thank you very much. However the word innovative might not be the right word to use. Straw has been used as a construction material for ages. After bricks became the standard, straw bale houses became forgotten. It's more reusing an old idea. They actually begin to become more populair again, also for the more modern houses.

Thank you for your reply. Yes, the walls are thick and take space. That is why this concept is not for places where space is scarce. It is also the reason why it is proven to be Low-cost, self-buildable, low-tech, from local materials, sustainable, durable, save, secure, practical and resistant to fire, storms, earthquakes and other natural disasters. I also find it very well replicatable, there is no reason why one family could build this and the other not. Maybe you could explain what you mean with replication?

teigan, thanks for your reply. This allows me to explain things that are unclear. Unfortunately, your comparison is like comparing apples and oranges. A high end house in Arizona is hardly the same thing as 'a simple dwelling for the worlds poorest'. The machinery (other than some simple tools) needed to make the straw bales is depicted in the first picture, two men are operating it. I wouldn't call it heavy. Furthermore, the walls that I drew are 'only' half a meter thick, not the one meter you are talking about. Of course I could only guess why the house you are talking about would be more expensive than that of their neighbours, because I do not know either one of the houses, but whatever the reason, it is of no importance, because they did not use the same technique as I did.

cheers

the walls were specified at 1 meter thick because that's the safe surface area of hay required for a single story structure 15 foot wall.

if those two guys in your photo had to compress the hay by hand then they'd be exhausted by the third bale. it isn't just a matter of making cubes. they need to be compacted to the point where further compression doesn't occur from the weight of the bales above.

have a happy day.

Dear Teigan, thanks for your reply! the 1 meter thickness may or may not have been required for the design of the building you are talking about. I do not know, because I do not know that design. However, in my design, 50 cm will be enough as you can see here http://nees.unr.edu/projects/strawbalehouse.html

Building any house is indeed exhausting. The machine used by those two men is being used to build cheap houses like this as we speak, so I am pretty sure they will have a bit more stamina for a couple more bales. I do agree that it would be more convenient to build a house with heavy machinery and I have my doubts too about the whole challenge, but that is what we have to work with for now.

From my calcs - depending on the mortar and price of straw (self harvested or otherwise) I can see it coming close to $300. If using the mix I have on the Mini-cord, and putting 3" of material on both sides, harvesting their own hay, they have about $150. The pad (if they use one) and roof will be more. Not sure what they are planning for roof support, but I think there is room in the budget for it. And they might have a simpler mix or other options. But it looks close.

Though if they provided a budget, or add one to their comments I will bump their rating up (hint hint)