About Verena Maeder
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I am an earth building artisan with 28 years experience in the construction of earth buildings.
Through my business SolidEarth Ltd I have been a driving force in natural building in since 2002. Together with my partner Scott we run an adobe brick manufacture and have to date carried out 200+ building projects in New Zealand and abroad. We have been involved in a wide variety of jobs, from pizza ovens, to the construction of entire mudbrick homes, to earthen plasters over drywall or strawbale, to the restoration of historic earth buildings. In 2006 we designed and built our own passive solar eco-home in Nelson. This is me showing off our 5m tall feature wall with earthen plaster artwork inspired by pacific weaving. |
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I am trained in Architecture as well as Building Biology and Ecology (BBE) in Switzerland, where I have done extensive research on earth building and have written a paper on the health aspects of earth as a building material.
Working with my hands instead of carrying out desk-based design work is a lifestyle choice for me. I also really enjoy teaching and sharing my extensive practical knowledge with people. From 2007-2014 I was the chairwoman of the Earth Building Association NZ. I am currently part of the committee in charge of the revision of the NZ Earth Building Standards. I feel very privileged to have received the 2017 Tradeswoman of the Year Award by the National Association of Women in Construction. |
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The focus of my work is on state-of-the art workmanship, artistic expression as well as the integration of natural materials in existing buildings or conventional designs.
For the past 15 years, I have been sharing my knowledge of natural building with hundreds of people through workshops and community projects. I am now adding consultancy and web-based tuition to my offerings, because I am convinced that there is scope for people to fast track the progression from an idea to execution, by learning hands-on with my guidance, on their own earth building projects. |
Testimonials |
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"I came to the Solid Earth summer workshop without any experience and with a relatively small amount of previous study on Earth building; I left with a comprehensive base-level understanding of the material, the techniques, the theory and the practicality and perhaps most importantly, a feeling of competency in working with clay. Verena was an excellent host who made the learning material accessible and relevant to all sorts of participants. I would highly recommend this workshop to anyone with an interest in incorporating clay into their lives!" |
We opted for building an adobe house after weighing up various earth-building options. Verena was invaluable in our building process – very responsive to our many email questions and really knowledgeable. She visited for two overnight stays – the first to teach us how to make the bricks and the second to get us laying them. Verena’s experience in building and design meant that these visits were fantastic for our confidence. She brings a ‘down-to-earth’, well-informed, and good-humoured approach firmly grounded in principles of sustainability and we would highly recommend her to anyone considering building in adobe. |
A thorough and extensive workshop on all aspects of earth building and wall finishing, wonderfully presented by passionate and experienced hosts. Enough theory to aid understanding and plenty of hands on experience to give a good feel for the material and it's many uses in construction. Highly recommended for those who are just curious through to those who are about to build. |
