MicroHouse Workshop

April 18-20 or 18-23 (2 & 5 day options*)

Factor e Farm – Maysville MO, USA

Build Yourself. Build Your World.

This 5-day workshop – led by designer/builder Chris Reinhart – 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:

• Weekend Workshop: Begins Friday evening, April 18, and concludes Sunday evening, April 20.
• Five-Day Workshop: For a more immersive experience, join us for a full 5 days, concluding on April 23.

Have questions? Drop us an email: chris at opensourceecology dot org

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 and plumbing work
• Parallel processing for rapid building

Documentation

• Sketchup basics
• Using Trovebox and Dozuki for instruction manual creation

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: Evening Lecture/Session

Arrival: Please plan on arriving between 5-6 PM on Friday, April 18. Tour of Factor e Farm starts at 6:30 PM.

Day 1

8:00am: Breakfast
8:45am: Morning Meeting
— overview of workshop
— introductions
9:30am: Build Session
— brick press introduction & safety
— press bricks
12:30am: Lunch
1:30pm: Afternoon Lesson
— presentation: “Learn by Doing, Learn by Documenting” (15min)
— Trovebox and Dozuki tutorial (45min)
2:30pm: Build Session
— carpentry introduction & safety
— begin carpentry modules
5:30pm: Dinner
7:00pm: Evening Presentation
— presentation “The MicroHouse 1.0 Story” (45min)

Day 2

8:00am: Breakfast
8:45am: Morning Meeting
— presentation “Reinventing the Barn-Raising” (15min)
— overview of teams and tasks (30min)
9:30am: Build Session
— brick stacking group
— carpentry module group(s)
12:30am: Lunch
1:30pm: Build Session
— brick stacking group
— carpentry module group(s)
5:30pm: Dinner
7:00pm: Evening Presentation
— presentation: “Sustainable Design Basics” (45min)

Day 3

8:00am: Breakfast
8:45am: Morning Meeting
— trouble-shooting
9:30am: Build Session
— site assembly of modules
12:30am: Lunch
1:30pm: Build Session
— site assembly of modules
5:30pm: Dinner
Open Evening

Day 4

8:00am: Breakfast
8:45am: Morning Meeting
— trouble-shooting
9:30am: Build Session
— site assembly of modules
12:30am: Lunch
1:30pm: Build Session
— site assembly of modules
5:30pm: Dinner
7:00pm: Evening Event
— open mic talent show

Day 5

8:00am: Breakfast
8:45am: Morning Meeting
— trouble-shooting
9:30am: Build Session
— site assembly of modules
12:30am: Lunch
1:30pm: Conclusion Session

Registration Fee for Weekend Workshop: $195
Registration Fee for Five-Day Workshop: $445
Fees include workshop tuition, accommodations in the HabLab, and meals.

If you would like to attend but cannot afford the admission, we can put you on the wait list. If the workshop does not fill up or if there is someone willing to cover your fee as a donor, we can accept you. Please email us.

Cancellation Policy
If for any reason you can’t attend a workshop you registered for we will be happy to (a) transfer you credit towards a future MicroHouse workshop; (b) or equivalent credit towards any other other OSE workshop; (c) substitute the name on your ticket and have a friend take your place.

Pay with Check

For payment with paypal/credit card see below. If you’d rather pay with a check, fill out this form. Please make checks payable to Open Source Ecology, and mail them to PO Box 442, Maysville, MO 64469. Write “April MH Workshop” along with “2 days” or “5 days” in the memo line.

Pay with Paypal / Credit Card

To pay with paypal/credit card, please use the the Eventbrite form below. Note that Eventbrite charges a fee for the service in addition to the workshop fee – if you wish to avoid this, see check payment instructions above.