Very interesting about the bungalows. I thought we'd invented them in California.....<br><br>Straw houses in the Ganges delta challenges a notion that I've had that SB would not work well in a monsoon climate. Any thoughts on that?<br>
<br>John <br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 2:24 AM, Jim Carfrae <<a href="mailto:jim.carfrae@plymouth.ac.uk">jim.carfrae@plymouth.ac.uk</a>> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
I think we have to differentiat between straw as part of a composit e.g. mixed with clay to form Cob, and the use of straw bales as building material.<br>
Straw in composits, in the UK, can be traced back with certainty to mediaeval times, and is likely to predate the Romans. As for straw bales, the French house is the earliest I know of, and therefore post dates the first US bale houses. (All this disregards the use of straw as thatch on roofs)<br>
<br>
As a sideline, I came across this reference to the origins of the British 'Bungalow' that implies that these early buildings in Bengal where made from straw.<br>
<br>
"The traditional Bengali dwelling provided a model for the British bungalow designs which developed. Travellers' accounts provide a fairly consistent account of these buildings, which are generally referred to as 'bangla' (or 'banggolo'). The bangla was a thatched hut, generally built with a distinctively curved roof. The walls were generally made of mud. Where the mud was not suitable for this purpose, walls were constructed of bunches of straw or mats, tied to each other and to the bamboo frame to form walls. Where straw was used, it was often plastered with cow dung and clay."<br>
(Applying the Lessons of Indian Vernacular Architecture: The Bungalow as Example of Adaptive Climatic Response - Kimberly Kramer PLEA2006 - The 23rd Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Geneva, Switzerland, 6-8 September 2006)<br>
<br>
Jim 'musty smell' Carfrae<br>
<br>
Jim Carfrae<br>
PhD Research Student<br>
<br>
Room 119, Reynolds Building<br>
University of Plymouth<br>
Drake Circus<br>
Plymouth<br>
PL4 8AA<br>
<font color="#888888"><br>
<a href="mailto:jim.carfrae@plymouth.ac.uk">jim.carfrae@plymouth.ac.uk</a><br>
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01803 862369<br>
________________________________________<br>
From: <a href="mailto:GSBN-bounces@greenbuilder.com">GSBN-bounces@greenbuilder.com</a> [<a href="mailto:GSBN-bounces@greenbuilder.com">GSBN-bounces@greenbuilder.com</a>] On Behalf Of Mark Piepkorn [<a href="mailto:mark@buildinggreen.com">mark@buildinggreen.com</a>]<br>
Sent: 01 June 2008 16:00<br>
To: GSBN<br>
</font><div class="Ih2E3d">Subject: [GSBN] 200-yr-old straw houses in Europe?<br>
<br>
</div><div><div></div><div class="Wj3C7c">Though I hardly ever see the claim made anymore, for a while it was a<br>
fairly standard pro-SB argument (made by neophyte evangelists,<br>
usually) that we know SB works because it's been around for a couple<br>
hundred years. Rubbish.<br>
<br>
In the book Sustainable Architecture White Papers, which came out in<br>
2000 (from Chelsea Green) but which I'd never read, a paper on the<br>
Roaring Fork Waldorf School (apparently reprinted from Solar Today<br>
Magazine) by Laurie Stone of Solar Energy International says,<br>
"Straw-bale construction has been around for centuries. In Europe,<br>
one can find houses built out of straw that are over 200 years old."<br>
<br>
It doesn't specifically say 200-year-old *baled*-straw structures.<br>
(Automatic balers weren't around until the 1800s, of course, though<br>
there were hand-balers prior to that... but never in widespread use,<br>
as far as I can tell.)<br>
<br>
I'm trying to figure out why and how this claim started - if there's<br>
some kernel of misunderstood truth, or if it's just cut from whole<br>
cloth. I haven't contacted the author yet. Probably won't. I met her<br>
once, years ago, and she was very nice. I'm content to leave it at that.<br>
<br>
There are similar claims made in cordwood-building circles, though<br>
nobody can cite actual examples.<br>
<br>
<br>
Mark Piepkorn<br>
<a href="http://www.potkettleblack.com" target="_blank">www.potkettleblack.com</a><br>
<br>
In the world to come I shall not be asked, "Why were you<br>
not Moses?" I should be asked, "Why were you not Zusya?"<br>
- Rabbi Zusya<br>
<br>
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</div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>John Swearingen<br>Skillful Means, Inc.<br>Design and Construction<br><a href="http://www.skillful-means.com">www.skillful-means.com</a>