In Spring of 2021, we will begin construction of the Cobtagon, an octagon built with cob, just north of Hillsborough, NC. The octagon is a perfect fusion of two shapes, the circle and the square. The circle is a perfect representation of the curved beauty of nature and its inherent efficiency, enclosing the maximum amount of space with the least amount of materials. It is also inherently robust, distributing loads easily throughout its structure to windstand outside pressures. The square and its flat sides is a marvel of human ingenuity, allowing quick building that is easily repeatable and learnable. By combining these two shapes into an octagon, we can tap into the best of both of these qualities, creating modern homes with ancient and organic materials in a cost-effective way with little waste. [cont. below]

The advantages are many. Octagons have only 45 and 90 degree angles (when partitioned), meaning they can easily be incorporated into the existing material flows of more conventional construction without generating the excess waste that circles or other polygons create with their odd angles. Having assisted with building cob structures both round and dodecagonal (12-sided), we can attest that it was time-consuming and wasteful to incorporate in the windows, doors, and roof, and that the end product lacked utility for room layout, furniture placement, picture hanging, etc. An octagon is generated by taking a square, rotating it 45 degrees, and then placing this new square directly on the original square. This is how you “circle a square”. It is the perfect combination of the natural and human-made, and we consider it sacred, just like the earth and wood we build with.