Edible Schoolyard Tool Barn Berkeley, CA 1998

No nails were utilized to construct this mortice-and-tenon barn at the Edible Schoolyard, an organic gardening and cooking program. One 1,000 year-old, ecologically-harvested redwood tree provided timber for the entire structure, which is situated in a one-acre garden at an urban school.

The structure synthesizes traditional building techniques with new ecological materials. Rice straw, normally a major pollutant, was used to create the straw panels for the walls; a hand-laid bluestone floor was created using stone from local mountains and crushed oyster shells. Edible Schoolyard students participated in the building, gathering together for a traditional barn-raising.

www.edibleschoolyard.org.