Cob

What is cob?
Cob is a building material, made up from a mixture of clay, sand, straw, water and earth. It is similar to adobe. Cob has recently been revived by natural building and sustainability movements. 
Cob is a building material which has been used since even prehistoric times. Cobwork is found in different climates. For example, in the UK it is found in Devon and Cornwall, in Wales it is found in Glamorgan and Gower Peninsula. Old cob buildings can be found in Africa, the Middle East, Ireland and Brittany, even some parts of the US.

How a cob house is built
Traditionally, English cob was made by mixing the clay-based subsoil with straw and water, using oxen to trample it. The mixture was then ladled onto a stone foundation in various stages, then trodden onto the wall by workers. This was called cobbing. Each layer of the cob applied needed to dry, and the walls of a cob house were about 24inches thick. Windows were traditionally deep set. Cob kept houses well insulated and lasted for a long time even in areas with a lot of rainfall.

How cob houses are formed

Properties of cob
There are many advantages of using cob instead of other materials, because it is fireproof, resistant to seismic activity (earthquakes) and cheap. It is easily sourced and totally natural, making it non-toxic and completely recyclable. It's mouldable properties allow people to create artistic, sculptural forms and unusual buildings from it.


Cob houses manage to capture a comfortable, cosy feel with the curved arches, unusual shaped areas and niches. Here are a few beautiful cob houses:

In these houses, cob has been used to form detail above the windows and to create storage areas. The cob walls gently slope to form seating areas which are separated by walls. I love the simplicity of cob and how there are so many possibilities with it because the walls can become the furniture, as well as the detailing and the storage space. 

This is a beautiful cob archway with built in shelves for decorative purposes. What I particularly like about cob is that it seems to fit into any natural surroundings so well, probably because it is made from purely natural materials with a colouring that will blend into any background.


More examples of cob houses: