Strawbale house

Whiptail is a recently completed strawbale home which forms part of the Wild Mountains Environmental Education Centre. It sits on the spectacular west-facing slope of the Border Ranges with living spaces oriented to the north to capture winter sun through large recycled timber doors and other spaces opening to the expansive views of the Scenic […]

We had the strawbales for our house delivered in mid December last year and there was a bit of huffing and puffing getting them unloaded from the truck and stored under cover. Would you believe that we had rain while we were unloading the bales from the truck, thankfully it was only light. On the morning there were 5 of us to unload the ~250 bales so it didn't take too long. Now we have the bales it was time to start putting them up. There are a few ways to make a strawbale house each with…

Wouldn’t it be nice to own your own green dream home, made with recycled and natural materials and packed with custom features? Whether you’re an experienced builder or have never picked up a power tool in your life, you can build a natural eco-friendly home with user-friendly, low-cost materials like cob, cordwood, straw and the […]

A sustainable building material wins favor on multiple fronts.

Building with straw bales has many appealing benefits, but is no panacea. It has drawbacks just like any other system.

We were the designer, builder, Passive House consultant and client for this project so it has a special place in our hearts. It is also the first strawbale certified Passive House outside of Europe. We chose strawbale and timber frame because of the very low carbon footprint of these materials. The house is also one […]

Arkin Tilt Architects design truly beautiful straw bale homes. They are pioneers in showing the world that straw bale construction can be sleek and modern.

The south wall, complete to seven courses with infill. This is the office window, with the south guest bedroom window further away. The next job will be the windows and window detailing.

The idea of stacking straw bales to create a super insulated and natural shelter first appeared on the Nebraska plains over 100 years ago and some of these original homes are still in use.