The second annual "World of Thin-Shell Construction" gathering will be held Friday June 24th to Sunday June 26th, in Lorane, Oregon. This year's schedule of events and workshops is exciting, loaded with valuable information, and promises to be a great deal of fun, if last year's Convention is any indication!

At this Convention we'll be inflating 26' and 10' airforms, building and spraying/shotcreting a George Nez hyperbolic paraboloid roof, learning the Martin Iorns laminated ferrocement technique, learning about lime and cement stuccos and additives, mixing and working with papercrete, getting our hands dirty with lightweight eps-crete (Foamalite), testing various Engineered Cemetious Compounds and ferrocement mixes, learning from some of the brightest minds in the field, meeting a talented group of people, and having fun. And, we'll be having a presentation by T.P. Singh, travelling to the Convention from India, on his ferrocement temple dome experience and the state of ferrocement in India. Could you possibly have anything more interesting and fun to do this weekend?

The keynote speaker for this year's Convention will be Chuck Henderson, the inventor of CONICS ~ a high-performance and low-cost shelter system™ (http://fishrock.com/conics/). His keynote address is titled "Curved Structures Don't Fall Down." Chuck will also be building, with Convention participants, a conics demonstration structure.

Sign up now, using our RSVP Form. There are no fees for the Convention, though we hope people will make a donation of $50 or more to cover Convention costs and materials. (Please note that our priority is for people to attend, and that donations are completely optional).

Stay in a local hotel in Cottage Grove or Eugene, or, to be close to the action, camp for free on the Convention site! The Lorane underground home has a bathroom with a shower for campers and Convention participants to use, and Porta-Potties will be available on the campgrounds.

The first annual Convention, held June, 2004 in Lorane, Oregon was a great success with 120 people attending. To get a sense of what the 2004 Convention was like, take a look at the photos below. Also, be sure to visit the Participants page to see who will be coming and photos from some of their projects.

In the spirit of the Convention, JPJ Technologies School of Faux Rock Construction is offering a specially priced class just before the Convention - see the box to the right.

Add your name to the Convention 2005 Mailing List using the form to the right and we'll keep you posted as the schedule of events unfolds. Hope to see you there in 2005!

Best Regards,
Nolan Scheid (nolan@mortarsprayer.com)

2004 Convention Photos (click on any photo)

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