Return to nature workshop
Workshop
The workshop has been a learning process of organising for me. To collect the workshop group I hung different posters on the wall at our school, the architecture school and the bake house at Losæter, I started an Instagram account for my master project and I created a Facebook event.
WORKSHOP TIMETABLE
Here is a full timetable, it’s okay to participate as much as you want from a short moment one day to all day every day. Let me know when you know when you are participating:)
Tuesday 30th of April
15-17 Starting meeting at MAPS studio
Monday 13th of May
13-16 Test making and designing workshop at KHiO school yard
Our goal is to decide what kind of a gate we are going to build at Losæter and build tests of parts of it. Bring your sketches, reference pictures or drawing equipment. Try to answer questions: what natural materials I would like to try to work with and how? What kind of structures, surfaces and details I would like to create? How I would like the experience of seeing / going through the gate to be? How the gate could be connected to the site? How could the gate change through time, decaying, growing..? Also, if possible, bring a couple of willow branches or other material you are interested in and tools tomorrow.
Sunday 19th of May
12-18 Willow picking trip to Ulsrudvann
I invite you to join a trip to the forest with willow picking, picnic and swimming. Bring your knife or pruning shears, if you have some, and it can be good to have rope to tie the branches together and maybe an Ikea bag for carrying them. Don't forget your picnic snacks, water and swimming things, if you want to swim, looks like the weather is going to be very nice:) To end with we transport our willow branches to our site at Losæter.
If you can’t join the trip, you can bring your own fresh willow to the planting on Monday or Tuesday. It’s best to cut the branches just before planting or to keep them in a water bucket for a day. You can bring any kind of willow branches you want, and also you don’t have to bring anything:)
Monday 20th of May
11-13 Building step 1: getting to know the building site and making unburned bricks for the bottom of the walls
13-14 Lunch at the bakehouse at Losæter
I will serve some snacks each day, you may bring more food for yourself or to share<3
14-17 Building step 2: planting the willow structure
Tuesday 21st of May
11-13 Building step 3: braiding and weaving the wall surfaces
13-14 Lunch at the bakehouse
14-17 Building step 3 continues
Thursday 23rd of May
16-19 Building step 4: plastering parts of the walls with clay
Friday 24th of May
11-13 Building step 5: making leave curtains
13-14 Lunch at the bakehouse
16-19 Celebration of the finished gate and return to nature ceremony
Tuesday 30th of April
On the 30th of April we had a first designing meeting of the willow structure where we agreed on making a gate, made sketches and talked about what we would like to test.
Participants: Anna Dyakonova and Carolina Vásquez
Sketch by Carolina Vásquez
We had a designing and test making workshop. We shared our sketches we had made for the meeting and made new ones together. We decided to build a tent-like structure and weave its sides. Later in the evening a homeless guy with his hammock had moved next to the gate. He gave us some willow planting tips. The next day we had a photoshoot at the gate and met a dog.
Participants: Marie Cole, Belén Santillán, Liz Grunwald, Finlay Hall.
Photos by Belén Santillán, Marie Cole and me.
At first I couldn’t find willow anywhere. I messaged the Botanical Garden, but they were not allowed to give away or sell their plants. I messaged friend of friend who sent me pins on map of willow spots outside of Oslo. Then I made a trip to Ulsrudvann - I saw willow everywhere there and after that I started to see it in many other places.
We picked branches of different willow species from different places.
Participant: Vida Colliander
Photo by Marie Cole
We planted the branches in different ways and tried our best not to let them dry at any point.
Participants: Vida Colliander and Franc
We started to weave wall surfaces using cut off branches from Losæter.
Participants: Marie Cole and Liz Grunwald
(Last updated on the 22nd of May. The last two days of the workshop will be added later.)
Towards the end of the course I started to collaborate with two friends from my class, Cole and Liz. We decided to connect our presentations.
On Wednesday the 8th of May I had a meeting at Losæter with the city farmer, Kia, and I invited. Cole and Liz to join. Kia showed me that we can build the gate to, what I now call, the South entrance. The gate is going to be next to a blue sea container. I’m happy with the location, because we are very free to do what we want there. Kia wanted me to promise that I will maintain the gate keeping it safe and looking presentable for years. This changes a little bit the original idea of Return to nature gate that will disappear by itself, and I have to think how to do the maintaining.
I’m thinking of arranging a workshop to build a living structure or shelter of willow. For the concrete making my reference is willow artist and basket maker Hanna Van Aelst’s YouTube videos, such as this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fAIxsYqDjg
There are some nice willow things already in Losæter, and also in the Botanical Garden in Oslo.
I’m hoping the willow workshop to be my project also for Production 2 course that we are having in Losæter. I have started an email conversation with the city farmer at Losæter about the workshop and hopefully it it possible to arrange.
< Photos from Losæter