Consultation Services


Design/consultation

We offer our consultation in any of the techniques described in the materials and building service areas of this site. We work through email, phone, and fax, or through personal planning sessions with you and any other members of your project's design team. We can retrofit existing plans with elements of natural building, manage new projects from beginning to end, or help to connect you with knowledgeable architects and designers that we have worked with in the past.

Lecturing

Chris Fox, of fox natural building, has given many lectures and demonstrations across the midwest. He is a dedicated student to the science of natural building, and an experienced teacher on the topic. From teaching by exampe at workshops, to giving effective presentations and facilitating consultation sessions, he brings an attention to detail and over a decade of experience toward the best process and procedures of building naturally.

Workshops

We provide workshops on timber framing, straw bale, earthen plasters and other alternative building methods found on our Building Services page. Workshops are held to educate participants through first hand experience; so they may learn the proper technique and tools required to be self-sufficient in the building of his or her own home or project. Contact us to hold a workshop for you or your organization.

FNB works in partnership with the New Agrarian Center (NAC) based in Oberlin, Ohio. Through this partnership, FNB and NAC offer workshop based education for homebuilders and organizations who wish to promote and educate their local community in green opportunities.

FNB appearances - Past, present and future

June 6-7 2009Workshop with on Cobb ovens @The George Jones Memorial Farm
August 1-2 2009Workshop on Foundational considerations for straw bale @The George Jones Memorial Farm
September 19-24 2009Workshop on Strawbale Construction @The George Jones Memorial Farm

Go to The New Agrarian Center for reservation details on upcoming events, or contact us directly

Summer, 2008 Athens Sustainability Festival - Member of discussion panel on alternative building (Athens, OH)
Fall 2007/Spring 2008Work with architect Wayne Appleyard (Ann Arbor, MI) on Chatfield Charter School (take a virtual tour) (Lapeer, MI). "Growth spurt at Chatfield -- Lapeer charter school to add 6 classrooms"
November , 2006 > Timber Framers Guild Eastern Conference > Presenter - "Straw Bale Enclosures for a Timber Frame Structure http://www.tfguild.org
September 2006 > Athens Sustainability Festival > Exhibitor for Natural Building / Presenter - "The Basics of Straw Bale Construction"
Winter / Spring , 2006 > Great Lakes Brewing Company (Cleveland, Ohio) > Beer Garden /
Summer, 2005 > Exhibitor @ Burning River Festival (Cleveland, Ohio)
Summer, 2005 > Workshop with Cleveland Green Building Coalition and Harvest Build @ Wolff & Tarr Residence (Akron, Ohio)
Spring, 2005 > Workshop with Harvest Build @ Mildreds' Daughters Urban Farm (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette / "Workshops to finish walls of straw-bale barn in city"
Spring, 2005 > Fox Cabin (Oak Hill, Ohio) > Workshop on cobb in the restoration of a antique log cabin
Winter, 2005 > Exhibitor @ Natural Planet Expo (Cleveland, Ohio)
Fall, 2004 > Presentation with Harvest Build @ Timber Framers Guild Eastern Conference (Seven Springs, PA) > "Baling On The Edge: an Alternative Enclosure System"
Summer, 2004 > Workshop with Cleveland Green Building Coalition and Harvest Build @ George Jones Memorial Farm (Oberlin, Ohio)
Summer, 2004 > Workshop @ Natural Building Colloquium-East (Bath, NY) > Harvesting / Milling / Timber Frame > Jason Perry NBCE Photographs / Mark Piepkorn NBCE Photographs
Fall, 2003 > Natural Building Colloquium-West (Kingston, New Mexico)
Summer, 2003 > Workshop with Cleveland Green Building Coalition and Harvest Build @ The Web of Life Natural Foods Market (Avon Lake, Ohio)
Spring, 2003 > Guest Instructor at Oberlin College > Dr. David Orr, head of the Environmental Studies Department at Oberlin College and distinguished environmental author, invited Mark Hoberecht & Chris Fox of HarvestBuild to be guest instructors for his Ecological Design Seminar class. The class project was the design of a small multi-purpose building at the George Jones Memorial Farm. We lectured on housing, vernacular design, and natural building techniques. We also reviewed student designs throughout the semester, and guided the construction process.
Summer, 2002 > Common Ground Art & Learning Center with Harvest Build (Oberlin, Ohio) > Straw-clay
Summer, 2002 > Workshop with Cleveland Green Building Coalition and Harvest Build @ Cleveland EcoVillage > The David Cornicelli Memorial Straw Bale Tool Shed
Summer, 2002 > The One Tree Project @ The Nature Center at Shaker Lakes (Cleveland Heights, Ohio)
Summer, 2001 > EarthSong Peace Chamber with Harvest Build (Three Rivers, Michigan) > Straw Bale
Summer, 2001 > Workshop with Cleveland Green Building Coalition and Harvest Build @ George Jones Memorial Farm (Oberlin, Ohio) > Straw Bale greenhouse
Summer, 2000 > Workshop with Harvest Build @ Eastwood Elementary School Tool Shed (Oberlin, Ohio) > Straw Bale / Natural Plaster





  • fox natural building

    delivering safe, sound, and sustainable services for the next generation of building