Studio 22
Natural Building
Building with earth — soil, clay, sand, lime, and mud
Six hands-on days reconnecting with one of nature’s most powerful materials — mud — building real techniques and a wall installation along the way.
When
20–25 July 2026
Six full days
Where
Global Campus
Devanahalli, Bengaluru
You earn
2 Credits
For CU students
Prerequisites
None
Hands-on; come ready to get muddy
What you’ll do
Thirty-nine percent of global carbon emissions come from the construction industry — through both the making and the running of buildings. That raises a pressing question: are there alternatives to the way we build and inhabit spaces? This studio answers it through the world of natural building, reconnecting you with one of nature’s most accessible and powerful resources — mud.
“Earth turns to gold in the hands of the wise,” wrote Rumi. Over six days you’ll get your hands dirty and build a relationship with this most precious material, discovering the immense possibilities it offers within the built environment. Through hands-on learning you’ll explore soil, clay, sand, lime, and mud — and along the way, the warmth, connection, and spaces the earth can create.
This is a making studio above all. You’ll test and mix materials, work through techniques like earthbag, rammed earth, cob, adobe, and wattle-and-daub, model arches and vaults, and co-create a small wall installation as a cohort — developing real sensitivity to local materials, climate, craftsmanship, and community-based building practice.
What you’ll walk away with
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
- Question the assumptions and realities around modern construction practices
- Work knowledgeably with natural materials — soil, clay, sand, mud, and lime
- Understand how sand and clay are formed and how they behave as building materials
- Identify and test soil for suitability in construction
- Gain hands-on experience in mud mixing, plastering, and material exploration
- Co-create a small wall installation and craft mud and lime plaster finishes
What you’ll make
A small wall installation, co-created by the cohort, as the culminating piece of the studio — a hands-on introduction to building with soil, clay, sand, mud, and lime. Alongside the installation, you’ll make your own plaster-finished dorodango balls to take home.
Your six days
| Mon | Hands-on introduction to the earthbag and rammed-earth techniques, soil-testing sessions, and a grounding discussion on why natural building matters. |
| Tue | Hands-on work with the cob and adobe techniques, the results of the previous day’s soil tests, and an introduction to the different types of natural building. |
| Wed | Hands-on practice with adobe and wattle-and-daub, continuing the exploration of natural building methods. |
| Thu | Making arch and vault models, and learning how to design a natural home — understanding the parameters and design concepts behind it. |
| Fri | Preparing the base for sample plasters in lime and mud, with the concepts behind each kind of plaster. |
| Sat | Finishing the different mud and lime plasters, crafting a take-home dorodango ball, and reflecting together on the workshop. |
Sessions run full-day (approx. 10am–5pm). No more than 1–2 hours of theory per day; the rest is hands-on.
What you’ll need
All materials and tools are provided — soil, clay, sand, lime, straw, bamboo, and the full range of building tools. Come in clothes you don’t mind getting muddy; this is a hands-on, outdoor-and-workshop studio.
Your instructors
Stanzin Phuntsog & Samyuktha
Architects, educators · Co-founders, Earth Building
Stanzin Phuntsog and Samyuktha are architects, educators, and the co-founders of Earth Building, an organisation dedicated to revitalising natural construction methodologies. Stanzin Phuntsog developed a passion for community-led vernacular architecture during his childhood in Ladakh, later pursuing alternative and experiential education at SECMOL, Ladakh, and Swaraj University, Udaipur. Samyuktha completed her architectural education and specialised in hands-on building techniques through a self-designed learning path at Swaraj University, where she pioneered and constructed her own earthbag home using collaborative volunteer networks. Together, they travel extensively to document ancestral architectural knowledge, integrating clay, lime, sand, and mud finishes into eco-friendly, thermally comfortable, and sustainable structures. Their studio provides students with immersive, hands-on exposure to soil testing, mud mixing, and structural wall installations.
Registration open
Questions about a Studio?
Reach out to the Studios Coordinator. Happy to talk through any of the courses, what to expect day-to-day, or whether a particular Studio fits where you are in your learning right now.
Studios Coordinator
Anand K Sharma
cu.studios@chanakyauniversity.edu.in
+91 88930 33233
Campus
Chanakya University Global Campus
NH-648, Haraluru–Polanahalli
Near Kempegowda Intl. Airport
Devanahalli, Bengaluru — 562165