[GSBN] Prefabricated and/or Modular Natural Building Systems

[Rene Dalmeijer]

Dirk,

Your english is still good enough to come through.

I have just almost completed a hybrid straw bale public building many components were pre-fab.

Many of the main structural components were imported:
Kerto frames Finland, 
Lenotec clt roof plate Germany, 
prefab woodframe SB elements Roumania. (small craftshop run operated by local villagers) 
20” containers China
Local:
The assembly and many other elements like stairs larch cladding are site built using local craftsmen and local wood including wood harvested in Amsterdam. The strawbales come from fields just 25 km away.

The original plan was to do it completely site built but due to all kinds of constraints but specifically time and to a lesser extent money the plan changed to the current  build. I would have loved to have built the original concept but am now proud of the result which far exceeds the sustainability index of the conventional build otherwise chosen. To many this build will be the first encounter with a real sustainable building well off their radar of what a building can be. 

My favourite SB houses are still the simple basic LB hand built houses we all like so much and see as true SB. At the same time I also realise this is a niche reserved for the happy few who are in the position of finding a site where such a build is possible. I think we should not reserve the luxury of SB/sustainable building for this elite group of connoisseurs. 

straight talking from the reclaimed swamp at the mouth of the Rhine
Rene Dalmeijer