Small Strawbale: Natural Homes, Projects & Designs

by Bill Steen, Athena Steen, Wayne Bingham

Small Strawbale is a meditative exploration of the innumerable reasons to consider strawbale as a viable building material. Environmentally friendly, super insulative, economical, and natural, strawbale can be used to build everything from garden walls to small homes. Small Strawbale tells the stories of people who have successfully created structures out of this easily replenishable building material, reminding us that our human roots are ultimately grounded and dependent upon the earth and its bounties. This practical guide is filled with rich photos of homes, greenhouses, studios, sheds, open-air structures and more, each pulsating with unique yet subtle creativity. Both a pragmatic construction manual and a philosophical, artistic guidebook, Small Strawbale is an inspirational starting point for a strawbale dreamer, and a great source of information for those who are ready to get bailing. Bill and Athena Steen are the authors of Built by Hand, The Straw Bale House, and The Beauty of Straw Bale Houses. They are heavily involved in their nonprofit organization, The Canelo Project. Committed to developing and educating others about simple and sustainable living, they regularly teach workshops on straw bale building and artistry with clay and lime. They live in Arizona. Wayne Bingham has worked as building program director for the state of Utah for ten years and has been in private architectural practice for twenty years. He was instrumental in developing and building the AIA Habitat for Humanity house, and served as chairperson of the AIA Committee on the Environment. His work has been published in Architectural Digest and Popular Science, among others. Bill is building a straw bale home in Teton Valley, Idaho.

Genres: Construction, Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published May 10, 2005

Reviews

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Small Strawbale you won't find 10,000 square foot "sustainable" McMansions. Instead you will find a series of designs for small houses that tread lightly on the earth. It is an inspiring book that lets us know we can live in a beautiful, natural house that uses earth's resources wisely.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a book of inspiration this book is excellent. It profiles many different small structures that are made using straw-bale and similar building methods. For someone looking to experiment with straw-bale by building a small shed or artist studio this book can provide some insight.

Although it is not designed as a how-to book, I think many people reading this would be hoping for more instructional resources. Furthermore, this book profiles some buildings that did not withstand the test of time, often because the plaster mix wasn't suitable to the climate or there wasn't a barrier between the strawbale wall and the ground. It can be helpful to learn from these mistakes but without the details of how-to do it right, profiling failed projects can leave prospective strawbale builders rather discouraged.

[Pamela Hale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think houses today are way too big!

[Dan Hilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book shows a bunch of different small straw bale homes and workspaces. It generally has good photos of detailing and interior spaces, but it can be a little light on blueprints and schematics. Most of the homes are owner-built. The building are generally very small... most significantly less square footage than an average small home. I enjoyed it, although if you're researching in order to build, this will not provide you with much technical information.

[Dann]

This book is full of great ideas for creative buildings with floor plans from 150 to 1200 sq. ft. It's full of great pictures and ideas. I read it cover to cover the day I brought it home and am starting to go through it again.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately this is not a how-to book. More of a pretty coffee table for inspiration book. I'd like more of a step by step something!

[Kami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stories attached to small homes. Good book about living with less including space.