Tutor(s): Wesam Al Asali, Salvador Gomis
Start Date: July 19, 2026
End Date: July 26, 2026
Tile Vaulting: The Art of Structural Ceramic
Price range: 1 150,00€ through 1 550,00€
22 in stock
Workshop Description
Vaults are among the purest architectural expressions of gravity. Their strength comes not from mass, but from geometry — making them a relevant and low-carbon construction model in the context of today’s environmental crisis.
This workshop explores the art and technique of tile vaults—also known as Guastavino vaults or timbrel vaults—a Mediterranean method that uses thin ceramic tiles and plaster of Paris to create laminated vaults with minimal formwork and maximal craftsmanship.Though historically associated with monumental buildings, tile vaults have deep roots in local craft traditions across the world, where generations of master builders have sustained this knowledge through practice. As such, tile vaulting was central to the exceptional work of architects such as Antoni Gaudí and Rafael Guastavino, both of whom relied on master builders to translate geometric vision into built form.
During the workshop, participants will design and construct a full-scale tile-vaulted pavilion on-site at Boisbuchet. Led by CERCAA’s co-founders—a master builder and an architectural designer—the workshop will introduce participants to the geometry, structure, and hands-on techniques of tile construction. The workshop also showcases and invites reflections on how traditional methods can engage with contemporary digital tools—including augmented reality and mechanized construction—to expand, rather than replace, craft knowledge.
This is a unique opportunity to experience the intersection of design, engineering, and craft, and to rethink architectural culture through material intelligence, collective making, and embodied learning.
Wesam Al Asali (SY)
Wesam Al Asali is an architect, researcher, and professor whose work focuses on the integration of manual and digital fabrication technologies with natural materials and traditional building techniques. His research examines craft practices, construction technology, and building history to explore how cultural and social factors can inform new architectural approaches in response to climate challenges.
He completed his PhD in Architecture at the University of Cambridge in 2021, where he developed low-carbon roofing design strategies based on the Catalan vault technique. Following his doctorate, he was awarded a Fung Global Fellowship and served as a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton University (2021–2022). His work has received the RIBA President’s Award for Research (2021) and the Salje Medal for Best Doctoral Research in Arts and Humanities at Clare Hall, Cambridge (2022). He has secured research grants and commissions from institutions including the Arab Council for the Social Sciences, the Institute of Ceramic Technology, and Princeton University.
Al Asali is Professor at IE University (since 2022), co-founder and Director of Design and Innovation at IWlab, and founder of CERCAA (Educational Center for the Regeneration of Craft Construction) in Valencia. His current research addresses the use of natural materials in Spanish craft traditions, scarcity-driven vernacular architecture in the Middle East, and the relationship between domestic space and food production in Syria during the crisis.
www.cercaa.orgSalvador Gomis (ES)
Salvador Gomis is a master builder specialized in traditional tile vault construction (bóveda tabicada). He began his career building vaulted staircases and gradually expanded his practice to complex vaults and domes of diverse geometries. His work has contributed to the contemporary revival of this nearly forgotten craft, demonstrating its structural, spatial, and artistic potential beyond cement-based construction.
He has collaborated with leading architects and academic institutions on award-winning projects. Notable works include the hyperbolic paraboloid brick vault for the José Soriano Pantheon in Villarreal (Fernando Vegas and Camilla Mileto), recipient of the 2017 American Architecture Prize and an Architizer A+ Awards Special Mention; participation in the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale under the supervision of John Ochsendorf (MIT) and Philippe Block (ETH Zurich); and the construction of a 182 m² traditional three-layer tile vault in the restoration of Hotel Rosaleda in Andorra. His work has been featured in international exhibitions, research projects, and documentaries, including El Arquitecto de Nueva York on Rafael Guastavino.
Gomis has taught workshops and courses in Spain and abroad, including at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, AA School, Roma Tre University, and the University of Cambridge, and has participated in humanitarian training initiatives in Jordan. He is co-founder of CERCAA, an educational center dedicated to the teaching and innovation of traditional construction techniques and sustainable building practices.
www.cercaa.orgInsurance
GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALES AND DELIVERY (GT)
(hereinafter abbreviated as « GT » )
PREAMBLE
These GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALES AND DELIVERY (GT) of CIRECA are a translation from the French original « CONDITIONS GÉNÉRALES DE VENTE ». In the case of disagreements or doubts in the interpretation of the English versions always the French original is required and determining. Only the French laws applies to the interpretation of these GT and the resulting contracts between the seller and the buyer. By submitting his order, the Customer irrevocably acknowledges the GT of CIRECA as exclusive.
These GT apply to all performancs and all types of services and products that CIRECA, an association of the Law of Associations (1901) vested with legal capacity, located at the Domaine de Boisbuchet, F-16500 Lessac, offers to its Customers via the Internet or other means of communication.
The CIRECA, the “Centre International de Recherche et d’Éducation Culturelle et Agricole”, an association of the law of 1901, proposes, executes and provides these services and products of different subjects and interests at the place called “Domaine de Boisbuchet” at 16500 Lessac (France) or any other place.
OBJECT
The services and products of the CIRECA are marketed under the trade name “Domaine de Boisbuchet”, the name under which the activity of the CIRECA is known to the public. This trade name and the site “boisbuchet.org” belong to the CIRECA (in the following: the « Seller ») and are exploited by it.
The services and products of the Seller concerned by these GT vary with the services and programs. The services and products offered by the Seller are those listed in the catalog and the detailed description published on the website www. boisbuchet.org or other publications of which the Seller is the author or for which it has given its prior authorization.
All products and services are offered within the limits of stocks and places available.
The services and products include workshops (french: « atelier/s »), seminars, products or other, each of which is accompanied by a detailed description on the site boisbuchet.org or other publications produced for this purpose and presented by the Seller or an authorized partner. Specific details and references to any particular conditions can be found in its corresponding descriptions.
The photographs used in the content of the website boisbuchet.org and / or in the descriptions of other authorized publications are as faithful as possible but can not ensure a perfect similarity with the products and services offered, especially as regards the colors, places, materials, outfits etc. and are therefore not contractual.
PRICES
The prices appearing in the descriptions of services and products are prices inclusive of VAT in EUROS (€) and taking into account the VAT applicable on the day of the order by the Customer.
The Seller reserves the right to change prices at any time, provided that the price listed in the catalog / description on the day of the order will be the only applicable to the Customer.
Prices shown include order processing fees, but do not include any travel expenses of the Customer.
The price communicated in particular for the delivery of workshops/ateliers and seminars includes, subject to a written confirmation from the Seller and to a possible change at any time:
- The complete program detailed on the website www.boisbuchet.org. (individual modifications reserved)
- Accommodation at Domaine de Boisbuchet during the workshop/atelier and seminar
- Meals indicated in the program of the respective workshop/atelier and seminar
- All the tools and materials indicated in the program of the workshop/atelier and seminar (or in an individual estimate) and necessary, possibly after consultation or after special request of the Customer, on site and without charge.
- In addition, qualified technicians are at the disposal of the customer and help, as much as possible, to the realization of Customers projects oranized in accordance with the Seller.
ORDERS, REGISTRATION AND ORDER FORM
The Customer, who wishes to buy a service, a product or other must necessarily:
- fill in the identification form on which he will indicate all the requested details;
- fill out the online order form giving all the references of the services or products chosen;
- validate the order after having checked it;
- make the payment in the prescribed conditions;
- confirm the order and payment.
The order of a workshop / atelier includes, for tax reasons, compulsory membership without voting rights and limited to one year to the CIRECA.
The confirmation of the order entails for the Customer the acceptance of these GT, the acknowledgment of having perfect knowledge of them and the waiver of its own terms of purchase or other conditions.
All data provided and the recorded confirmation will be worth proof of the transaction. The confirmation by the Customer will be worth signing and acceptance of the operations carried out.
The Seller will communicate to the Customer by e-mail the confirmation of the registered order.
WITHDRAWAL
For any remote purchase (on the site boisbuchet.org, by telephone etc.) of a service or product undated or valid during the year, the Customer profits, in accordance with the article L.221-18 of the code of the consumption of a withdrawal period of fourteen (14) days from the order for exchange or refund without penalty.
In order for the withdrawal period to be respected, it is sufficient for the Customer to transmit his communication relating to the exercise of the right of withdrawal before the expiry of the withdrawal period.
To retract, the Customer must notify, before the expiry of the aforementioned period, his / her declaration of withdrawal by means of an unambiguous declaration to the following address: CIRECA, Domaine de Boisbuchet, 16500 LESSAC (France).
Without prejudice to the foregoing and in accordance with the provisions of Article L.221-28 of the Consumer Code, the right of withdrawal can not be exercised for the remote purchase of services “of accommodation services, transport , catering, recreation”, ordered in the form of a package or separately, for a specific date or periodicity. As a result, the Customer does not benefit from a withdrawal period for workshop/ateliers and seminars orders.
PAYMENT TERMS
In general, the price is due when ordering.
Payment facilities are possible on the Seller’s proposal. If this is the case this is indicated in the specific description of the workshop/atelier or seminar and the Customer accepts definitively and irrevocably the paricular applicable payment terms registered in the form (order form ) of the workshop/atelier/seminar by his choice and with the sending of his order.
Payments will be accepted by credit card, PayPal or in exceptional cases and after consultation of the Seller by bank transfer. When you use PayPal, your financial information is never communicated to the Seller.
The Customer’s account will be debited prior to the completion of the reserved services / products.
At the request of the Customer, he will be sent a paper invoice showing the VAT.
CANCELLATION AND POSTPONEMENT CONDITIONS
Any cancellation by the Customer must be communicated in writing (by e-mail to info@boisbuchet.org or a registered letter to CIRECA, Domaine de Boisbuchet, 16500 LESSAC /France) and a copy of the original of the Seller’s confirmation letter for the canceled order must be attached to the cancellation letter.
€ 50 will be retained for each cancellation due to management fees.
Cancellations of the workshops / seminars as well as accommodations and events will result in a refund (less the management fee) or a credit note if received no later than thirty (30) days before the scheduled start date of the delivery/execution of the order.
After this period, the management fees and 20% of the amount of the total price of the ordered services/products will be retained, and 100% in case of cancellation from 14 days before the start of the delivery / execution of the order.
Replacement of participants in workshops / ateliers or seminars is permitted free of charge up to 14 days prior to the planned start of delivery / execution of the order with written notification by the Customer of the name and contact information of the replacement participant, provided that the same accommodation option can be used and the Seller agrees.
If the number of participants in a workshop / atelier or seminar is considered insufficient the Seller reserves the right to cancel this workshop / atelier or seminar at the latest one (1) month before the scheduled date. Customers will be notified immediately and the pre-paid registration fee will be fully refunded or, if agreed, a credit note will be issued.
The Seller reserves the right to postpone a workshop / atelier or seminar, to change the place of its conduct, the content of its program or the animators, if circumstances beyond its control require it.
In any case, the seller recommends that the customer take out travel cancellation insurance to cover any non-refundable travel expenses.
LIABILITY – INDEMNITIES
The Customer – or, as the case may be, the Customer as employer of the participant – undertakes to subscribe and maintain, in anticipation and during the workshop / atelier or seminar, a third-party liability insurance covering personal, material, immaterial, direct and indirect damage that may be caused by his / her actions or those of its employes to the detriment of the Seller. He also undertakes to take out and maintain third-party liability insurance also designating as insured the Seller for all acts harmful to third parties allegedly caused by the participant and containing a waiver of recourse clause such that the Seller can not be prosecuted or sued.
Seller’s liability to the Customer is limited to compensation for direct damage proven by the Customer and is in any event limited to the amount paid by the Customer for the service provided.
In no case the Seller will be liable for indirect damages such as loss of data, files, loss of business, commercial loss, loss of profits or damage to the image and reputation.
In all cases, the Seller’s liability is excluded in case of force majeure.
CLAIMS AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION – MEDIATION
Any claim relating to the booking of services or their execution must be addressed to the Seller’s Claims Department (CIRECA, After Sales Service, Domaine de Boisbuchet, 16500 Lessac / France) by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt within twenty (20) ) days from the execution of the services and accompanied by all justifying documents delivered to the Customer as part of his order and/or proving the validity of the claim (medical certificate, photograph, report), otherwise the claim will not be processed.
For any order made online via www.boisbuchet.org, complaints may also be made on this site through the “contact” section within twenty (20) days from the execution of the services and also accompanied by all justifying documents delivered to the Customer as part of his order and/or proving the validity of the claim (medical certificate, photograph, report) otherwise the claim will not be processed.
Any Customer who has not obtained a satisfactory response to his complaint within sixty (60) days after the referral to the Seller’s After Sales Service Department, may use a free conventional mediation procedure under the conditions of Articles L611-1. and following of the code of consumption, or any other alternative way of settling disputes. The Customer is informed of the possibility of resorting to a mediation procedure with the Mediator of Tourism and Travel according to the modalities fixed on the site www.mtv.travel (MTV Mediation Tourism Travel – BP 80 30375 823 Paris Cedex 17, e- mail: info@mtv.travel, tel .: (+33) 142679668) and this, within a maximum of one year from the written complaint made to the Seller.
All disputes arising from orders placed in accordance with these GTs that could not be resolved amicably between the Seller and the Customer must be submitted to the competent courts in accordance with the provisions of French law.
For the purpose of these GT, the Seller chooses his domicile at his place of business, so the “Domaine de Boisbuchet” at 16500 Lessac (France).
ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAW ON COMPUTING AND FREEDOM – ARCHIVING
The personal information that is communicated by the Customer to the Seller in application and in the execution of orders and/or sales may be communicated to the Seller’s contractual partners for the purposes of said orders.
In accordance with French regulations (in particular Article 6 of Law No. 78-17 of January 6, 1978 relating to computers, files and liberties) which is applicable to these files, the Customer may write to the Seller for oppose such disclosure of information concerning him. He may also at any time exercise his rights of access and rectification in the Seller’s files.
The Seller will archive order forms and invoices on a reliable and durable support as a true copy in accordance with the provisions of Article 1353 (1358) of the Civil Code. The computerized records of the Seller will be considered by the parties as proof of communications, orders, payments and transactions between the parties.
CONFIDENTIALITY AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
The Customer may onlyuse the Seller’s proposals, works, studies and concepts, methods and tools, and / or its vicarious agents (eg workshop tutors) for the purposes specified in the order.
The Seller and / or his vicarious agents hold alone the intellectual rights relating to the workshops or seminars he provides; so that the totality of the teaching aids used within the framework of the order, whatever its form (paper, digital, oral …), remains with their exclusive intellectual property.
The intellectual property of a work created during the execution of a workshop/atelier remains with the author (s). However, it is expressly agreed between the Customer and the Seller that the Seller has the right of use and irrevocable and unlimited exploitation of that work in the broadest sense, including both geographical and temporal. For this purpose, and as needed, the Customer agrees to theSeller’s use and exploitation of this work by the Seller when ordering his participation in the workshop under these GTs. The Seller must indicate in case of the use and exploitation of the work appropriately the paternity of the Customer.
The Customer is prohibited from using, reproducing, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, adapting, modifying, translating, representing, marketing or distributing to third parties (- or to the members of his staff not participating in the workshops/ateliers or seminars), the materials or other educational resources made available without the express written permission of the Seller or the right holders.
Exceptions and individual solutions that are distinct from the aforementioned regulations are possible after the prior consultation and approval of the Seller.
The Parties undertake to keep confidential any information and documents of an economic, technical or commercial nature concerning the other party, to which they may have access during the execution of the order.
RENUNCIATION – SAFEGUARD CLAUSE
The fact that the Seller does not avail himself at any given time of any clause of the present GT can not be a waiver of the use of these same clauses at a later date.
If certain provisions of these GT are totally or partially invalid or void, due to changes in the law, decisions of the Supreme Court or for other reasons, the parties agree that the remaining provisions of these GT remain unchanged and valid. In addition, it is agreed that the parties undertake to replace the invalid provision with an effective provision that is as close as possible to the meaning and purpose of the invalid provision and that the parties must accept in lieu of the ineffective provision.
DOMICILATION
The domicilation is made by the Seller at its head office at Domaine de Boisbuchet, 16500 Lessac (France)
APPLICABLE LAW
These GTs and all the relationship between the Seller and its Customers are subject to French law.
In the absence of an amicable resolution, the disputes will be brought before the courts territorially competent instead of the registered office of the Seller.
Domaine de Boisbuchet Legal Notice
This legal notice in English is a translation of the original French version (« mentions légales »). In the case of understanding or interpretation problems, the French version is always decisive and exclusively applicable. The English-language legal notice is subject exclusively and as far as possible to French law and always to French jurisdiction. By using the boisbuchet.org website, the user accepts these rules permanently and irrevocably.
In accordance with the provisions of Law No. 2004-575 of 21 June, 2004 on confidence in the digital economy, the internaut and therefore the user is informed of the following:
The legal notices apply to any user using the site www.boisbuchet.org
By consulting it, you unreservedly agree to respect these legal notices. The legal notices may be modified at any time without notice and we urge you to consult them regularly.
Publisher / Owner of the site www.boisbuchet.org:
The “Centre International de Recherche et d’Éducation Culturelle et Agricole” (C.I.R.E.C.A.)
Address / head office: CIRECA, Domaine de Boisbuchet, 16500 LESSAC (France)
Office: +33 (0) 5 45 89 67 00, info@boisbuchet.org
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Legal status: Association declared (law of association of 1901), having legal capacity
Legal representative: Alexander von Vegesack, Chairman
Responsible for publication: Alexander von Vegesack
SIRET number: 41384496000018
Hosting: OVH, 2 rue Kellermann – 59100 Roubaix – France
Conception and edition:
CIRECA
Guillermo Gil
Pablo Sevilla
Development:
Marc Baugh
Objectives – access to the Website www.boisbuchet.org
The site www.boisbuchet.org (hereinafter the “Site”) is owned and operated by CIRECA, a registered association under the 1901 law.
This site is intended to provide information on the “DOMAINE DE BOISBUCHET”, trade name known to the public of CIRECA, as well as its activities, its service offerings and its products. CIRECA puts for this reason the GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALES AND DELIVERY (GT) online on the Site which are intended to supplement these legal notices.
By choosing to access the Site, the internaut and therefore the user accepts, expressly and irrevocably, these legal notices and terms of use.
The user acknowledges having the skills and means necessary to access and use the Site. CIRECA can not be held in any case responsible for the elements and events outside its control related to the use of the Site.
It is reminded that the fact of accessing or remaining fraudulently in a computer system, to hinder or distort the operation, to introduce or to modify fraudulently the data of such a system is strictly prohibited and constitutes a criminal offense.
Intellectual Property – Site Content
The entire Site is subject to French and international legislation on copyright and intellectual property.
The content, photographs, texts, slogans, drawings, images, videos, animated sequences with or without sound and all other works integrated in the Site are the property of CIRECA or the rights holders and / or are the subject of an authorization of use.
No component of the Site may be copied, reproduced, modified, republished, loaded, misrepresented, transmitted or distributed in any manner whatsoever, in any medium whatsoever, in part or in full, without prior written authorization of CIRECA.
Reproductions, in paper or computer format, of the Site and works reproduced therein are authorized provided they are strictly reserved for personal and private use.
Any authorized use of the elements composing or appearing on the Site must be done without any denaturing, modification or alteration in any way whatsoever. The following statement must appear on any authorized copy of all or part of the content of the Site: “© Domaine de Boisbuchet”
The brands mentioned on the Site are registered by the companies that own them.
Any unauthorized use of all or any of these rights by third parties may constitute a copyright infringement and / or an infringement of counterfeigt and may result in civil and / or criminal prosecution on the part of CIRECA and / or the right holders, as well as the payment of damages and interest.
The CIRECA declines any responsibility in the event of delay of update of the Site, as well as in case of interruption or temporary unavailability of the service. CIRECA reserves the right to correct, at any time and without notice, the content of the Site.
Links to other sites
In order to facilitate access to other sites that may provide additional information, CIRECA has inserted a number of links into the Site. Nevertheless, the responsibility of the CIRECA can not be engaged for a third site to which one would have access via boisbuchet.org. CIRECA has no way of controlling the content of these third-party sites. In any case, CIRECA is not responsible for the unavailability of sites, their content, advertising or other elements available on third party sites. CIRECA can not in any way be held responsible for the content of sites linked to it by hypertext links. The use and content of these sites is the sole responsibility of the author and owner or the users themselves. The content of these sites could be modified, without the knowledge of CIRECA. In addition, it is the user’s responsibility to take the necessary precautions to avoid any contamination by the site of a third including one or more viruses.
Personal data
The Site « boisbuchet.org » is declared to the National Commission of the Computing and the Liberties (CNIL), in application of the law n ° 78-17 of January 6th, 1978 relating to the computing, the files and the liberties.
In accordance with the law n° 78-17 of January 6th, 1978 modified relative to the data processing and the freedoms and to the General Regulations on the Protection of the Data, the user has a right of access to the data and of information, a right to the rectification of the data, to their erasure and to the limitation of their use, a right to the portability of the data and a right of recourse of the nominative data concerning the user by sending an email to the following address: info@boisbuchet.org or CIRECA, Domaine de Boisbuchet, 16500 Lessac (France).
All data collected on this site, by any means whatsoever, is for the reserved use of CIRECA and its vicarious agents. They will only be used for the purpose of responding to the user as efficiently as possible and for the purposes of the operation of the Site and are in no way communicated to third parties.
The user can get all the information on all these questions by contacting CIRECA.
