By Athena Swentzell Steen, Bill Steen, David Bainbridge and David Eisenberg
Imagine building a house with superior seismic stability, fire resistance, and thermal insulation,
using an annually renewable resource, for half the cost of a comparable conventional home. Welcome
to the straw bale house! Whether you build an entire house or something more modest-a home office or
studio, a retreat cabin or guest cottage-plastered straw bale construction is an exceptionally durable
and inexpensive option. What's more, it's fun, because the technique is easy to learn and easy to do yourself.
And the resulting living spaces are unusually quiet and comfortable.
The Straw Bale House describes the many benefits of building with straw bales:
- super insulation, with R-values as high as R-50
- good indoor air quality and noise reduction
- a speedy construction process
- construction costs as low as $10-per-square-foot
- use of natural and abundant renewable resources
- a better solution than burning agricultural waste straw, which creates tons of air pollutants
Printed on acid-free, recycled paper.
About the Authors
Athena Swentzell Steen and Bill Steen live in Canelo, Arizona, and are founders
of the Canelo Project, which develops and promotes innovative,
community-enhancing approaches to building and living. David Bainbridge is a
restoration ecologist at San Diego State University, and is co-author of Village
Homes' Solar House Designs. David Eisenberg is a builder with rammed earth,
adobe, glass, steel, and concrete who has organized the straw ball wall testing
program in Tucson, Arizona.
