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Building with straw bales is a technique pioneered a century ago in the state of Nebraska. In recent years there has been a renaissance in the use of straw as a building material largely in the American Southwest, but also in Canada, Australia, France, Holland, Germany, Austria and China. Straw is a renewable resource with excellent insulating properties. It is a cheap and easy-to-use option for self-builders, and even large-scale structures can be erected using timber framework filled with straw. This book is a practical, hands-on guide to building with straw. Fire safety, protection against moisture, damp, pests and parasites are treated in detail. Numerous on-site photos document the process of assembly and construction step by step. 30 exemplary international projects illustrate the wide spectrum of design possibilities with straw.

Although traditionally a building material of the warmer climate zones, bamboo is becoming increasingly popular amongst architects in the northern hemisphere; bamboo has several advantages – it is very stable, of low weight, and highly elastic, in addition to being readily available as well as renewable. The applications of bamboo in architecture have become significantly wider and diversified, so that today, even structures with large spans – such as bridges – are built with this material. The new and revised second edition of this manual provides a practical, systematic overview of the numerous potential applications and processing methods of this renewable material. The comprehensive presentation of groundbreaking bamboo buildings has been updated with more recent projects.

This handbook offers a practical, systematic overview of the many uses of loam, or clayey soil, and the wide variety of techniques for processing it. Furthermore, the book explains particular building methods relating to prefabricated panels, direct forming with loam, weather protection or earthquake resistance. Numerous drawings and photos of construction sites show the concrete execution of earth architecture. Twenty-seven exemplary international projects illustrate the wide spectrum of design possibilities with earth.

Building with straw bales is a technique pioneered a century ago in the state of Nebraska. In recent years there has been a renaissance in the use of straw as a building material largely in the American Southwest, but also in Canada, Australia, France, Holland, Germany, Austria and China. Straw is a renewable resource with excellent insulating properties. It is a cheap and easy-to-use option for self-builders, and even large-scale structures can be erected using timber framework filled with straw. This book is a practical, hands-on guide to building with straw. Fire safety, protection against moisture, damp, pests and parasites are treated in detail. Numerous on-site photos document the process of assembly and construction step by step. 30 exemplary international projects illustrate the wide spectrum of design possibilities with straw.