From February 2021 to the end of May 2021, I had the chance to work together with 26 master students in architecture on a project, commissioned by Horst. The brief was the activation of a specific site on the Asiat grounds, as well as the design and construction of an oven. We designed an “act of building” to breathe new life into the site.

Next to the design and construction of a landmark chimney and oven, we re-activated the nearby vegetable gardens, designed, and built outdoor furniture, designed, and baked ceramics from locally sourced clay in a self-build oven, organised hands-on workshops for first year architecture students on the topics of sustainable earth construction techniques, etc... The momentum of these acts stimulated the social involvement of the neighbourhood, and various actors were invited to discuss their future engagement. We worked in teams on specific actions, such as the research on the local soils, the reformulation of local resources into sustainable construction materials, prototyping structural forms, installing production chains for on-site material production, management of the building site, accountancy, workshop organization, documentation, etc. All these performances culminated in a final (jury) event during which all produced materials and designs were put in use.

All final designs were made from reclaimed materials or locally sourced resources. These were carefully processed to maintain the circular properties. The oven for example was built from 1000 handmade sun-dried earth blocks (adobes) of which the mix composition is 100% sourced from local construction pits and demolition works.