wiki as described above. 2. To create your log page simply type "Your Name Log" into the search bar - example "Chris Log." If that page does not already exist on the wiki, red text will appear above the search results that say "Create Your Name Log on this wiki." Click on this text, and you will go to an edit page. (If someone else with your name has already set up a log, use a longer/shorter version of your name or a nickname.) 3. If you have experience editing a wiki before, this edit page will look familiar. If you don't have any wiki experience, I recommend you open another Log page in a separate tab on your browser. Here's an example from another collaborator that was at the previous MicroHouse workshop and will be attending this one, as well: http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/Cody_Log Click on the "edit" tab on the upper right, and you will see Cody's wiki entries. You can then copy and paste some of this into your own wiki editor to get a jumpstart with understanding the formatting. 4. Once you have entered some text into your page, click the "save page" button at the bottom. Then copy and paste the web address of your log page into an email and send it to me.

If you have any questions, refer to this page: http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/Wiki_instructions

If you still can't solve your problem, take a screenshot of where you're getting stuck and email me for support.

Thanks guys! Looking forward to doing some awesome work with you in a couple weeks! Chris

Third Email with Reminder to Fill Out Info on Participant Spreadsheet

Hi guys!

About half of you have done this, but if you have not added the rest of your information to our participant list, please take a moment to do so: https://docs.google.com/a/opensourceecology.org/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ArNBTd6xfT7MdEVQQ2lDcHp2WFUyN1FPeWhacTVoeXc&usp=gmail#gid=0

Several people mentioned in the comments that they are willing to pick up other participants on their drive to FeF, so if you're unsure how you'll be getting there, check the sheet and contact those individuals directly to make arrangements.

A final word - if you signed up recently and did not get my first email regarding Dozuki and the Development Board, you can read it here: https://docs.google.com/a/opensourceecology.org/document/d/1R2V1Xi9PUzZhhFR3uwCiP-vJUTjK_mqXdY_Z4infwAg/edit

And of course, at any point you can visit the Development Board for more info. All the emails are stored there, as well, if you need to refer back to one and can't find it.

Thanks again! Chris