ISSUE #2
- Our new Straw Bale Office/ Show Home takes shape
- We're still Looking for Straw Built
Homes
- The first Mobile Straw Built Structure!
- Latest Project News
Our new Straw Bale Office/ Show Home takes shape
We often get asked by our clients who visit us, why we don't
have a straw bale office. We answer saying that "We're often too
busy designing other people's straw built homes to design ourselves one!"
(The old cobbler's son who-has-no-shoes-story :-)
Well this year, we've decided to rectify this, and plans are now underway
to build a Straw Bale Office/ Show Home on a beautiful piece of land overlooking
Ohiwa Harbour - here in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.
We foresee the new building not only acting as our office, but also acting
as a Stylish Straw Built Show Home, that people can visit and experience
first-hand the unique atmosphere and feel of a straw constructed building.
It will also demonstrate a lot of the enviromentally friendly methods
we use in our designs - solar hot water, passive underfloor heating, etc.
And, as they say in those cheesy Ads, "That's not all !" - we
are also going to be offering the Show Home as an overnight accommodation
option for people who want to savour the straw bale experience a little
longer. And why not? Sit out on the deck, have a drink watch the sun-set,
then head-off inside when it starts getting cold to the warmth of your
own straw bale hideaway.
Watch this space! Once again we'd love to hear
your thoughts on all this :-)
We're
Still Looking for Straw Built Homes !
We are still actively involved in gathering as much information about
New Zealand’s straw bale buildings as possible, so that we can further
their acceptance within the ‘formal’ building industry. This
involves us chatting to as many people about straw bale homes as possible,
as well as assessing existing straw bale buildings all around New Zealand
in different weather conditions and environments.
So, if you own a straw bale home, or perhaps have been, or currently
are involved with straw bale construction, we’re keen to hear from
you!
We’d really welcome the opportunity to hear about how your straw
bale ‘experience’, and what your thoughts on straw bale construction
are. Most importantly, we’d love the chance to visit a straw bale
home that you might know of, so that we can do a few tests to assess its
performance :-)
Please email us on:
news@sustainable-structures.com
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The First Mobile Straw Built Structure?
Now here's some fun. Friends of ours here in the Bay of Plenty needed
a studio they could use, and we needed a straw built test structure we
could analyse and assess over the years (as part of our pro-active stance
of always wanting to learn more about straw built construction), so we
collaborated in building what we consider is the first mobile straw built
structure!
It's constructed on the back of a huge flat-bed trailer, using load-bearing
straw bale construction. Once all the straw was in place, it was actually
towed into position on site! It was a bit nerve-wracking but everything
went-off without a hitch (parden the pun :-) It was then stucco'd and
finished using recycled materials and loads of hard work.
It's now
complete, and is a great example of what can be achieved with a little
ingenuity! We hope to prod a few holes in it over the years to test the
straw, and demonstrate its durability to all those skeptics out there
:-)
We'd love the opportunity for you to see the studio for yourself, so if
you are in the area (Whakatane/ Opotiki), let
us know, and we'll help you get to see it.
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Latest Project News
- We recently
achieved a building consent for a straw built project here in the central
north island, within 2 weeks. Must be something of a record!
- We've just completed the working drawings and specifications for John
and Barb's house in Hamilton - over 100 pages of drawings and 70 pages
of specifications! We also successfully received building consent - within
8 working days!
Some 3D modelling we did on John & Barb's House.
- We're currently busy with a nice little project in Te Awamutu in the
North Island. It's a modest 2 bedroom 'barn' that will utilise stucco'd
straw not only for the walls but for the ceiling as well. It'll definitely
be nice and warm inside this home, during those cold Waikato winters!
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