A UK company has been finding a cost effective way of building homes from straw bales, and has broadened its range of buildings to include bird hides, home offices and an extension to a church.
Straw Works has been working with straw buildings for many years, and its latest project – called "affordable houses for ordinary people" – is all about empowering clients, with no prior experience, to build straw structures at lower cost than conventional construction methods.
Straw Works has developed simple, effective and affordable designs based on its straw bale council house model. To support its design work, it has created a suite of training courses, an online module, a DIY book and a Skype-based support service. It offers clients considering building their own home the chance to train on other builds. Straw Work designs always exceed UK standards of thermal efficiency. The company can also achieve PassivHaus standards.
The Straw Works ethos is to use natural materials that are low in embodied energy and meet the government's sustainable homes standard. A straw bale house can last up to 200 years, remaining zero carbon-rated throughout its life.
Nicolette Fox is part of the wordworks network
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