straw houseIT didn’t work out for the first of the three little pigs, but Spaniards are constructing a straw house that will not blow down at the first puff from an angry wolf.

And it will consume 90% less energy than the average house, too.

The creation in Biscay from Basque company EcoPaja is the first house of its kind to be built in Spain to premium industrial standards.

The construction has a solid wooden structure and compressed straw serves as the insulation of the house, which is also fireproof.

Compared to an average house with 20cm thick walls, the straw house’s walls are half a metre deep and, coated in lime plaster to allow the house to breathe, offer prime insulation.

The building is part of a new wave of ‘healthy builds’ made of only natural, locally sourced, non-toxic substances.

And taking under four weeks to construct in the factory and three days to assemble on site, the economical choice (€1,000 per square metre) could take Spain by storm.

Subscribe to the Olive Press

6 COMMENTS

  1. A well proven building material but perhaps not too acceptable by many as they’d possibly see it as “weird” or at best “strange”. I know a new company that set up in the UK to make straw boards whilst benefiting from some new venture capital but it failed. Personally I’d like to know more about the fire proofing & their web site is less than informative. All in one language & it only offers a Mobile ‘phone number. I’d also like to know if their building system has been accepted by the government & local authorities. If not, they’re either not well prepared or not organized for success.

  2. Three councils in the UK have now had built straw bale council houses, the insulation far exceeds current UK regulations. Using full small bales with a lime render on the outside and clay on the inside they are well covered and fire is not a problem. As it is straw vermin are not attracted to it as it is not a food source. Several large structures have been built in the UK including the RSPB center in Conway that has floors, walls and roof of straw. In Spain they would be excellent, cool in summer and warm in winter.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.