4.12

Straw Bale Houses: Low-Cost and Carbon-Smart Homes

In this step we’ll learn more about how straw bales – a waste byproduct of grain harvesting – can be used as a resource-effective material for construction.

Straw bale construction has high potential due to its numerous benefits: it uses agricultural waste, which is often otherwise burned, it is low cost and widely available, it offers superior insulation, and it is naturally fire-resistant. This proven method stores significant carbon, conserves forest resources, and is now recognized in the International Residential Code for both residential and larger building projects. According to Carbon Smart Materials Palette:

North America grows enough grain that if only one-tenth of the residual straw were used for building, over two million 2,000 square foot [186 square meter] homes could be built each year (there were fewer than one million new home starts in North America in 2016).

In the first video University of Michigan Professor Joe Trumpey and his students demonstrate how building a straw-bale structure is done step-by-step. It involves minimizing concrete use, compressing straw walls with box beams, using salvaged timber, and applying multiple layers of earthen plaster for durability and weather-proofing.

In the second video, builders advocate for straw bale construction as a low-cost, non-toxic, and sustainable alternative to conventional building. This method creates highly efficient, ‘breathing’ homes with passive ventilation and a deeper connection to nature.

Further reading, learning and references

Carbon Smart Materials Palette – Straw-bale https://www.materialspalette.org/straw-bale/

University of Michigan – House of straw: A new face of sustainability on campus https://news.umich.edu/house-of-straw-a-new-face-of-sustainability-on-campus/

Joseph E. Trumpey – Strawbale Home www.jtrumpey.com/project/strawbale-home/

Straw Bale .com https://www.strawbale.com

Nitzin, R. and Termens, M. (2021). A Complete Guide to Straw Bale Building. Permanent Publications https://www.permanentpublications.co.uk/port/a-complete-guide-to-straw-bale-building/

© Daniel Mossberg, CEMUS, Uppsala University and Sonali Phadke, studio Alternatives and Stephanie Foote