Category: 2016 The Bakehouse

The transformative power of natural plasters soon became evident, even to us! The glow of the earth lime plaster was to soon cover the whole interior of the restaurant rendering it a warm and cozy space for a hearty dinner.

Natural plasters and finishes are made mostly of materials directly available in nature and which require little or no energy for their processing. They are therefore more healthy and eco-friendly. They can be categorised in two families: lime based finishes and clay based finishes.

Lime and clay are both binders; they can be considered as the flesh of plasters; holding the rest of the materials together. Sand, quarry dust, recycled building materials or natural fibres are mixed with them in different proportions to give a structure or a skeleton to the plaster.

You must really know your material. you must get your hands dirty. We often dive into the construction site ourselves, both to try out new techniques as well as to train our mason teams. Both these approaches feed into our design process, allowing us to constantly revise and reinterpret materials and techniques, and personalize our projects.

Clay and Lime both create a breathable finish material with a natural capacity to regulate moisture and temperature in the surrounding air. The use of natural finishes eliminates exposure to VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) and in fact, have a positive impact on the air.

The possibility of adding natural fibres in the plaster mix can also help in thermal comfort of our interiors, especially in hot and dry climates. Clay based plasters also have the natural ability to absorb excess of humidity in the air and release it slowly, contributing to overall comfort of our interiors.

Natural Clay Paint for the Bakehouse Wall