10 Amazing Buildings Made of Dirt and Straw
Thu, Nov 13, 2008
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The Three Little Pigs have nothing on these digs. Ancient technique and modern groove set these structures apart from the little hillside boxes filling our neighborhoods. There are no cookie-cutter house plans here. Just clean, green, natural buildings smoothed from dirt, straw, clay, and loads of ingenuity. No Big Bad Wolf will blow these down.
1. Hollyhock house mimicks Devon UK styles, on Cortes Island, British Columbia, Canada.
Gerry Thomasen
Cob, as this style of construction is known, has been used by crafty home-builders as far back as the 11th century. Evidence of these ultra-stable, fire-resistant structures has been found in North Africa, the Middle East, and, most commonly, Devon, Wales, and Cornwall in the United Kingdom. Earthen home-building gained resurgence in the late 1990’s, in England and Ireland, and has become all the rage in Canada’s British Columbia, displayed in exhibitions and neighborhood streets alike.
2. Won’t have to worry about tracking dirt into this Baja Mexico lounge. It’s there on purpose.
Cobworks
A 2007 family home, measuring 2,150 ft2, fitted with solar power and sub-floor heating ran a mere $210,000 CAD (112,000 GBP), making cob construction one of the most economical means of home-building, in addition to being among the most ethical. Impressive stats in these wild economic times, and positioning this rustic style of design at the forefront of charitable efforts to house the poor.
3. Smooth and groovy, a micro-house on display at Stanley Park, British Columbia.
Neil-san
Perhaps these Hobbit-esque homes are the wave of the future. Customizable and conservation-minded, earthen materials are the few things this planet has, in spades.
4. Natural minimalism at it’s best in a green-built family home.
House Alive
5. Just look for Wilma Flintstone scrubbing up in this South African kitchen.
Unknown
6. A wood-stove cobworks kitchen pays homage to pioneer days, with a modern flare.
House Alive
7. Praise the lord and pass the bong in this righteous meditation circle.
House Alive
8. It seems awfully easy to be green if you have digs like this house on Mayne Island, Canada.
Cobworks
9. Country corn-cob motif seems somehow appropriate on this little cob-built tool shed.
The Richardsons
10. There is no limit to the shapes and functionalities of cob house design.
House Alive
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2 Trackbacks For This Post
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ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS PICKS « The Conservation Report Says:
November 18th, 2008 at 4:44 am[...] GREEN CONSTRUCTION: 10 Amazing Buildings Made of Dirt and Straw [...]
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Lunch Break Eco Links Of The Week | Modern Eco Homes Says:
December 10th, 2008 at 2:31 am[...] Environmental Graffiti has a great story on homes that are as far from “traditional” as you can get. Just clean, green, natural buildings smoothed from dirt, straw, clay, and loads of ingenuity. Click here view. [...]
November 14th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Nice, nice, nice! I was just planning myself a quite simmular house in a mountain.
November 14th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Wow, those are truly stunning.
http://www.anonymity.cz.tc
November 14th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
They look like houses in Lord of the Ring. Old but nice.
November 14th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
I want one!
November 14th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
The idea of building a cob house has fascinated me for quite some time. I could get into living in #8. It seems like more of these houses would save a lot of dry wall material going into landfills!
November 14th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Amen sista!
November 14th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
A truly wonderful collection of sustainable homes. So much more homely than the brick and timber ‘boxes’ that are being built around the UK. Even the interior décor is sustainable. Reminds me of the Lammas project (http://www.lammas.org.uk/) which really does remind me of Hobbit homes.
Would love to build one myself, solar panels and heat pumps included. Sure it could be done without detracting from the outward appearance of the building.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
Straw bale homes offer very high insulation values, but not enough information on moisture is conclusive and forthcoming, instead, a glut of various plans and theories over the years are available and no one definitive method of handling moisture is conclusively presented. The “final foolproof methodology” for straw bale construction is still and elusive thing!
November 14th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
Very cool - it is amazing how we are coming full circle in new building projects back to this sort of construction. I love that we are headed back to building structures that use some of what is used in these structures.
Jeanne
November 24th, 2008 at 8:37 am
Hi,
Very Nice….
I want a sketch for one of these buildings it’s so nice, from where I can Get One?
Thanks
November 29th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
I would like more information about the location and builder of these houses.Please, help!
April 7th, 2009 at 5:44 am
10 amazing bldgs made of dirt and straw!
Wow, thank you so much for the wonderful and inspirational article!!!
Ft. Collins, Co
al