Students at Pierre Van Cortlandt Middle School are bonding while getting muddy for a purpose.

The kids are building a bench – a kind of an abstract bench.

"My vision for this particular bench is to have students up here sitting talking about life resolving problems if there are problems between them," says Martin McDonald, of Pierre Van Cortlandt Middle School.

The bench is built using a muddy mixture called 'COB,' that consists of clay, sand, straw and water.

The ingredients are combined to form the mixture and then stacked to form the bench. Overtime, the blend will harden.

The project began in April and is expected to be completed by Nov. 28.