There were six homes finished in the project for the Straw Bale Housing Initiative. I have seen six different designs and six different sizes, all showing beautiful Missouri ingenuity. All of the homes, while being different, were well built, using straw bale building codes.
This home intrigues me for a number of reasons, especially the way the builders used their design and material gathering. They specifically determined to build as ‘green’ as possible, using recycled and reclaimed material wherever they could. They salvaged vinyl billboard signs to use as protective ‘tarps’ until the straw was safely stuccoed. Their windows don’t all match, but have charm as does the entire cottage. The builders lived in Japan for several years. Whether intentional or not, they have brought a lot of feng shui into their home so that while the house is very small, it has flow and comfort so that it doesn’t feel crowded. They sifted their own local soil for the clay to use when they stuccoed. The colored their own stucco in unique ways. They used recycled denim fluffed for insulation. Just lots of things that make this home very unique and very much their own. Their intent is to enclose the front area more and have a greenhouse, sun space. Their house is oriented for good passive solar gain.
You can view more of the homes in a brochure prepared for a tour recently. TOUR BROCHURE