April Magill is an inspiring local architect with a passion for both natural building and affordable housing. And she is a delight to talk to!
If there is a clay community oven that you know of in town, April has probably been involved in its construction in one way or another. April is also the designer of the amazing chicken coop at Fresh Future Farm.
In addition to working as an adjunct professor at the American College of Building Arts, April gives presentations on permaculutre and leads workshops on natural building techniques. As a project manager, April’s “diversity of project types extend from back yard yoga huts to small homes to custom residential to large commercial Eco-Resorts.”
If you are interested in permaculture and natural/resilient building techniques, you owe it it to yourself to attend one of April’s workshops.
Check out the schedule below and her web site (RootDownDesigns.com) for more details.
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Women’s Basic Carpentry 101: Build Your Own Tool Box (SOLD OUT)
March 9, 2019 – 1 day workshop
A 1 day intensive women-led / women-centered woodworking workshop.
Intended to build confidence & demystify woodworking through learning to
safely use various hand and power tools as we build and create together.
By the end of the day, you will have built your own take-home toolbox &
gained the confidence and information to set up your own home shop.
Each participant will leave with their own wooden tool box + the knowledge &
empowerment to create and build with wood! Master carpenter, Gwen Watt ,
ACBA Timberframing student Patricia Willis, & April Magill,
Architect / Natural Builder will lead a small group of women through this course.
To learn more, click here:
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Essential Hempcrete Building Workshop
April 27 & 28, 2019
In Essential Hempcrete workshop you will learn how you can
create a remarkable home insulation material from the hemp plant!
This 2 day workshop is based on the new book, Essential Hempcrete
Construction, written by course instructor and founder of the Endeavor Center,
Chris Magwood. Root Down Designs is committed to furthering our work
with HEMPCRETE and we are in the process of developing a housing
prototype. As SC continues to expand on industrial hemp production,
we see this union between SC grown hemp and HEMPCRETE homes
to be the future of sustainable buildings! We are excited to be partnering with the
South Carolina Hemp Farmer Association & The American College of Building
Arts to bring you this event!
Who are these courses meant for???
Homeowners & Renters
Contractors, Builders, & Developers
Members of any business, organization, or municipality interested in INNOVATIVE,
OUT-OF-THE-BOX, RESILIENT BUILDINGS of the FUTURE!
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BUILDINGS AS CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE DEVICES: An Evening Lecture
April 24, 2019
Buildings as a Climate Change Solution – Learn how buildings can become the world’s sixth major carbon sink, providing an important climate change drawdown solution. Currently, the harvesting and manufacturing of building materials accounts for 11% of global GHG emissions, with that number expected to rise sharply in the coming decades. But there are buildings being made today that are net sequesterers of carbon, showing that it is possible to completely change the current paradigm and have the built environment store more carbon than it emits.
Join us for an evening lecture at The American College of Building Arts. Chris Magwood will be the key speaker with intro by April Magill.
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Design Your Own Sustainable Home: An Evening Workshop
April 25, 2019
Design Your Own Sustainable Home, The Endeavor Center’s most popular workshop, is coming to Charleston, SC! The workshop is designed to be an un-biased look at all the options available to the prospective owner-builder, and to assist you with tools to help you assess and choose your way to the house of your dreams. You will leave this workshop ready to handle all the competing claims and information you will face by focusing on your personal goals and aspirations and creating a road map for how best to meet them. Instructor Chris Magwood is an expert guide for this journey, having helped hundreds of owner-builders through the process of designing and building their dream green home. This workshop has been called exciting, engaging and even life changing.
April Magill of Root Down Designs will be facilitating this event; learn more about their work on sustainable homes here in Charleston!
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CONTEMPORARY TADELAKT
NATURAL PLASTERS +
MODERN RAMMED EARTH HOME TOUR
May 24 – 27, 2019
In this 3.5 day workshop, students will learn this ancient, all-natural, waterproof plaster method which is so elegant it’s referred to as ‘seductive.’ Students will learn proper contemporary tadelakt substrates, materials, tools, and techniques. We will also learn DIY clay plaster & paint recipes + modern lime plaster finish methods which can be applied over drywall. All methods can done on your your conventional home. A Fri presentation and potluck dinner will kick things off and we will spend the weekend working in a Charleston residence where you can see examples of DIY Natural Building home applications. We will complete the workshop with a tour of a local Rammed Earth residence designed by Root Down Designs here in Charleston.
This course will be led by Liz Johndrow & co-taught by April Magill.
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LAWN RECLAMATION: Transforming Your Lawn into a Productive & Dynamic Landscape with Erin Stevens
Saturday, September 14, 2019
9:00am – 5:00pm workshop
In this hands-on workshop, we will focus on how to transform portions of your tired yard into a productive and dynamic landscape. Help support bird and pollinator populations while feeding your family and beautifying your property. We will explore how to improve the health of your soil, implement rainwater capture and diversion techniques, and successfully install edible and wildlife-supportive plantings. Emphasis will be placed on maintenance techniques to ensure the long-term success of your landscape renovation.
https://rootdowndesigns.com/product/lawn-reclamation-transforming-your-lawn/
click for more info
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