Clayworks are bringing plaster back to the fore
If realists build in steel and concrete, clay is the stuff of dreamers - and Adam Weismann and Katy Bryce are two of them. The husband and wife are also the founders of Clayworks, a Cornwall-based outfit creating and supplying extraordinary natural plasters crafted using one of the earth's most abundant resources.
Adam could talk for many hours about clay. Traditional materials in general are his and Katy's passion and they started working with cob - an aggregate comprising sand, clay, straw and water - in 2000. It was a departure for both of them. Katy had been studying deep ecology and Adam filmmaking, when they decided to move to the US (Adam's home country) to undertake apprenticeships in natural building. More training followed, eventually taking them to western Cornwall. What had started as a six-month placement ended up becoming permanent, as they fell in love with the area and decided to stay. It was here, in 2010, that the couple turned their attention to clay plasters. When Adam discusses examples he has seen around the world - many still in situ after 400 years - the awe in his voice is palpable. 'That kind of track record is impossible to improve upon nowadays,' he says, explaining that clay has 'soul'. It is also plentiful in the West Country: in the early 19th century, Cornwall had the largest known deposits in the world.
Soul is a word that comes up a lot in conversation with Adam, as it is something he hopes Clayworks plasters will imbue any building with. The company's headquarters proves that they can. An industrial unit on the Lizard Peninsula, the outwardly unremarkable building has been transformed into an earthy nest-like space, its gently rounded corners and textural walls showcasing the potential for its 88 plasters (available in four finishes) and custom plaster finishes. One such example is the recently developed ‘Rammed Earth Finish’. Created by combining different plasters to mimic the look of compacted layers of soil, this feels somehow both primaeval and profoundly contemporary.
Adam says it is exactly this tension that powers the business - the push and pull inherent in a building of today, constructed using the most ancient of substances. His aim is to prove that modernity can be soft and inviting. It all makes sense when he explains that two great inspirations are avian architecture (the way birds design and build their nests) and the work of the 20th-century Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy, known for his subtle expression of modernist forms in an ancient vernacular and for the aphorism: 'Build your architecture from what is beneath your feet.'
Unsurprisingly, Clayworks has garnered many admirers, from architects to designers, including Foster + Partners, Tuckey Design Studio, Snohetta, Heatherwick Studio, Michaelis Boyd and Giò Forma. The King's (formerly the Prince's) Foundation is another great supporter, sponsoring Adam and Katy's 2015 book, Clay & Lime Renders, Plasters & Paints. And companies such as Aesop, Daylesford Organic and Self-Portrait have all commissioned Clayworks to create spaces for them.
Clayworks' clients have clearly been seduced by the raw beauty of what the company has conjured from the ground here in Cornwall (quite literally, since the clay it uses is all sourced from the south west). But conveying that magic to people is, Adam believes, one of the most important aspects of the business. It is why the sampling department is the largest in the company's team of 30, its members working on the almost alchemical translation of its bespoke offerings into shareable samples. The plasters are supplied in 25kg bags, which consist of a dry-blended mix of clay, minerals and pigments; these can then be combined with water on-site using a hand-held paddle mixer. Adam advises working with an approved list of specialist plasterers, who use not just standard plastering tools, but also ultra-thin stainless-steel trowels to create burnished sheens and wooden floats for deeper textures. In fact, the artistry of it all is of vital importance to Adam - so much so that he has created an independent series of clay artworks under the title Claymoon.
He explains that a spirit of creative experimentation lies at the core of Clayworks' mission - namely ‘to get natural materials into conventional buildings, instead of just being pigeonholed for specialist needs’. Also at the root of the company is a desire to help and encourage people to build in more sustainable ways - not that you will catch Adam shouting about the fact his products are non-toxic and able to regulate temperature and humidity, and require minimal energy to produce. Such credentials should, he believes, be the norm in construction. Instead, Adam would rather focus on what Clayworks can do for us emotionally: 'I like the idea of being hugged by a building. It is a cliché, I know, but I don't care. That is what I'm trying to get across'.
Dean Hearne1/7
Dean Hearne2/7The recently developed ‘Rammed Earth Finish’.
Dean Hearne3/7Amy Almeida works on a custom ombre sample.
Dean Hearne4/7‘Rammed Earth Finish’.
Dean Hearne5/7A classic clay plaster sample.
Dean Hearne6/7Adam inspects a 'coined' custom sample.
Dean Hearne7/7Jessica Morris looks at custom samples in the Clayworks workshop.
