When building post and beam in straw bale, what if I substitute concrete block columns for the wooden posts? Will they draw moisture into the straw? They could. However, the usual practice is to wrap ...

The seven homes in Shirehampton, Bristol were constructed as part of an EU-funded joint research project with the University of Bath and the architectural firm Modcell. The team behind the project ...

When I moved into my new Philadelphia rowhouse, I was determined to grow the vegetable garden that had eluded me all those years in a cramped Manhattan apartment. But reality struck with the first ...

When Mike Evans and his colleagues at the Tree of Life Nursery near San Juan Capistrano began constructing some of their buildings in straw more than 10 years ago, they had good reasons: The buildings ...

In this straw bale home, a half-wall has been creatively placed to provide divisions of space without spoiling the room’s spaciousness. Thick, rounded straw bale walls provide ample space for wide ...

SANTA CRUZ — When Mike and Cindy Grall imagined their dream house, it was something much more than three bedrooms, two baths, a white picket fence and a swimming pool. “We wanted the home to produce ...

VINES is growing in Binghamton, and setting a new industry standard for green construction in the process. VINES — Volunteers Improving Neighborhood Environments, Inc. — set the first straw bale at ...

Instead, the Amsterdam-based pair envisioned a home with a minimal ecological footprint. As first-time builders, they combined elements from various approaches ”“ a straw bale house with a gravel ...

Joe Davis sat on the ground to eat his lunch Friday, bathed in sunshine, his eyes shielded by a broad-brimmed straw hat.It seemed an entirely appropriate chapeau since Davis was helping to build a ...

BINGHAMTON (WBNG) -- The Volunteers Improving Neighborhood Environments, Inc., or VINES, is set for the new headquarters building to place its first straw bale at the Susquehanna Street location.

With the outdoor temperature near 87 degrees, Larry Biehn had ideal conditions to show off the virtues of straw-bale construction. "What's the first thing you notice?" Biehn asked as he stepped ...