Resources & Research

Books

Researched & recommended by Barbara Jones:

Jones, Barbara. (2015) Building with Straw Bales: A Practical Manual for Self-Builders and Architects. Green Books, Cambridge

Gruber, Herbert.  Santler, Helmuth. Gruber, Astrid. (2012) Neues Bauen mit Stroh in Europe

Holmes, Stafford. and Wingate, Michael (2002) Building with Lime: A Practical Introduction. Practical Action Publishing, Rugby, Warwickshire

King, Bruce. et al. (2006) Design of Straw Bale Buildings: The state of the art. Green Building Press, San Rafael, California USA.

Lacinski, Paul. and Bergeron, Michel. (2000) Serious Straw Bale. Chelsea Green Publishing, Vermont, USA

Magwood, C. and Walker, C. (2003 ) Straw Bale Details. New Society Publishers, Ontario, Canada.

Minke, G. Handbuch Lehmbau (2009)

Nitzkin, Rikki. Termens, Maren. (2010) Casas de Paja

Steen, A. S. and Steen, B. (2000) The Beauty of Straw Bale Homes. Chelsea Green Publishing, Vermont, USA,

The Strawbale Alternative Solutions Resource pdf (2013)

Wanek, C. (2009 ) The New Strawbale Home. Gibbs Smith Publisher, Utah, USA

Wiesman, A. and Bryce, K. (2008) Using Natural Finishes Green Books, Dartington, Devon

Strawbale building

Jones, Barbara. (2009) Building with Straw Bales: A Practical Guide for the UK and Ireland. Green Books, Cambridge

King, Bruce. et al. (2006) Design of Straw Bale Buildings: The state of the art. Green Building Press, San Rafael, California USA.

Lacinski, Paul. and Bergeron, Michel. (2000) Serious Straw Bale. Chelsea Green Publishing, Vermont, USA

Magwood, C. and Walker, C. (2003 ) Straw Bale Details. New Society Publishers, Ontario, Canada.

Minke, G. Handbuch Lehmbau (2009)

Nitzkin, Rikki. Termens, Maren. (2010) Casas de Paja

Steen, A. S. and Steen, B. (2000) The Beauty of Straw Bale Homes. Chelsea Green Publishing, Vermont, USA,

The Strawbale Alternative Solutions Resource pdf (2013)

Wanek, C. (2009 ) The New Strawbale Home. Gibbs Smith Publisher, Utah, USA

Gruber, Herbert.  Santler, Helmuth. Gruber, Astrid. (2012) Neues Bauen mit Stroh in Europe

Bainbridge, David, Steen, Athena. S., Steen, Bill (1994) The Straw Bale House. Chelsea Green Publishing, Vermont, USA

Callahan, Tim & Snell, Clarke Building Green, New Edition: A Complete How-To Guide to Alternative Building Methods Earth Plaster, Strawbale, Cordwood, Cob, Living Roofs  Lark Crafts.

Corum, N. and Goodall,J (2005) Building a Straw Bale House: The red feather construction handbook. Princeton Architectural Press, New York, USA.

Elpel, Thomas J. (2011) Living Homes: Stone Masonry, Log and Straw Bale Construction HOPS Press; 6 edition

Hodge, Brian (2006) Building Your Straw Bale Home: From Foundations to the Roof Landlinks Press

Hollis, M. (2005) Practical Straw Bale Building. Landlinks Press, Victoria, Australia.

King, Bruce. (1996) Buildings of Earth and Straw. Ecological Design Press; distributed by Chelsea Green Publishing, Vermont, USA.

Law, Ben. (2010 ) The Woodland House. Permaculture Press, London.

Macdonald Steve. O. and Myhrman, Matts. (1998 ) Build it with Bales. Version Two  Treasure Chest Books

Magwood, C., Mack, P. and Therrien, T. (2005) More Straw Bale Building. New Society Publishers, Ontario, Canada.

Minke, G. and Mahlke, F. (2005) Building with Straw. Birkhauser, Basel, Switzerland

Roberts, C. (2002) A House of Straw. Chelsea Green Publishing, Vermont, USA. (2010) Kindle edition, self published

Steen, B., Steen, A. S. and Bingham, W. J. (2005) Small Straw Bale. Gibbs Smith Publisher, Utah, USA.

Wanek, C (2010) The Hybrid House: Designing with Sun, Wind, Water, and Earth. Gibbs M. Smith Inc;

Articles

Alcorn A. and M. Donn. 2010. Life Cycle Potential of Strawbale and Timber for Carbon Sequestration in House Construction. Second International Conference on Sustainable Construction Materials and Technologies, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy, June 28 – June 30, 2010.

Offin, Maria. 2010. Strawbale Construction: Assessing and Minimizing Embodied Energy. MSc. diss., Queen’s University Canada.

Natural plasters

Wiesman, A. and Bryce, K. (2008) Using Natural Finishes Green Books, Dartington, Devon

Holmes, Stafford. and Wingate, Michael (2002) Building with Lime: A Practical Introduction. Practical Action Publishing, Rugby, Warwickshire

English Heritage (2012) Mortars, Renders and Plasters (Practical Building Conservation) Ashgate Publishing Limited

Fromme, Irmela. Herz, Uta. Lehm – und Kalkputz (2012)

Guelberth, C. R. and Chiras, D. (2002 ) The Natural Plaster Book. New Society Publishers; Gabriola Island, BC, Canada. distributed by Consortium Book Sales and Distribution, Minneapolis, USA.

Henderson, James & Angliss (illus)+ 1 more (2013) Earth Render – The art of clay plaster, render and paints Python Press

Henry, Alison & Stewart, John (ed) (2012) Mortars, Renders & Plasters (Practical Building Conservation) Ashgate Pub Co

Handbook on ECVET clay plastering http://lernpunktlehm.de/wpll/?page_id=90

McAfee, Pat. Lime Works (1998)

Reichel, Alexander (2005) Detail Practice: Plaster, Render, Paint and Coatings: Details, Products, Case Studies (Detail Practice Series) Birkhäuser GmbH

Schofield, Jane. (1998)  Lime in Building: A Practical Guide. Black Dog Press, Devon.

Soens, M. (2005) Italian Plaster Techniques. Sterling Publishing, New York, USA.

Other inspirational books

Anderson, W. and Chadwick, R (2007) Green Up: An A-Z of environmentally friendly home improvements. Green Books, Devon.

Bee, Becky. (1998) The Cob Builders Handbook. Groundworks, Oregon, USA. Available from www.beckybee.net.

Easton, D. (2007) The Rammed Earth House (2nd edn). Chelsea Green Publishing, Vermont, USA.

Broome, Jon (2007) The Green Self-build Book: How to Design and Build Your Own Eco-home Green Books

Elizabeth, Lynne & Adams, Cassandra (ed) (2005) Alternative Construction: Contemporary Natural Building Methods    John Wiley & Sons; 2Rev Ed

Evans, I., Smith, M. G. and Smiley, L. (2002) The Hand-sculpted House: A practical guide to building a cob cottage. Chelsea Green Publishing, Vermont, USA.

Kahn, L. (2004) Home Work: Handbuilt shelter. Shelter Publications, California, USA. Khalili, N. 1996 ) Ceramic Houses and Earth Architecture: How to build your own. Chelsea Green Publishing, Vermont, USA.

McCloud, K. (2009) Grand Designs Handbook: The blueprint for building your dream home. Harper Collins, London.

Norton, J.and Oliver,P (1997) Building With Earth Practical Action Publishing, Rugby, Warwickshire

Olsen, Richard (2012) Handmade Houses: A Free-Spirited Century of Earth-Friendly Home Design Rizzoli International Publications

Taylor, J. S. (2008) Shelter Sketchbook. Chelsea Green Publishing, Vermont, USA.

Weismann, A. and Bryce, K. (2006) Building with Cob. Green Books, Devon.

Journals

The Building Limes Forum Newsletter available from www.buildinglimesforum.org.uk

The CASBA Journal Archive.  The Newsletter of the California Straw Building Association.  http://www.strawbuilding.org

Green Building Magazine available from www.greenbuildingpress.co.uk

The Last Straw, the international journal of strawbale and natural building since 1993. Published in the USA in pdf and hardcopy format available from www.thelaststraw.org   

Passive House Plus magazine available from www.passivehouseplus.ie

Sustainability, a practical journal for green building, renewable energy, permaculture and sustainable communities available from www.sustainability.ie

Websites

The following websites contain resources relevant to strawbale and natural building.

www.strawworks.co.uk design & build, training, online course, free technical details

www.baubiologie.at a major European site for natural building and the European strawbale network

www.buildinglimesforum.org.uk encourages expertise and understanding in the appropriate use of building limes

www.buildingwithawareness.com dvd on strawbale building

www.cat.org.uk  Visitor centre in Wales offering solutions on climate change, pollution and the waste of precious resources. Free information service and a wide range of residential courses, events for schools etc.

www.greenspec.co.uk A directory of sustainable construction products and contact details of manufacturers and suppliers

www.lernpunktlehm.de European website of the Leonardo project on clay plastering

www.lowimpact.org  A non-profit organisation that aims to help people reduce their impact on the environment, improve their quality of life and gain new skills.

http://mha-net.org/html/sblinks.htm Surfin’ Strawbale

www.naturalbuildingcoalition.ca Ontario Strawbale Building Coalition

www.naturalhomes.org A resource for finding courses and workshops related to natural home building worldwide.

www.oekofilm.de films on strawbale building and fire tests

www.schoolofnaturalbuilding.co.uk Provides training in strawbale building, lime and clay plastering, low impact foundations and other natural materials.

www.scotlime.org Promotes traditional building skills and provides advice and training in the use of lime.

www.strawbale.com information, courses and dvds

www.strawbalecentral.com information on strawbale building

www.strawbuild.org Building, design and training

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Straw_Bale_Construction

Other websites and organizations by country:

Austria: www.baubiologie.at

Australia: www.ausbale.org

Belgiumhttp://clusters.wallonie.be/ecoconstruction-fr/

Canada: www.naturalbuildingcoalition.ca Ontario, information, support and research

Czech Republic: www.jakubwihan.com Kuba Wihan, design, build and training

www.slamenedomy.cz

Denmark: www.lob.dk National Association for Ecological Construction

Estonia: www.equilibre.ee Sustainable Living, ecological construction and consultation

France: Reseau Francais de la construction paille https://rfcp.fr/

www.lamaisonenpaille.com  Strawbale building and mass stoves

Ireland: www.cultivate.ie information, shop, courses and events

www.sonairte.ie an interactive visitor centre promoting ecological awareness and sustainable living

Italy: www.laboa.org Stefano Soldati, La Boa Permaculture Centre, Nr Venice Strawbale building, lime and clay plastering, training and design.

Germany: www.fasba.de National organisation for strawbale building

www.stroh-unlimited.de Friederike Fuchs, architect, Strawbale, clay and lime design, build, engineering and training.

www.earthbuilding.eu

The Netherlands: www.strobouw.nl

New Zealand: www.earthbuilding.org.nz 

Pakistan: www.paksbab.org US organisation forStraw Bale & Appropriate Building

Poland: www.cohabitat.net  social network

Slovakia: www.ozartur.sk strawbale building, clay and lime training and information

Spain: www.casasdepaja.org   Strawbale building network, training

UK: www.aecb.net The Sustainable Building Association. Promotes environmentally responsible practices within building. Has a forum, enewsletter and magazine

www.ebuk.uk.com  Raising awareness of earth as a building material

www.strawbalebuildinguk.com  Home of the strawbale building organisation in the UK

www.alternativetechnology.org.uk

www.sustainablebuild.co.uk A reference point for sustainable building, development and eco-construction techniques

www.spab.org.uk a membership organisation fighting to save historic and listed buildings from decay, demolition and destruction.

www.wamt.org UK organisation for tradeswomen and women training in the trades.

USA: www.builderswithoutborders.org An international network of ecological builders who advocate the use of straw and earth in construction.

www.caneloproject.com a non-profit organization dedicated to the exploration and development of living systems, including growing food and building that creates friendship, beauty and simplicity.

www.dcat.net The Development Center for Appropriate Technology Works to enhance the health of the planet and our communities by promoting a shift to sustainable construction and development.

www.ecobuildnetwork.org Works to transform the way we build shelter.

Research

Comprehensive results of tests on fire resistance, thermal resistance, sound insulation, structure, moisture and earthquake resistance can be found here; http://www.baubiologie.at/wp/strohballenbau/zertifikate-und-studien/

And here:

http://www.ecobuildnetwork.org/projects/research/straw-bale-test-program

Other tests that may not be found above:

Acoustics

Air-sound-insulation of clay plastered non-loadbearing sb-wall (Danish Research 2004) http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Straw_Bale_Construction/Resources/Technical_Studies

Earthquake resistance

http://nees.unr.edu/projects/straw-house results from Paksbab accessed 10/8/14

Truong, B. et al. (2008) Shear Strength of Straw Bale Plasters. The 14th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Beijing. Available at http://nisee.berkeley.edu/elibrary/Text/2009012814. Accessed 15/01/14

Fire Tests

FASBA (2008) Classification of the Behaviour in case of Fire, in Accordance with DIN EN 13501-1: 2007. Institute for Baustoffe, Massivebau und Brandschutz, Hannover, Germany. http://fasba.de/

Structural Tests

Walker, P. (2004) Compression Load Testing Straw Bale Walls. Dept. Architecture & Civil Engineering, University of Bath. Available at http://people.bath.ac.uk/abspw/straw%20bale%20test%20report.pdf. Accessed 15/01/14

Building Regulations, Guidelines and Codes

Europe: Most countries except France and the UK have proscriptive Codes and only infill techniques are legal.

Germany: http://fasba.de/  Only infill techniques legal

New Zealand: Building with straw requires a Designer to do the analysis to apply for a Building Permit as an ‘Alternative Solution’ under the Building Code.

UK: No specific written Regulations on strawbale building but Standards available. Loadbearing, infill and hybrid techniques all legal.

USA: www.dcat.net/about_dcat/current/codes.php. Loadbearing, infill and hybrid techniques all legal

Embodied Energy, Performance and Life-cycle Analysis

www.buildingscience.com/doctypes/digests Useful information about building physics

Embodied Energy Coefficients – Alphabetical. Victoria University of Wellington. Available at http://www.victoria.ac.nz/architecture/centres/cbpr/resources/pdfs/ee-coefficients.pdf Accessed 10/8/14