Kinship Ecolab recognised in Europe as a Good Practice
The Ecolab was submitted as a good practice to Interreg Europe, a European cooperation programme designed to increase learning experiences and sharing solutions across Europe. The practice has been validated as worthy of replication in Europe and beyond as a demonstration of low tech construction, sustainable building and pollution free disposal at the end of its life.
Launched in Tramore Valley Park in 2024, the Ecolab highlights the connection between environmental sustainability and the impact of natural resource demand for construction materials. The project has been recognised as a good practice worthy of replication in Europe.
The Ecolab is an outcome of the Kinship Public Art Project, a concept bringing together communities, art and public awareness of climate action and ecological challenges. Developed using sustainably sourced and fully recyclable material,
Creative Climate Action Fund through Creative Ireland funded the Kinship Project in collaboration with lead partners Cork City Council. The Ecolab project began with Lennon Taylor artists searching for an innovative, sustainable construction method that highlights the link between Carrolls Bog, the historic layering of waste in the landfill and the natural resources the environment supplies for everyday activities.
The Ecolab is built from three main locally sourced and recyclable materials- earth, timber and reeds. The earth, sourced from Ballinhassig has a high clay content meaning it combines easily and requires a significantly smaller percentage of concrete. For the pitched roof, locally sourced timbers were sourced. The reeds for the thatched roof unfortunately had to be brought in from Turkey due to the high nitrogen concentration in local bog reeds.
Ramming, an ancient and low-tech, hand building technique was employed to make the walls using the earth. Earth was layered and compacted between timber moulds. The compaction was achieved using a handheld, flay headed piece of equipment that compacted one layer before adding another.
The FEEL Project, running in Cork since 2023 is focused on developing sufficiency and low-tech actions in Cork through community engagement and influencing policy to support the concept. Cork City Council and FEEL Project Stakeholders met on the 14th of January to discuss how to advance and bring more initiatives supporting sufficiency to Cork.