The big bad wolf may have blown away the little pigs' straw house, but with all the contemporary innovations in straw construction, we cannot help but be blown away by the technique ourselves. Although some form or other of this building-type has existed since the paleolithic era, there has recently been a resurgence in the method, with the sudden realization that our ancestors really knew what they were doing with this vernacular method. Typically used as a fibrous binder in clays and muds through history, the spread of the hay baler saw the method boom as an alternative to masonry bricks at the end of the 19th century. In recent years, the technique has had a revival, as more and more people are become conscious of construction's effect on the environment. The renewable resource is essentially a "waste product" of growing crops such as wheat, and so is low cost and readily available. On top of that, it has excellent thermal performance and low environmental impact, is naturally fire-retardant and vapor permeable (meaning that mechanical ventilation can be reduced or avoided altogether). What's not to love? The uncommonness of straw-construction however, is perhaps its main downfall, as the lack of ...
The big bad wolf may have blown away the little pigs' straw house, but with all the contemporary innovations in straw construction, we cannot help but be blown away by the technique ourselves. Although some form or other of this building-type has existed since the paleolithic era, there has recently been a resurgence in the method, with the sudden realization that our ancestors really knew what they were doing with this vernacular method. Typically used as a fibrous binder in clays and muds through history, the spread of the hay baler saw the method boom as an alternative to masonry bricks at the end of the 19th century. In recent years, the technique has had a revival, as more and more people are become conscious of construction's effect on the environment. The renewable resource is essentially a "waste product" of growing crops such as wheat, and so is low cost and readily available. On top of that, it has excellent thermal performance and low environmental impact, is naturally fire-retardant and vapor permeable (meaning that mechanical ventilation can be reduced or avoided altogether). What's not to love? The uncommonness of straw-construction however, is perhaps its main downfall, as the lack of ...