Here is some images of Straw Bails. Our team has decided upon using Straw Bailing for the exterior walls and have decided this because of the excellent insulating properties of straw, the wall itself has very low embodied energy (having a low measure of the amount of energy used in production, transportation and construction), and overall, fairly simple construction which can be done by using friends and relatives (which is a consideration with our Domus construction).
Straw bails are joined using a polyester strapping which can be seen in the attached progress photos, and have no relation to the construction of the building (we will be using a typical post and beam timber construction).
The finished surfaces of straw bails can be rendered (by-hand application, or by pump-application), or using cement, lime, earth or combinations of these.
Were thinking of our Kakadu Site in terms of a linear design segmented into zones reflecting the open lifestyle of the area. Here are some of our early sketches. Has anyone else got any suggestions? We may need to iron out some of the angles.
