Uku Toa

Grant Steven

10m2

$1,200

Featured

The Project

The Uku Toa is a simple hut which functions as a spare bedroom and sitting room for its owner. While the hut cannot be considered as an alternative to a standard house as it is essentially only a room, it provides an example of how a basic structure can be built at a relatively low cost. Some of the principles behind this can be applied to larger scale buildings. That said, there are people, such as advocates of the Tiny House movement, that would be able to adapt away from more standard means of living so that they could comfortably inhabit a space like the Uku Toa.

The Uku Toa was built using a light earth construction method which involved mixing clay and straw together and placing it between timber framing that was milled from trees around the property. The light earth method employed in this building is slightly different to those found in other similar buildings: in this instance the earth and straw were mixed and set into blocks which were left to dry and then stacked between the timber framing, whereas usually the mix is poured into formwork created around the timber framing.

The Uku Toa has a concrete slab foundation, a metal roof, recycled doors and windows, and clay plaster finishes. The exterior clay finishing plaster is made with vegetable oil added to the mix, to allow it to be more versatile in changing climates as the oil gives the plaster more elasticity. Interior walls are finished with a blend of clay and white flour paste. The whole thing took a couple weeks to build, although not included in this is the additional few weeks needed for the blocks to dry.

Low Cost

Almost all of the timber for the Uku Toa was free as it was milled from a local poplar tree; the remainder needed was bought locally. Recycled materials were used for all the other parts of the structure, such as the doors, windows, and metal cladding for the roof. The earth was sourced from the site and the straw was obtained from a farm nearby.

The biggest expense was the concrete slab, which was a builder’s certified grade concrete. Steven’s didn’t want to use this concrete and had other ways of doing things, however the use of this item was out of his control. All other materials came to a sum of approximately $300-$400.

The building is also under 10m2 which means there were no permits needed or council fees involved.

About Grant Steven

Grant Steven began his journey as an organic gardener and eventually became a horticulture teacher, teaching students how to grow and take care of large gardens. His entry into earth building began when he was asked to host a workshop about making earthen wood-fired pizza ovens. This led him on to working with larger scale earth building.

Steven’s methods of construction have evolved over the years as he has gained more experience, with an increasing focus on light earth clay construction. Throughout the process, Steven has explored construction techniques that deviate from the traditional way of doing things and in general he is always experimenting and trying to innovate to advance his construction methods. At the moment he is experimenting with plastering, trying out new ideas in an effort to get away from working with lime-based products.

Steven has been involved in constructing small units, such as the Uku Toa, as well as larger projects. In both areas, he enjoys finding modern ways of using traditional materials.