“We all grew up with the Three Little Pigs,” Greg Bossie says. “So people have a lot of misconceptions about the viability of straw as a building component.” But no one’s huffing, puffing, and blowing houses down that are constructed or renovated by Rare Forms, a unique construction company that Bossie founded in 2020. “We … Read more
Southern Oregon Climate Action Now launched its premier Green Business Recognition ceremony with a “green ribbon cutting” at a four-plex built out of straw bales in Ashland, Oregon. Lydia Doleman of Earth Dragon Natural Building said the company’s project was “to install the first multifamily straw bale building in Oregon. It’s got tons of unique … Read more
Minnesota appears to be the first US state on the path to adopting the newest official residential building codes featuring hempcrete and strawbale. The nine-member Technical Advisory Group voted in favor of hempcrete and strawbale, said advocates who had to appear before the advisory board twice with significant revisions to finally get approval. “When we … Read more
What if we could effectively store millions of tons of carbon in a way that helps solve America’s housing crisis, creates jobs, and boosts manufacturing — all at once? A report issued by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) sheds light on manufacturing building products from up-cycled biomass that’s already abundant across the United States. RMI’s … Read more
Anthony Dente is a licensed engineer and principal at Verdant Structural Engineers and Verdant Building Products and is the vice president of the Cob Research Institute, where he is committed to appropriate material use for all structural building systems. Anthony graduated from the Architectural Engineering program at Penn State University and moved to Berkeley, CA … Read more
From the outset, Casa AYA aimed to be built in the most sustainable way possible and is the first straw bale home built to PassivHaus standards in Uruguay. The use of concrete was reduced by 93% compared to conventional construction by using raised foundations. This technique allowed the ground profile to remain unaltered, respecting the … Read more