SBUK

A Practical Introduction to Natural Building – Straw, Clay, Lime: Derby

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 19:06:06 GMT

School of Natural Building – Practical Natural Building Course

A three-day hands-on course introducing core techniques in natural construction. This training is suitable for people exploring self-build, construction careers, retrofit skills, or broader knowledge of biobased building methods.

Participants will gain practical experience in:

– straw bale construction
– clay plastering
– lime plastering

The course is delivered by experienced tutors from the School of Natural Building and focuses on real site skills, material understanding, and safe working methods.

Date: 17th – 19th April

Location: Melbourne, Derby

Further information and booking is available, here: SNaB's Practical Building Course, Derby, UK

Accessible by Nature - Inclusion, Health and Measured Performance

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 21:38:12 GMT

Measured performance in a lived-in load-bearing straw bale home

Date: 10th March
Time: 6pm – 7.30pm

Straw Building UK is co-hosting a webinar with SEDA exploring inclusion, health and measured performance in a lived-in load-bearing straw bale home in England.

The session draws on a 14-month building performance evaluation conducted by the Mackintosh Environmental Architecture Research Unit at The Glasgow School of Art. Remote sensors were used to monitor indoor environmental quality across four areas of the house.

Janice Foster, Chartered Services Engineer and building performance evaluation researcher at MEARU, will present key findings on indoor air temperature and relative humidity.

Sam Foster, architect of the project and Net Zero Leader at NatureScot, will discuss design decisions, materials selection, accessibility and inclusion, and building services choices.

ASBP Material Mornings - Natural Fibre Insulation (online)

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 15:25:59 GMT

ASBP Material Mornings - Natural fibre insulation in practice

SBUK is pleased to highlight an upcoming event from, the Alliance for Sustainable Building Products (ASBP).

This session forms part of ASBP’s new Material Mornings series and focuses on Natural Fibre Insulation. The format is a live, surgery-style discussion, allowing participants to raise technical questions, share project challenges, and explore practical considerations around specification and performance.

Date: Thursday 12th February 2026
Time: 11:00–12:00
Location: Online (Zoom)
Cost: Free for ASBP members (SBUK are members of ASBP); £10 for non-members

Format: Open discussion (not a formal presentation)
Recording: No recording planned, to support open and candid exchange

Further details and registration:
https://asbp.org.uk/events/material-mornings-nfi

Straw Construction Featured in Build It Magazine

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 19:23:49 GMT

The December 2025 issue highlights the UK resource and the low embodied-carbon values set out in the straw EPD.

Build It’s December 2025 issue includes a feature on straw as part of its wider examination of low-impact construction systems. The article notes both the scale of the UK’s straw resource and the low embodied-carbon values recorded in the UK Environmental Product Declaration.
The magazine is available here: https://magsdirect.co.uk/magazine/build-it-magazine-december-2025 /

Healthy Buildings Conference and Expo 2026

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 13:56:23 GMT

Bringing science and industry together to advance healthier built environments

ASBP marks the tenth year of its Healthy Buildings Conference in 2026 , bringing together leading researchers, practitioners and policy thinkers at Introba’s Holborn offices. The programme focuses on health in the built environment, with contributions spanning air quality, product safety, biobased finishes and emerging evidence from national research programmes.

Professor Stephen Holgate will deliver the keynote, drawing on decades of clinical and scientific work on air pollution. Further sessions explore PFAS and POPs in construction products, insights from WELL Building projects, new indoor air quality research at the University of York, and the health benefits of natural paints.

Speakers include representatives from Henning Larsen, Overbury, Introba, the University of York, the Environment Agency and Edward Bulmer Natural Paint, with a closing panel chaired by Simon Jones, host of the Air Quality Matters podcast.

The conference closes with drinks and networking overlooking London, alongside short talks from UKRI, the University of Leeds and Futurebuild.

Registration and further details are available via the ASBP website .

SEDA on biobased systems in housing and retrofit

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 13:43:34 GMT

Growing our homes: biobased materials and offsite practice

Tuesday 9th December 2025

The Scottish Ecological Design Association is hosting a focused session on the near-term potential of biobased materials and offsite production in UK housebuilding.

Dr Katherine Brookfield will present findings from the SHELTER project, which has been working directly with industry to understand the factors that support or limit wider uptake of biobased approaches.

Patrick Daly will introduce work from Circular Reno, an ambitious programme developing modular biobased systems for retrofit, including early demonstration projects in social housing.

This event offers clear and grounded perspectives at a time when Europe is examining how natural materials can be scaled across construction with confidence.

Registration details can be found here: Eventbrite

Architect and urban designer Clara Koehler of Woodknowledge Wales to speak at SBUK Symposium 2025

Thu, 11 Sep 2025 09:56:47 GMT

Architect and urban designer Clara Koehler of Woodknowledge Wales to speak at SBUK Symposium 2025

Clara is an architect and urban designer interested in the built environment as a setting for everyday life. She is currently working with Woodknowledge Wales, exploring methods of sustainable construction and carbon reduction.

Her talk, The role of bio-based materials on the route to “net zero”, will introduce the carbon benefits of bio-based materials such as straw and timber in comparison with conventional construction.

Clara will also show how carbon reduction is not only about material substitution, but about broader changes in societal habits and assumptions if we are to build within planetary boundaries

Early bird and member discounts are now available.

Book your ticket here

Judith Thornton joins SBUK Symposium 2025 speaker line-up

Thu, 11 Sep 2025 09:21:18 GMT

Dr Judith Thornton joins the SBUK Symposium 2025 stage

When we talk about straw bale buildings in the UK, we usually assume they are built of wheat straw. In Japan, mention straw and people will assume rice. Dr Judith Thornton will explore when and where it might matter what straw we use in buildings — and what this tells us about agriculture, materials, and the future of construction.

Dr Judith Thornton is a Low Carbon Research Fellow at the Institute for Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University. Her work sits at the interface of environmental building materials and plant science, with a wider interest in how agricultural systems might need to adapt in a post-fossil fuel economy.

Early bird and member discounts are now available.

Book your ticket here

Jonathan Davies joins SBUK Symposium 2025 speaker line-up

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 13:00:16 GMT

SBUK Symposium welcomes Jonathan Davies to 2025 speaker line-up

We are delighted to welcome Jonathan Davies to the SBUK Symposium 2025.

Jonathan will present High Performance, Low Carbon: Parc y Rhodyn, telling the story of the UK’s first certified off-grid Passivhaus.

Working with Huff & Puff, this straw-insulated self-build in Carmarthenshire, a finalist in the Passivhaus Trust Awards 2023, was delivered under the Welsh One Planet Development framework. It demonstrates how bio-based and recycled materials can deliver resilience, affordable warmth and very low energy demand.

A long-standing advocate for improved building standards, Jonathan promotes the demand-based metrics of AECB CarbonLite and Passivhaus to deliver low impact, high performance homes.

Early bird and member discounts are now available.

Book your ticket here

Paul Crosby joins SBUK Symposium 2025 speaker line-up

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 07:30:00 GMT

Paul Crosby joins SBUK Symposium 2025 speaker line-up

We are delighted to announce that architect Paul Crosby will be speaking at the 2025 Straw Building UK (SBUK) Symposium – Biophilia: Nature’s Blueprint.

A SPAB Scholar and Director at Crosby Granger Architects, Paul has over two decades of experience working at the intersection of conservation, sustainability, and material craft. His work blends the use of natural materials with the sensitive repair and renewal of historic buildings, bringing heritage values into contemporary construction practice.

In his talk, Natural Architecture, Paul will explore designing to a natural scale – and the challenges of specifying with nature in mind, particularly within the heritage sector. His session will contribute to a day of ideas, demonstrations, and discussion, marking ten years of Straw Building UK and looking ahead to the next decade.

The Symposium takes place on Tuesday 4th November 2025 at the National Self Build & Renovation Centre, Swindon, and will also feature the official launch of the English Edition of the French Professional Standards for Building with Straw – a milestone for training, technical clarity, and international collaboration.

Early bird and member discounts are now available.

Book your ticket here

chair@strawbalebuildinguk.com (Cypren Edmunds) — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 07:30:00 GMT

Join us this November for a full-day event exploring the future of biobased construction

through the lens of nature, strategy and public good.

Ten years ago, Straw Building UK was founded to put natural materials back on the map.

This November, we’re hosting our Symposium to mark that journey - and to ask what the next decade demands of us.

Biophilia – Nature’s Blueprint
Tuesday 4th November 2025
NSBRC, Swindon

From retrofit and policy to hands-on practice and public trust, we’ll explore the systems and strategies needed to scale biobased construction in the UK.

The event is proudly supported by our Platinum Sponsors: Ecococon and Ecological Building Systems, now operating together across the UK and Ireland.

Tickets are now open. Join us.

Learning from Denmark: What the UK Can Take from a Leading Embodied Carbon Strategy

chair@strawbalebuildinguk.com (Cypren Edmunds) — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 07:55:49 GMT

Denmark's Embodied Carbon Story and Learnings for Part Z

As the built environment grapples with its carbon responsibilities, Denmark is already showing what is possible.

In July, the Alliance for Sustainable Building Products (ASBP) hosts a timely event examining Denmark’s national Reduction Roadmap – an approach that has rapidly reshaped the country’s construction sector through clear embodied carbon limits and performance benchmarks. With the UK still debating Part Z, there is much to learn from our northern neighbours.

Straw Building UK (SBUK) is proud to support ASBP in advancing this conversation. As members of the ASBP network, we recognise the urgent need for regulatory momentum that includes – not sidelines – biobased materials.

If you are interested in what Denmark got right, and how their journey could shape the UK's own path towards lifecycle carbon legislation, we encourage you to attend.

Tuesday 2nd July 2025
12:00–13:15 BST
Online: https://asbp.org.uk/events/reduction-roadmap-the-denmark-embodied-carbon-story-and-learnings-for-part-z

Now Live: How a Straw Panel Home Performs in Use – with Annie Benton

chair@strawbalebuildinguk.com (Cypren Edmunds) — Wed, 21 May 2025 14:00:46 GMT

Post-occupancy insights from a real straw panel home – energy, comfort, and lessons learned

What happens after the build is complete? In this recent webinar, architect Annie Benton shares in-depth insights into a live post-occupancy evaluation of her Ecococon straw panel home.

From energy use and thermal comfort to indoor air quality, Annie takes us through the real-world performance data – offering a rare and valuable look at how a natural material home operates day to day.

This session is essential viewing for architects, builders, housing professionals, and anyone curious about the lived experience of straw buildings.

�� Watch now on our YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/j5nLLWUE3OE?si=J6acKDiqWAcEooZY

Agreka Build Joins SBUK with Breakthrough Wheat Straw Insulation Board

chair@strawbalebuildinguk.com (Cypren Edmunds) — Wed, 21 May 2025 13:46:24 GMT

Pioneering circular insulation with wheat straw – made in the UK

We are proud to welcome Agreka Build as the newest member of Straw Building UK.

Agreka Build is the company behind WHEATEX – the world’s first circular, biobased insulation board made entirely from waste wheat straw. Free from synthetic binders and chemicals, WHEATEX combines thermal and acoustic performance with fire and mould resistance. It is locally produced in Cheshire and represents a major step forward in scaling low-impact construction materials for mainstream use.

In the last year, Agreka Build has received two major accolades: the Future 50 Award from Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, and the Big Innovation Pitch Award at Futurebuild 2025. Both recognise the technical ingenuity and climate potential of their work.

Agreka Build joins SBUK at a time when natural materials are moving to the forefront of sustainable construction. We are excited to support their journey and to champion WHEATEX as part of the UK’s growing biobased economy.

Find out more at www.agrekabuild.com

How an Ecococon Straw Panel Home Performs in Use

chair@strawbalebuildinguk.com (Cypren Edmunds) — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 00:17:36 GMT

A lived-in look at seasonal comfort, heat loss and real-world performance in a straw panel home.

How does a straw panel building perform once occupied – not just in theory, but in use?

Wednesday 30th April, 1pm - 2pm

SBUK Board member and Certified Passive House Designer, Annie Benton shares in-situ thermal data from her family’s Ecococon home – offering grounded insights into comfort, heat loss and performance over the seasons.

Annie brings a rare blend of technical understanding and lived experience as both designer and resident.

For architects, engineers, self-builders and policy advisors working with biobased systems and low-impact design.

Book now, here .

SBUK March Webinar - Timber framing for straw bale construction with Chris Hawker and Ben Nother

chair@strawbalebuildinguk.com (Cypren Edmunds) — Sat, 29 Mar 2025 00:11:44 GMT

Watch now: Timber Framing for Straw Bale Construction

Chris Hawker and Ben Nother of Hawkland share practical insights from their latest straw build near Ross-on-Wye, using it as a live case study to explore how timber framing influences durability, sequencing, design, and collaboration.

This session unpacks:

Hawkland’s evolving approach to framing
Prefabrication vs site-led construction
Detailing for weather protection and precision
Loadbearing vs non-structural straw systems
Material considerations and mortgage-ability

The recording includes key visual explanations of ‘stick’ and ‘split’ frame systems, MVP strategies, and the real-world constraints shaping straw bale construction in the UK.

Watch the recording here

SBUK Webinar: Timber Framing for Straw Bale Construction – 25th March

chair@strawbalebuildinguk.com (Cypren Edmunds) — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 15:14:26 GMT

Timber Framing for Straw Bale Construction with Chris Hawker and Ben Nother

Timber Framing for Straw Bale Construction with Chris Hawker and Ben Nother

�� 25th March 2025
�� Online Event

Timber framing is a fundamental component of many straw bale buildings, impacting their durability, energy efficiency, and construction process. In this online event, Chris Hawker and Ben Nother of Hawkland will share their approach to timber framing for straw bale structures, using their latest project near Ross-on-Wye as a case study.

The session will explore:

How their timber frame designs have evolved
Why they have settled on their current construction approach
The balance between timber-frame and load-bearing straw bale construction
Best practices and key decision points for future projects

About the Speakers
Chris Hawker is the founder and director of Hawkland , with over 15 years of experience in natural building, including straw bale, timber frame, and earth construction. His work spans hands on building, training, and promoting low carbon, high performance structures.

Ben Nother is a director and architect at Hawkland , specialising in sustainable design and natural building. His expertise includes timber structures, detailing for energy efficiency, and integrating low carbon materials into architectural design. He focuses on creating resilient, high performing buildings that align with natural building principles.

This is an opportunity to hear from two of the most experienced professionals in the field.

The event will conclude with a Q&A , offering attendees the opportunity to ask questions and engage in discussion with two of the UK’s foremost natural building specialists.

��️ Register now, here: Timber Framing for Straw Bale Construction with Chris Hawker and Ben Nother

SBUK Webinar: SBUK Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)

chair@strawbalebuildinguk.com (Cypren Edmunds) — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:31:45 GMT

SBUK Webinar: Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)

Understanding Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) in Straw Construction
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) play a crucial role in assessing the environmental impact of building materials, providing standardised, transparent data on embodied carbon and lifecycle performance. This webinar explores how EPDs apply to straw construction, breaking down key insights from the Straw EPD.

What You’ll Learn:
* The fundamentals of EPDs and their relevance to sustainable construction
* What the Straw EPD reveals about embodied carbon
* The significance of biogenic carbon in lifecycle assessments
* End-of-life scenarios: reuse, biodegradation, and disposal

Who Should Watch?
Architects, builders, policymakers, researchers, and sustainability professionals seeking to deepen their knowledge of EPDs and their impact on natural building materials.

Speaker: John Butler (SBUK Board Member, Founder of Sustainable Build Consultancy)
Watch on our YouTube channel, here: https://youtu.be/rCIBXu-LKaQ

SBUK Webinar: Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Straw Construction

chair@strawbalebuildinguk.com (Cypren Edmunds) — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 17:16:33 GMT

Wednesday, 12 February 2025, 1pm - 2pm

Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) provide transparent, standardised data on the environmental impact of materials—essential for making informed choices in sustainable construction. In this webinar, John Butler will break down:

What EPDs are and how they work
Key elements, including carbon footprint and end-of-life scenarios
The Straw EPD—why it matters and what it tells us
How biogenic carbon is accounted for in assessments
Challenges and opportunities in end-of-life considerations

This session is essential for architects, designers, builders, and sustainability professionals interested in understanding how straw construction can be quantified and verified for its environmental benefits.

Click here to Register now on Eventbrite to secure your spot.

SBUK Launches 2025 Webinar Series: Building with Giant Straw Bales

chair@strawbalebuildinguk.com (Cypren Edmunds) — Fri, 10 Jan 2025 03:11:19 GMT

From Dream to Reality: Mastering 330kg Straw Bale Construction

Join us for our first webinar of 2025 featuring self-builder Lee Johnson on 22nd January from 13:00-14:00 GMT.

Lee will share his remarkable journey of constructing a family home using 330kg straw bales, offering practical insights into sustainable construction. This session launches SBUK's commitment to expanding straw building expertise across Britain in 2025.

What you will learn:
- Practical techniques for working with heavyweight bales
- Solutions to logistical and design challenges
- Essential lessons from multiple self-build projects
- Expert tips for sustainable construction

Perfect for both aspiring self-builders and construction professionals, this webinar combines hands-on experience with sustainable building innovation.

Q&A included.

Register here

Free event - open to all

Join SBUK to access our full 2025 webinar series and be part of Britain's sustainable building future.

SBUK Evolves

chair@strawbalebuildinguk.com (Cypren Edmunds) — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 22:04:57 GMT

Embracing the Future of Straw Construction

Straw Building UK (formerly Straw Bale Building UK) is proud to announce an evolution in our identity that reflects the expanding possibilities of straw in modern construction. Our name change acknowledges the diverse applications of straw beyond traditional bale construction, including innovative prefabricated panels and modern insulation solutions.

To showcase these developments, we've recently hosted a series of enlightening webinars featuring industry experts and practical case studies. These sessions, now available online, demonstrate the versatility and potential of straw in contemporary construction:

The State of Straw Construction in the UK and Europe
Explore the latest developments and opportunities in straw building in the UK and continent.
Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gua2GzMdgSg
Mike Penfold’s Straw Bale Self-Build House, Wales
A fascinating look at one man’s journey to create a sustainable straw bale home.
Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdjqurLl96Q
Straw as a Sustainable Insulation Material in UK Construction with Meshwork
Discover how straw can transform insulation practices and contribute to a greener future.
To dive deeper into this discussion, join Meshwork for free by following this link and selecting "Choose a plan": https://lnkd.in/ezgeUSJP

Each webinar represents a step forward in our mission to mainstream straw as a sustainable building material. Watch these informative sessions on our YouTube channel and join our growing community of straw construction advocates.

Together, we're building a more sustainable future for construction in the UK and beyond.

Straw as a Sustainable Insulation Material in UK Construction

chair@strawbalebuildinguk.com (Cypren Edmunds) — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 01:09:28 GMT

Straw as a Sustainable Insulation Material in UK Construction

SBUK Board to Present at Meshwork Webinar.

Join us for an insightful webinar exploring the potential of straw as a sustainable construction material in the UK. Our Board members will share their expertise on straw construction to meet the growing demand for sustainable building solutions.

Event Details
Date: Wednesday 20th November 2024
Time: 12:00 - 13:00 GMT
Platform: Meshwork by Mesh Energy
Cost: Free

Featured Speakers

- Cypren Edmunds - Sustainable Building Specialist/Chair of SBUK
Leading the discussion on scaling straw construction in the UK and presenting SBUK's vision for the future

- John Butler - Sustainable Building Consultant/Director of SUBK
Exploring thermal performance and embodied carbon benefits

- Julia Bennett - Architect/Secretary of SBUK
Discussing integration of straw in modern architectural designs

- Annie Benton - Certified Passive House Designer and Director of Adyta/Treasurer of SBUK
Addressing practical aspects and scalability

What You'll Learn
- Environmental and economic benefits of straw construction
- Technical performance and design considerations
- Practical implementation strategies
- Future opportunities in the sector

This webinar is ideal for architects, builders, developers, and construction professionals interested in sustainable building materials and methods.

How to Join
Register via Meshwork's platform to secure your place. Simply select 'Choose a plan' to sign up for free.

Meshwork hosts a community of over 3,000 professionals interested in low-energy and sustainable building design. Previous speakers have included industry leaders such as Sumita Singha OBE and Duncan Baker-Brown.

Join us in advancing sustainable construction in the UK.

SBUK Presents: Building Your Dream Strawbale Home - A Welsh Self-Build Journey

chair@strawbalebuildinguk.com (Cypren Edmunds) — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 15:59:59 GMT

SBUK Presents: Building Your Dream Strawbale Home - A Welsh Self-Build Journey

Join SBUK for an exclusive webinar showcasing a remarkable strawbale self-build journey in the heart of West Wales. Mike Penfold will share his firsthand experience of building his family home using sustainable bio-based materials.

Date: Tuesday 19th November
Time: 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM GMT

This comprehensive session will take you through the entire build process, from foundation to finishing touches. Learn how traditional building techniques and natural materials can create a modern, comfortable, and environmentally conscious home.

Perfect for:
- Aspiring self-builders
- Architects and designers
- Sustainability enthusiasts
- Anyone interested in natural building methods

Mike Penfold will share practical insights, challenges faced, and lessons learned while demonstrating how strawbale construction can be both accessible and achievable for self-builders.

ASBP webinar - What the Building Safety Act means for Low Carbon Construction

chair@strawbalebuildinguk.com (Cypren Edmunds) — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 22:49:13 GMT

ASBP webinar - What the Building Safety Act means for Low Carbon Construction

Building Safety Act and Straw Construction: Setting the Record Straight

The Building Safety Act 2022 has raised important questions about the future of bio based building materials in UK construction. As the national body representing straw construction, we welcome this focused attention on building safety while highlighting our sector's proven track record.

Section 3.3 of The Straw Construction in the UK - Technical Guide presents comprehensive fire safety data demonstrating that properly constructed straw buildings exceed many standard building materials in fire resistance. Clay and lime plastered straw wall systems achieve Class B-s1,d0 reaction to fire ratings, while fire resistance tests show 120-135 minutes without failure - far exceeding the minimum requirements for most building types.

To further explore these issues, ASBP is hosting a webinar on 6th November examining the Building Safety Act's implications for low carbon construction. Speakers include leading architects and fire safety experts who will discuss how natural building materials can be embraced whilst meeting regulatory requirements.

The event will be particularly relevant for:
- Architects and designers working with natural materials
- Building control officers
- Construction professionals interested in sustainable methods
- Self-builders considering straw construction

As ASBP members, SBUK members are encouraged to attend this important discussion.

Register via the ASBP website: https://asbp.org.uk/events/what-the-building-safety-act-means-for-low-carbon-construction

For detailed information about fire safety in straw construction, please refer to the Technical Guide , available in the Research section of this website .

The State of Straw Construction in the UK and Europe

chair@strawbalebuildinguk.com (Cypren Edmunds) — Thu, 19 Sep 2024 12:29:14 GMT

The State of Straw Construction in the UK and Europe

Wednesday 30th October, 1800 (GMT) / 1900 (CET)

Discover the future of sustainable building with straw! Join our webinar featuring experts from the UK and France.

Learn about cutting-edge UK research, French innovations, and European perspectives on straw construction.

Introduced by SBUK, this event offers valuable insights into current practices and future potential in the field of straw building.

Want to stay informed?

Email events@strawbalebuildinguk.com for the event.

SBUK Symposium 2025: Bigger, Better and Celebrating a Decade of Progress

chair@strawbalebuildinguk.com (Cypren Edmunds) — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 09:33:37 GMT

SBUK Symposium 2025: Bigger, Better and Celebrating a Decade of Progress

We're thrilled to announce that our highly anticipated SBUK Symposium, "Biophilia - Nature's Blueprint", has been rescheduled and expanded for 2025. Due to overwhelming interest from speakers and sponsors, we've decided to postpone the event to create an even more impactful experience.

What's New:

Date: 25th-26th June 2025
Duration: Extended to a full two-day event
Location: University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, Swansea, Wales

This expanded symposium will not only delve deeper into the world of straw building but will also serve as a celebration of SBUK's 10th anniversary. Join us for this milestone event as we reflect on a decade of progress and look forward to the future of sustainable construction.

Stay tuned for updates on speakers, workshops, and early bird ticket sales. Don't miss this opportunity to be part of a landmark event in the straw building community!

Retrofit Workshop & Straw Panel Double Bill

chair@strawbalebuildinguk.com (Cypren Edmunds) — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 13:37:18 GMT

Retrofit Workshop & Straw Panel Double Bill

31st August

Association for Environment Conscious Building (AECB) hosts this ‘FREE' event, featuring one of our founder members, Hawkland.

Retrofit Workshop: Hawkland Construction will share their expertise on improving existing buildings with energy-efficient retrofitting techniques. Learn about the latest in insulation, ventilation, and heating systems through interactive discussions and case studies.

Straw Panel Demonstration with George Mikurcik will showcase EcoCocon's innovative straw panels, providing hands-on experience with this eco-friendly construction material.

For more information see, here .

Listen to the 'Zero Ambitions Podcast' With John Butler: Can you have a zero carbon building?

chair@strawbalebuildinguk.com (Cypren Edmunds) — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 12:55:34 GMT

Zero Ambitions Podcaast with John Butler

Listen to this edition of the 'Zero Ambitions' podcast with SBUK Board member and sustainable building expert, John Butler. It takes in Carbon accounting in the built environment, the EPD data for straw, institutional guidance and much more!

Listen back here

Warmest congratulations to Barbara Jones, awarded 'Greatest Woman Builder of All Time' by The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB)

chair@strawbalebuildinguk.com (Cypren Edmunds) — Mon, 13 May 2024 17:28:44 GMT

Congratulations Barbara Jones!

As a carpenter, teacher, builder and consultant Barbara has been at the forefront of biobased construction. She has influenced a number of 'firsts' and taught a long list of 'Who's who' in the UK sector and, her reach around the globe is as prominent too. Well done Barbara!

Strawbale UK Presents: Strawbuilding Symposium 2024 - Biophilia - Nature's Blueprint

chair@strawbalebuildinguk.com (Cypren Edmunds) — Sun, 28 Apr 2024 21:15:24 GMT

Strawbuilding Symposium 2024 - Biophilia - Nature's Blueprint

Image: Modulina Straw Panels

Strawbale UK is thrilled to announce the upcoming event, the "Strawbuilding Symposium 2024," scheduled for 12th September 2024. This symposium will delve deep into the transformative approach of biophilic design, under the theme "Biophilia: Nature's Blueprint."

Biophilic architecture, a burgeoning paradigm, encapsulates the intrinsic connection between humans and nature. It integrates natural elements and materials into the built environment, fostering spaces that not only enhance well-being but also nurture the human spirit.

"At its core, biophilic architecture seeks to forge a symbiotic relationship between people and their surroundings," says Cypren Edmunds, Chairperson of Strawbale UK. "It's about integrating nature's patterns, textures, and rhythms into the built environment to create spaces that support human well-being."

The symposium will explore the principles of biophilic design, highlighting its impact on architecture and human experience. Experts will discuss elements such as maximising natural light and ventilation, incorporating greenery and vegetation, integrating water features, using natural materials, and embracing biomorphic forms and patterns.

"By prioritising the needs and experiences of occupants, biophilic architecture fosters environments that promote physical health, mental clarity, and emotional resilience," adds Cypren.

The symposium aims to bring together architects, designers, builders, and enthusiasts to exchange ideas, learn from experts, and envision a future where architecture harmonises with nature.

More information and registration details to be released soon, visit: https://www.strawbalebuildinguk.com/

Seeds of Sustainability: Biophilia and Strawbuilding Unite – Crafting a Cleaner Tomorrow in Swansea, Summer 2024

Become a member of SBUK on our new ’Straw’ Membership

chair@strawbalebuildinguk.com (Cypren Edmunds) — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 13:33:57 GMT

Join SBUK on our new ’Straw’ Membership

Join SBUK on our new ’Straw’ Membership from 1st of March 2024 until 30th April 2024 and pay a one off payment of ONLY £5 for your 12 month membership *

Your membership gives you access to:
* advice and guidance about straw construction
* access to a large straw building community in the UK and across Europe,
* webinars and insightful meetings and a friendly community?
* reduced tickets to our Conference 2024

*After 12 months memberships are charged at the relevant rate. See our membership page on our website for details.

Futurebuild, 5th -7th March 2024, ExCeL, London

chair@strawbalebuildinguk.com (Cypren Edmunds) — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 12:55:57 GMT

SBUK members at Fu turebuild 2024, ExCel, London

Join SBUK members, Barbara Jones (School of Natural Building) and Annie Benton (Natural Building Systems) at this year's Futurebuild in London.

Both are speaking on the ' Materials Seminar Programme ':

On Tuesday 5th March , 12.30pm - 1pm, as an expert contributor to the RIBA published book, ' MATERIALS: An Environmental Primer ' Barbara is with its editor and co-authors: Hattie Harman, Joe Jack Williams and engineer, Alex Lynes discussing how we can better understand the environmental impacts of materials to make more informed design choices.
On Thursday 7th March, 12.30pm - 1pm, Annie is with Dr Alison Pooley of University of Suffolk, Dr Eshrar Latif of Cardiff University at the ' Healthy Buildings and Materials' talk, looking at how Healthy materials can be hygroscopic and vapour permeable making it possible to maintain good indoor relative humidity without the need for extensive mechanical ventilation. They will explore the range of materials, available, the building physics aspect and the importance of making buildings healthy.

Should more British homes be built using straw? SBUK Opinion

chair@strawbalebuildinguk.com (Cypren Edmunds) — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 13:13:34 GMT

Should more British homes be built using straw? SBUK Opinion

Straw-Bale Building UK (SBUK) are delighted to see positive mainstream coverage of straw building ( https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68005481 ) in light of exciting plans to insulate Todmorden Learning Centre and Community Hub with Ecococon prefabricated straw and timber panels. Panel systems like those made by Ecococon and Agile Homes present possibly the best way to get straw construction adopted more widely, and to enable fast construction with an incredibly low-carbon material (evidenced by the UK Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for straw as insulation material https://www.environdec.com/library/epd3854 and Ecococon’s panel system EPD https://ecococon.eu/assets/downloads/epd_ecococon_2022.pdf ).

The article also touched on some myths about straw building, apparently unaware of rigorous research and testing that has been carried out to prove the robustness and safety of straw construction. Much of this is reported in the Straw Construction in the UK - Technical Guide ( https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gdeihMaF3keMkWZ0UCojNLz_QGEV8G2V/view ).

There are straw bale buildings that are well over 100 years old, and still in good condition. Certified fire testing has shown complete straw-insulated walls can resist fire for upwards of 2 hours, well in excess of building regulations requirements. The university of Bath worked with Modcell to test a complete panel building for wind resistance and found it could withstand the force generated by hurricane winds. 100s of straw buildings are successfully and completely insured and mortgaged.

While for many people their first experience of straw may be as a loose fluffy material in a field or a barn, this is a far remove from the reality of straw construction, where straw is really just another building material. It happens to be one with excellent practical properties and environmental credentials, and is available in large quantities (just 5% of wheat straw sold away from its farm of origin could build 39000 3-bed semi-detached houses every year).

There is a knowledge gap in the construction industry relating to straw, which SBUK (working with our members) are seeking to fill with plans to scale up training in straw construction, leading to a recognised qualification. Watch this space…

SBUK are the UK’s association of straw construction practitioners, designers, academics, enthusiasts and trainers.

John Butler - for and on behalf of SBUK Board

Image - Ecococon

European StrawBale Gathering

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 13:57:00 GMT

Thursday 31st August – Sunday 3rd September

Discover the progress of straw bale construction from single-family homes to affordable
alternatives for various building types at ESBG 2023.

Globally, central governments are announcing transformational declarations (‘net-zero’,
‘decarbonisation’ etc) and the construction industry is speedily endeavouring to manage its
operational output to mitigate the harmful emissions over the decades.

In Europe, straw bale construction is already pioneering this transformation, and through
European Strawbale Building Association (ESBA) its partners meet again to demonstrate the
benefits of constructing with straw at this spectacular biennial conference.

Join us in Brenderup for exhibitions, training, keynote speakers, presentations, and much
more!

Location: Brenderup Folk High School, Brenderup Højskole, Stationsvej 54, 5464
Brenderup, Denmark

Strawbale UK’s online event: Alex Burch presents, “How do strawbale walls perform in severe wind-driven rain conditions?”

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 14:26:00 GMT

Comparisons with global climates revealed the unique challenge West Wales poses for strawbale construction. Many studies have focused on measuring internal humidity and temperature of strawbale walls to determine moisture content, however, these often lacked information specific to the climate of West Wales. Alex’s work aimed to find the best method to measure moisture content and assess the performance of different external finishes in managing moisture in this region.

Join us as he explores the challenges in obtaining precise data due to climate-related scepticism and ambiguity surrounding the topic.

Reserve your spot now, HERE

SBUK online event ‘Living Retrofitting Urbanism’

Sat, 08 Apr 2023 23:23:00 GMT

Wednesday 5th April

Essential policies are vital for the construction sector to deliver strong guidance for climate action .
Our event with Architectural Association School of Architecture for ‘Living Retrofitting Urbanism’ was a success – video will be available soon.

Finance and strawbuildings

Sat, 08 Apr 2023 23:11:00 GMT

Securing finance to build homes that are energy efficient …better for the planet should be easy.

Since 1987 Ecology Building Society have supported homeowners who #buildwithstraw

We need mortgage products in-place to grow the market.

London’s Building Centre

Sat, 08 Apr 2023 22:58:00 GMT

Strawbale UK’s online event with Juraj George Mikurcik and Old Holloway

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 13:52:00 GMT

The video of our online event with George and his home, Old Holloway, is now on our YouTube channel

Watch it here and share with your network!

SBUK online event. Old Holloway: An award-winning straw panel house.

Wed, 01 Feb 2023 13:36:00 GMT

Architect George Mikurcik began work on his home 14 years ago.

It was the first Ecococon home built in the UK, is an award winning site and George will be discussing with us the concept, the build and sharing supporting data at our meeting.

Join us to hear the stories behind this groundbreaking home and ask questions directly to George on the night.

Timber and Insurance – SBUK Video

Thu, 24 Nov 2022 09:42:00 GMT

YouTube video of our members’ meeting with Joe Giddings is available to watch here

SBUK Members’ meeting Special: Timber and Insurance

Fri, 04 Nov 2022 13:32:00 GMT

Join us at our next Members’ meeting Special on Wednesday 9th November, 7pm – 8pm .

Our guest speaker is Joe Giddings of ‘Built by Nature’ and he will be discussing, ‘ Timber and Insurance ‘.

Many of you that are involved with the practical elements of building with low carbon / natural materials will understand that the sector presently has an inconsistent process to enable a smooth method when constructing with such materials.

Joe has been investigating through his work at ‘ Built By Nature ‘ and with the group he helped to found, ‘ Architects Climate Action Network ‘, how this is managed. There will be a Q&A and here we can share our own experiences for discussion too!

Zoom Meeting link is below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84884643644?pwd=cDZsMHczTklzNHc5MnptSFpiV3lTQT09

This is an open meeting to the public – we look forward to seeing you then!

MIscanthus – sbuk video

Mon, 18 Jul 2022 10:29:00 GMT

The video of our event: ‘MIscanthus – what it is and how can it benefit the sector?’ is now available to view.

Thank you to our guest Fabrice Ntimugura for a brilliant presentation.

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/jr2dO29sXys

ecobuild 2016

Wed, 06 Jul 2022 23:18:00 GMT

SBUK’s members were at this year’s Ecobuild. Together with ‘Natural Building Materials’ groups we displayed and demonstrated the beauty and benefits of constructing with low carbon products.

sbuk online event – Miscanthus: How can the construction sector benefit with its use?

Fri, 01 Jul 2022 12:08:00 GMT

Did you know that Miscanthus has water vapour permeability properties compatible with that in traditional construction and sequesters carbon (around 130 kg CO2eq/m3)?

Join us on Wednesday 6th July, 7pm (GMT) as we discuss the building potential in construction of this bio based material.

The talk will be led by PHD Research student, Fabrice Ntimugura (University of Exeter) and will be followed by a Q&A session.

Register here

msc module review: sustainable materials in the built environment – cat

Fri, 24 Jun 2022 08:03:00 GMT

As part of my MSc in Green Building – Centre for Alternative Technology (cat.org.uk) at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) we had great fun on the “Sustainable Materials in the Built Environment” module in May 2022 experimenting on site with clay, lime, hemp, straw, miscanthus, cork, rammed earth and other novel materials. It is a fantastic group of students from many of the different MSc and MArch courses taking part bringing great energy, passion and imagination to solving the Environment Emergencies.

The experimenting involved building a hempcrete arch, using miscanthus to create “cob” bricks and sourcing alternative fibres from the surrounding landscape.

Straw bales featured as many students’ favourite material with excellent tutoring from Kit Jones and John Butler who had students building Nebraska method and CUT method straw bale walls.

Highly recommended to anyone to anyone wanting to learn more about practical solutions for our changing planet. Inspiring tutors, site, history and students comes together to make for an extraordinary experience.

by Andy Baylis – https://jengodesign.com/

Building to net zero: costing carbon in construction – Environmental audit committee report

Fri, 27 May 2022 11:38:00 GMT

This report stresses that “ from residential to commercial buildings, the UK’s built environment is responsible for 25% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) warns that to date there has been a lack of Government impetus or policy levers to assess and reduce these emissions. With climate deadlines looming, urgent action is needed.”

Our members contributed significantly to this report, as did other organisations allied in this movement.

SBUK demonstrated through analytical reporting and data, that natural materials are a robust solution to the problems that the built environment is striving to overcome.

Strawbale UK’s evidence is available to download here . The EAC report is available to download here

straw construction in the uk – technical guide 2022

Thu, 17 Mar 2022 17:10:00 GMT

We are very excited to announce that the ‘Technical Guide’ for Straw Construction, is now out!

The Technical Guide is a vital component within the EU-INTERREG funded project, ‘UPSTRAW’, the aim of which is to promote the benefits and good practice of constructing with straw.

Authored by The School of Natural Building (SNaB), who were the UK representatives for UPSTRAW and SBUK its sub-partners, it is essential for self-builders, contractors, planners, structural engineers, finance/insurance personnel and anyone interested in building with straw!

The Technical Guide is FREE and available to download here

SBUK step review 2022

Fri, 18 Feb 2022 14:31:00 GMT

Under the guidance of course leader, Hubert Gruber , our SBUK Director, Kit Jones, participated in the latest edition of the ‘STEP’ programme.

STEP ( S trawbuilding T raining for E uropean P rofessionals) is a strawbuilding course (online & practical) which is curated and led by qualified and professional builders. We, at SBUK, endorse the STEP curriculum and will utilise it to widely spread the knowledge of strawbale construction to the built environment.

Hubert is the co-President of the European StrawBale Association and Chairman of the Austrian StrawBale Network. He has extensive experience as a course leader in strawbale construction education and as a strawbale designer and builder.

Kit is a qualified and experienced carpenter, and works with bio-based materials: straw, timber, hemp, lime and earth. His appraisal is a welcome continuation of SBUK’s aim : to promote straw bale building and best practice within the sector .

Read the review here

‘the last straw’

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 18:30:00 GMT

In Winter 1993 a publication entered the built environment , etching its name as a hallowed journal for straw as a construction material – The Last Straw.

Emanating from USA the first issue had a national/regional take on straw construction: structural testing in Tucson; construction of an eight sided strawbale house; the Genesis farm in New Jersey; training with school children, and venturing further north in Canada for fire testing.

It came as no surprise that as the world woke up to the benefits of working with this material The Last Straw went further afield and brought together the incremental parts of natural construction: other types of natural building materials, building codes/regulations, finance (insurance and mortgages). The more recent issues also took on an international perspective with news from across the globe too (issue #4 features modular systems at ‘The Great Straw Conference’ in Cirencester in England, 1993).

Our members were evangelical about The Last Straw, not just as a networking hub, but for its notable sources of information. Sadly the last edition was published in Spring 2017.

Imagine then, our joy in late 2021, as The Last Straw resurfaced on Instagram to announce that it was returning!

For those of you that do not possess these collectors’ items, worry not – click here for the newsletter and the archive of their journal. Welcome back, The Last Straw!

UK’s First ever EPD for Straw!

Sat, 04 Dec 2021 11:59:00 GMT

For the first time this gives an accurate assessment of the environmental impact of straw production in the UK. This was made possible by the European Up Straw INTERREG funded project.

Led by The School of Natural Building this Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is hugely significant as it not only stamps its importance in the use of straw as an insulation material but will enable the construction sector to cite it as a relevant tool in lowering carbon emissions in the built environment.

Well done all at The School of Natural Building! More info is here

How easy is it to find and use natural building materials? riba interview with Janna lann/grain architecture

Fri, 05 Nov 2021 19:15:00 GMT

Here is a great article by RIBA on natural building materials featuring Grain Architecture’s Janna Laan Lomas.

Janna will be presenting at RIBA’s online event: Guerilla Tactics, 9th – 11th November. Programme details are HERE and tickets are HERE

A project of Grain Architecture ‘s is below, built in collaboration SBUK members Joe Duirwyn ( Hartwyn ) and Jeffrey Hart

Households declare

Mon, 25 Oct 2021 18:42:00 GMT

Energising our buildings has never become more important than now.

The savvy among you would have been content to be up to speed with an ‘EPC’ or ‘U-Value’ but nowadays, the general public in the UK are seeing terminologies such as, ‘Whole House Approach’, ‘External Wall Insulation’ (EWI), ‘Internal Wall Insulation’ (IWI), ‘PAS 2035’ and ‘Retrofit’ as part of their everyday vocabulary.

What does it mean and why has it become so popular headline in our everyday lives?

Like-minded groups such as AECB , ASBP , CAT , STBA and the Architects Journal have admirably championed for the interrelated pathways of Retrofitting (better materials/products, more training et al) and more recently LETI published their formidable document, Climate Emergency Retrofit Guide which joins all of the dots of what can be a very confusing landscape.

Our friends, the Architects Climate Action Network (ACAN) have set up the campaign ‘Households Declare’ and in a very simple to understand, and concise way, spell out to the government that we need to do more in enabling ‘retrofit’ as part of the construction industry’s outlook in the built environment.

We, at SBUK support this, and with ACAN ask you to declare a climate emergency for your homes.

Declare HERE

job: sbuk secretary role

Wed, 15 Sep 2021 19:03:00 GMT

We have a vacancy on our Board .

For a full specification of the role, please see and apply here: SBUK Secretary

Good luck!

building the future studio 3 arts community centre

Wed, 18 Aug 2021 14:46:00 GMT

The School of Natural Building are working with Studio 3 Arts to build an extension on their community centre.

Designed by architects company, Citizens Design Bureau and built by GPF Lewis and Wellspring Architecture , this is a transformation in London’s Barking and Dagenham . Read more here

Not only is the work carried out using low carbon materials including strawbales but a course next week with the School of Natural Building – 23rd to 27th August – will cover practical aspects of strawbale building: how to dress and customise bales, notching, loadbearing and infill techniques, compression of the wall, and much more. See here to enrol on the course

This project demonstrates the power of public sector partnering: in making change for the local community through Government; local statutory bodies and interdepartmental support and resources – in essence, everything we worked with UPSTRAW to deliver

Yesterday the bales were delivered – the work and fun now begins!

european strawbale gathering (ESBG) – sbuk webinar 2021

Mon, 16 Aug 2021 08:48:00 GMT

The full video of our ESBG webinar 2021 is now available here : click on a timestamp below , or, on one of the images to go to directly to a chapter

00:00 History of ESBG & introduction to SBUK’s webinar by Cypren Edmunds 07:29 StrawBale Building Basics with Phil Christopher 26:24 Cement Free Foundations with Barbara Jones 1:15:28 Q&A with Phil Christopher, Cypren Edmunds & Barbara Jones 1:36:35 Strawbuilding Project Examples with Chris Hawker 2:05:07 Technical Guide with Barbara Jones 2:34:03 Q&A with Cypren Edmunds, Chris Hawker & Barbara Jones 2:48:26 Airtightness with Paul Jennings 3:07:53 Whole LIfe Carbon: what it is and means for our materials choices with Joe Duirwyn 3:29:51 Straw & Mud: A Love Story with Jeffrey Hart 3:54:51 Q&A with Phil Christopher, Joe Duirwyn, Cypren Edmunds, Paul Jennings & Barbara Jones 4:14:56 What is SBUK & how do you join? with SBUK Directors: Phil Christopher & Cypren Edmunds

Associated weblinks from the webinar are at the bottom of this page

ESBG/SBUK Webinar Links

European StrawBale Association

Huff and Puff Construction

School of Natural Building

Hawkland Ecological Construction

Todmorden Learning Centre (Tod College)

Paul Jennings

Hartwyn

Defining and Aligning: Whole Life Carbon & Embodied Carbon

2030 Climate Challenge

Embodied Carbon – what is it and how to compare materials?

Getting to grips with whole-life carbon

AECB Lifetime Carbon Standard

Jeffrey Hart – Building Sustainability podcast

How to join StrawBale Building UK membership

architect climate action network – video of masterclass: straw

Sat, 14 Aug 2021 14:20:00 GMT

Now online for you to view at your leisure is the ‘Straw’ Masterclass we took part in last month.

ESBG 2021: Feedback Form

Thu, 05 Aug 2021 19:24:00 GMT

How did we do? Click image below to fill out quick survey.

Thank you!

ESBG 2021 – SBUK webinar

Fri, 30 Jul 2021 22:00:00 GMT

Our schedule for The European Strawbale Gathering (ESBG) 2021 on Saturday 31st is here

In the evening (7pm BST / 8pm CEST) we will be joining up with the European Strawbale Association for a special presentation

Click here for tickets now

architects climate action network | natural material masterclass | straw

Fri, 30 Jul 2021 21:32:00 GMT

A panel of expert speakers met last night to present the benefits of constructing with straw, the data behind the resources and the heritage of this natural building material in Architects Climate Action Network ‘s (ACAN) Masterclass for Straw

A captive audience, comprising of practioners from the built environment to keenly interested people were treated to a two hour session of education and fun!

The effectiveness of this material has been hotly debated over the years, misunderstood and misrepresented. Backed up with science, the audience listened to the statistics to support its robustness and debated its relevancy.

Engaging conversation about community bonding to delivery of healthy alternatives for the domestic and public sector, heightend the audience’s awareness to building with strawbales and straw panels.

The event also acted as a launch for tonight’s start of European Strawbale Gathering 2021 (ESBG 2021).

SBUK members Barbara Jones, Phil Christopher, Joe Duirwyn and Cypren Edmunds are presenting at this festival with other European organisations of the European StrawBale Association (ESBA).

If you missed the start of ESBG 2021, there were some spectacular tours of properties in Poland, Germany, Switzerland and Estonia

Don’t miss out tomorrow or Sunday – Click on the picture above for tickets now!

ESBG 2021 – SBUK Presenters: barbara jones

Fri, 30 Jul 2021 15:30:00 GMT

‘Cement Free Foundations’

Saturday 31st July 1035 – 1135 BST online (Zoom)

‘Straw and Building Regulations’

Saturday 31st July 1225 – 1245 BST online (Zoom)

Barbara Jones is a strawbale building guru having set up construction companies Straw Works, and Amazon Nails. She is the author of Building with Straw Bales – the most comprehensive guide to strawbale building, a founding member of SBUK and is a Director of The School of Natural Building.

She is now an independent consultant and board member of Todmorden Learning Centre and Community Hub.

ESBG 2021 – SBUK Presenters: paul jennings

Wed, 28 Jul 2021 12:32:00 GMT

‘Airtighness’

Saturday 31st July 1400 – 1420 BST online (Zoom)

Paul Jennings of Aldas, is the most experienced airtightness tester and consultant in the UK, and, with over 30 years’ experience originated the “Airtightness Champion” concept.

He developed the 12 Steps to Airtightness approach to enable UK contractors to reliably deliver airtightness in Passivhaus and other low-energy projects.

He has been an AECB (Association for Environment Conscious Building) member for nearly 20 years and a Trustee for much of that time and, is a Director of the UK Cohousing Network .

ESBG 2021 – SBUK Webinar

Wed, 28 Jul 2021 11:24:00 GMT

Saturday 31st July 1000-1540 BST online (Zoom)

ESBG events start on Friday and finish on Sunday.

The full schedule of ESBG events is viewable here: https://strawbuilding.eu

Sign up for tickets using this link and on Friday and Saturday morning you will be sent information on how to join the sessions using Zoom and YouTube.

On Saturday 31st July SBUK are hosting a webinar during the day, plus a presentation in the Saturday evening ESBG session. Details are below.

N.B. If you have any questions or issues about the SBUK Webinar, please email esbg21@strawbalebuildinguk.com

SBUK Webinar, Saturday 31st July 2021

ESBG Evening Session, Saturday 31st July 2021

ESBG 2021 – SBUK Presenters: chris hawker

Tue, 27 Jul 2021 16:40:00 GMT

‘Straw Building Project Examples’

Saturday 31st July 1155 – 1225 BST online (Zoom)

Chris Hawker is a founder and co-director of Hawkland Ecological Construction , along with his business partner David Copeland.

Hawkland specialise in the use of appropriate materials, with a focus on sustainability and occupant health. They have delivered several straw projects using structural timber frames or straw panels, throughout southern England and Wales.

Hawkland also work extensively in renovation around the Bristol area, often working on traditional and heritage properties. Natural materials are employed here as well, including hempcrete, wood fibre insulation and a range of lime plasters.

ESBG 2021 – SBUK Presenters: jeffrey hart

Tue, 27 Jul 2021 10:10:00 GMT

‘Straw and Mud – A Love Story’

Saturday 31st July 1440 – 1500 BST online (Zoom)

Jeffrey Hart is a builder specialising in natural materials to create high performance, healthy homes.

He is a founding member of SBUK and his podcast series, Building Sustainability Podcast , where he talks to designers, builders, dreamers and doers in the built environment is an internet sensation.

ESBG 2021 – SBUK Presenters: joe duirwyn

Mon, 26 Jul 2021 16:58:00 GMT

‘Whole Life Carbon – What it is and what it means to our material choices’

Saturday 31st July 1420 – 1440 BST online (Zoom)

Joe has worked at the sustainable end of construction for over 20 years. With a strong background in conventional building he has consistently worked towards a more integrated approach where sustainability and heritage trades walk hand-in-hand with modern building science. A natural materials advocate and building science geek, Joe is passionate about pushing the conversation forward and moving the industry towards the zero carbon targets it needs to meet.

ESBG 2021 – SBUK Presenters: phil christopher

Mon, 26 Jul 2021 08:33:00 GMT

‘Straw Building Basics’

Saturday 31st July 1015-1035 BST online (Zoom)

Phil Christopher is an environmentalist, builder and trainer and he believes passionately in making a low-impact lifestyle an attractive possibility for everyone. Phil runs Huff and Puff Construction , specialising in straw bale and sustainable building, training and design. Phil is also part of Straw-bale Building UK (SBUK), a community benefit society that works to promote straw bale building and best practice.

ACAN’s Natural Materials Masterclass: Straw

Wed, 21 Jul 2021 17:31:00 GMT

We are very excited to be a part of this very special event – it is the perfect accompaniment to launch ESBG 2021 the following day

Join us as SBUK founding members, Phil Christopher, Barbara Jones, Joe Duirwyn and Cypren Edmunds present topics across the colouful kaleidoscope of constructing with straw, at ACAN’s second episode in their ‘Natural Materials’ programme

Tickets for this free event are available here

The first event, ‘Intro to Natural Materials’ is available here to view

European StrawBale Gathering (ESBG) 2021

Thu, 15 Jul 2021 20:55:00 GMT

As members of ESBA we are proud to announce our virtual/online participation of European StrawBale Gathering (ESBG) on Friday 30th July – Sunday 1st August 2021

The full programme and Tickets are available here: E.S.B.A.

The three days will feature: educational, ‘live’ and Q&A sessions from SBUK and our fellow members of E.S.B.A. (European StrawBale Association)

More about SBUK’s final itinerary on Saturday 31st tba!

A teaser for the event, delivered by Herbert Gruber of ESBA (and of the Austrian StrawBale Network) is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAMX2UOan_w&t=17s

Share widely!

Sustainability of the Built Environment – Written evidence from StrawBale Building UK

Thu, 01 Jul 2021 18:03:00 GMT

In May we submitted evidence to the UK’s Environment Audit Committee regarding, ‘Sustainability of the Built Environment’.

Our paper, amongst many other worthy submissions, was accepted by the Committee, and will be taken into consideration once the debate is opened for discussion in the near future.

The SBUK’s document can be read here

Many thanks to all of our contributors , notably Mary Rawlinson and Julia Bennett.

Vote for ‘The Bale House’

Mon, 31 May 2021 11:01:00 GMT

Final day for voting for the #GreenSolution awards. Vote here

ACAN’s Natural Materials Business Survey

Thu, 06 May 2021 17:01:00 GMT

To support preparing a response for EAC’s ‘ Sustainability in the built environment ‘ inquiry, ACAN have prepared a quick-fire survey of businesses working in the natural materials industry. The intention is to quickly gather some fresh evidence and insights for solutions and actions the government can take to support businesses working with natural materials – producers, suppliers, designers, builders, manufacturers etc.

They would like to gather as many responses as possible so please share as far and wide as you can!

Deadline for responses is midday Wednesday 12 May .

We only have a week, so we’re hoping to use this as a launch pad for future research, rather than it being finished once the survey ends.

Survey link

Thank you!

Green Solutions Award 2021 – Vote for ‘The Bale House’!

Tue, 27 Apr 2021 18:20:00 GMT

This UPSTRAW Project uses natural materials such as lime, wood and especially straw in the walls which sequesters carbon, creates new links between the agricultural and construction industries, and, enhances the value of the farmer’s crop.

This case study offers lessons on dealing with risk posed by excessive wind speeds on the site, and on how to build a successful conStrawtium! Green & Castle Huff and Puff Constructions

See more about this Green Solutions Awards 2020-21 candidate, and Vote here: https://bit.ly/3sJDI75

the bale house

Fri, 09 Apr 2021 17:16:00 GMT

Wow! Check out at the latest video update of the ‘Bale House’ by the Constrawtium team!

is there enough straw to build with?

Fri, 09 Apr 2021 16:45:00 GMT

John Butler has been digging away in the vaults of Government data and statistics to ascertain the answer to one of the most often asked questions we receive, “Is there enough straw to build”?

The figures are interestingly optimistic (we shan’t spoilt it for you!).

Dig in and sift through this very vital piece of work

UPSTRAW Yearbook 2020

Wed, 10 Mar 2021 12:23:00 GMT

The UPSTRAW Yearbook 2020 is now released.

Up Straw is a European INTERREG programme, launched in 2017, uniting partners across Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK to advance public sector adoption of straw and other biobased materials through investment, policy alignment, and the delivery of five exemplar public buildings.

Other project outcomes covered in this Yearbook include:

We hope you enjoy this publication and encourage you to forward it to your colleagues and others in your networks: UPSTRAW Yearbook 2020 .

Women in Construction – International Women Day

Mon, 08 Mar 2021 14:54:00 GMT

Three fantastic women, 3 leaders of industry.

As founding members of Strawbale UK these women have been with us from the start and today are as integral to our vision: Mary Rawlinson, SBUK Chair, Green and Castle & Constrawtium , Barbara Jones of Straw Works , Eileen Sutherland School of Natural Building

UP STRAW Zotero database

Wed, 03 Mar 2021 14:47:00 GMT

Great news!

The partners of UP STRAW have collated, through the ‘Zoreto’ platform, an open source database of free reference management tools that allows the user to manage bibliographical data and documents such as websites, videos, scientific articles, books and PDFs.

This will cover the regulatory aspects, construction techniques, technical and environmental performance, fire security and acoustics and scientific publications of building with Strawbales or Straw panel s from around the world.

Enjoy your search here

Rising Damp

Thu, 18 Feb 2021 19:14:00 GMT

This is not a homage to the popular British sitcom, but a brilliantly sharp (and witty!) conversation with Ben Kerslake of Carrington Lime and Jeffrey Hart’s Building Sustainability Podcast

Through his initial foray as a roofer, to the lessons learnt as a lime plasterer, we hear how Ben has honed his craft as a tradesman and, diligently educates as a course tutor.

Listen, learn and enjoy: Treating damp with Lime Plaster – Ben Kerslake – BS042

Holy Trinity’s Airtightness testing

Mon, 15 Feb 2021 18:03:00 GMT

Last year, SBUK member Dr Judith Thornton wrote a paper on Airtightness, of which we referenced here: https://strawbalebuildinguk.com/airtightness-and-natural-building-materials-by-judith-thornton

Richard Dormandy has led the work on Holy Trinity Tulse Hill’s strawbale building, the ‘Neigbourhood Hub’, and you can watch The Holy Trinity ‘airtightness’ videos here :

THE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF CONSTRUCTION

Wed, 03 Feb 2021 21:22:00 GMT

A network of architects and built environment professionals met tonight to see the unveiling of The Carbon Footprint Of Construction.

Led by ACAN – Architects Climate Action Network – over 300 delegates participated in tonight’s launch, listening to expert Speakers and colloborating in workshop/Breakout rooms.

If you want to help to decarbonise the construction sector, here is what you can do:

Densification meets natural retrofit – paris

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 19:01:00 GMT

https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=fr&tl=en&u=https://www.paris.fr/pages/de-la-paille-pour-l-isolation-d-un-immeuble-de-paris-habitat-15303

sbuk’s video presentation from NSBRC’s Virtual Building Systems Workshop – Saturday 12th December 2020

Sat, 09 Jan 2021 17:07:00 GMT

SBUK’s Treasurer and Huff and Puff proprietor, Phil Christopher, took part in the (NSBRC) National Self Build and Renovation Centre ‘s Virtual Building Systems Workshop in December (2020).

A well executed presentation drawing in all of the topical points in ‘strawbuilding’ construction including, ‘load-bearing’, in-fill’, ‘straw-panels’, ‘fabric first’, ‘cradle to cradle’, ‘fire-resistance’, ‘retrofit’, ‘standards’, ‘wall finishing’, and more!

His 30 minute presentation is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVJxTyQvzk0

You can see the whole programme of workshops on the link below at the bottom of the page (Building-Systems-Workshop-Recording-Links-Dec-2020)

Building-Systems-Workshop-Recording-Links-Dec-2020

Download

UPSTRAW – Building for change – Online training programme – Session 2

Tue, 05 Jan 2021 18:03:00 GMT

Happy New Year! Session 2 of the MOOC is now online.

In keeping with the global advancement of online learning, the straw building project, UPSTRAW , has partnered with the sustainable platform, MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses)

Offering free training, open to all, its is accessible wherever you are 24 hours a day!

Starting from the origin of straw construction, discover the energy performance of this material, the management of a straw construction project as well as the finishes.

It is aimed at designers (architects, design offices, construction economists) but also builders (masons, carpenters), wishing to discover straw insulation or deepen their knowledge. It may also be of interest to students in training or anyone wishing to learn more about straw construction.

The course is bilingual French / English.

INTERREG MOOC link :

https://www.nweurope.eu/projects/project-search/up-straw-urban-and-public-buildings-in-straw/action-activity/mooc/

About MOOC :

https://www.mooc-batiment-durable.fr/courses/course-v1:ApprochePaille+2020MOOCBAT02+session2/about

To enroll for the course, click on the link at the bottom of this page and this will open up to a registration form, which is in French. N.B. Google Chrome is the best operating system to utilise this

On the top right of this registration form is an option to complete it in English, should you prefer (see image below).

To register, click here

https://www.mooc-batiment-durable.fr/register?course_id=course-v1%3AApprochePaille%2B2020MOOCBAT02%2BSESSION01&enrollment_action=enroll

call for entries for ASBP 2021 Awards

Fri, 27 Nov 2020 16:34:00 GMT

ASBP Awards 2021

Supporters of enviromentally friendly building products ‘The Alliance for Sustainable Products’ (ASBP) are calling out for entries of their prestigious event, #ASBPAwards

To say that it has been a tough year would be quite an understatement, and next year’s award is consciously proposing to reflect the innovation utilised in the UK.

“We want to shine the light on transformative ideas and the people behind them. Ideas for which the time has come. In essence, we want to showcase your lockdown epiphanies, personal insights, innovative ideas, or radical action.” ( Click on the image above for more information )

Deadline: 18th December 2020

Good Luck!

Constructing Excellence SECBE ‘People’s Choice Award’

Thu, 25 Jun 2020 17:54:00 GMT

Richard Dormandy and his team of ‘Holy Trinity’ in Tulse Hill are finalists in the ‘Construction Excellence SECBE – ‘People’s Choice Award’, in the catergory ‘Sustainability’.

We visited them last year and reported on the brilliant work that they are doing in not just utilising strength in community spirit (500 volunteers!) but in constructing this formidable build in an eco-friendly style (479 tonnes CO2 saved instead of 400 tonnes CO2 emitted) Tulse Hill Straw Build

Closing date is midnight Wednesday 1st July. Just one click is all that is needed. Vote here

UPSTRAW Database of Strawbale Buildings

Mon, 18 May 2020 14:51:00 GMT

The School of Natural Building team are drawing up a complete and comprehensive database of strawbale buildings in the UK and Ireland!

Interreg Database of Strawbale buildings
Through their partnership with other European countries, funded by Interreg and called UP Straw, the School of Natural Building (SNaB) is drawing up a database of all known strawbale buildings in the UK and Ireland. This database will be made public, (those parts that are not confidential), via a map held on the European Straw Bale Association website and elsewhere including that of SNaB. Part of this information is required to see if the activity of the partnership has increased the numbers of strawbale buildings in Europe, so dates of build are important. A major reason for publicising the numbers and locations is to show that this is indeed a viable and growing sector of construction, and to help our sector gain credibility nationally.

Please give as much information as you can about each project, but don’t omit a project if all you know is a few facts – they can do further research if they know where to look. Also, please include all projects you know, apart from those by Amazon Nails or Straw Works as they will capture those. And finally, please pass this on to anyone you think may have further information.

It would be most helpful to us if you could fill out the excel sheet with all the information you have. Follow this link . If you are unable to do this however, please use the table in Word and copy and paste it for each separate project. Follow this link for Word version . Once completed, please email it back to us.

We would like to get a really up to date idea of exactly how many strawbale buildings and of what type there are in the UK and Ireland, and to compare this with other European countries.

SBUK are sub-partners with SNaB on this project, and would very much appreciate it if you would share this as widely possible.

Thank you
The SNaB & SBUK team on behalf of UP STRAW

UPSTRAW YEAR BOOK 2019

Thu, 12 Mar 2020 20:10:00 GMT

A new online publication has arrived: UPSTRAW YEAR BOOK 2019

This edition begins with an introduction on the benefits of building with straw.

Watch out for forthcoming issues!

Futurebuild 2020

Wed, 04 Mar 2020 11:29:00 GMT

Visiting @FuturebuildNow today?

Go see Barbara Jones @strawworks at the #NaturalBuilding area, stand G70

Together with @Terra_Perma_EB , @EarthBuildingUK , and @lime_products it is a full day of building demonstrations lined up for today and tomorrow!

Constrawtium update

Thu, 06 Feb 2020 20:19:00 GMT

Wow! Work on the Visitors’ Centre in Hastings is going through at a rapid pace.

Plywood is up and one of the Constrawtium crew is sanding it down before applying the wax for a surface finish

Instagram: @constrawtium

Airtightness and natural building materials by Judith Thornton

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 09:25:00 GMT

This is a great introductory blog to those of you who are new to the idea of working with natural building materials. It challenges the outcomes of what is considered ‘airtight’ and the relevancy of that within construction and comfortability to the user.

It is easy to understand and with no jargon, so it is suitable for the first time builder as well as the experienced constructor: Airtightness and natural building materials – Part 1

The second part of the article is available here: Airtightness and natural materials – Part 2

Judith presently works at Aberystwyth University on the BEACON project, which is funded through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) by the Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO). Her main interest is innovations in plant based building materials

From the Australian press…the good news keeps on coming about ESBG 2019

Thu, 03 Oct 2019 16:53:00 GMT

David Thorpe wrote for the Australian on-line journal, The Fifth Estate wrote about ESBG 2019: https://www.thefifthestate.com.au/innovation/public-authorities-should-hold-tenders-for-straw-bale-buildings/

ESBG2019 was supported by INTERREG for the umbrella project ‘UPSTRAW’.

As part of the UPSTRAW project a UK consortium, Constrawtium, are undertaking the building of the new Visitors Centre in Hastings

So nice to see the love spreading to the other side of the world. Thanks David x

Constrawtium at The Big Green Fair

Fri, 27 Sep 2019 12:08:00 GMT

This Sunday 29th September, 11am – 4pm , SBUK Director Mary Rawlinson is at the Big Green Fair

Mary is representing the Constrawtium group, which is a consortium of UK natural material builders enabled by the INTERREG/UPSTRAW initiative

The INTERREG/UPSTRAW deal promotes straw buildings to the public sector and Constrawtium are building the new Visitors’ Centre in Hastings, in association with Hastings Borough Council as part of this

She will be in the Stade Hall, Stade Space (the outside area between Stade Hall and the Jerwood Gallery and the Shipwreck Museum) between 11am – 3pm

Drop in and ask about the plans for this exciting UPSTRAW project

ESBG 2019 #UPSTRAW Todmorden, Yorkshire – Straw sharing

Wed, 21 Aug 2019 19:52:00 GMT

This was a day for sharing techniques, networking, providing examples of new strawbale buildings, promoting the developments in straw bale building in Europe, more workshops…and playing with Lego in Todmorden’s Hippodrome theatre. Phew!

ESBG 2019 #UPSTRAW, Todmorden, Yorkshire. Straw goes public & in Communities

Wed, 21 Aug 2019 14:35:00 GMT

To say that this event was spectacular is an understatement. Visitors from across Europe went on guided tours of buildings made of straw in the locality, attended workshops, expert speakers’ delivered jaw-dropping presentations and, we had a ceilidh. Bring on the next European Straw Bale Gathering.

Construction of the Hastings Country Park’s Visitor Centre by Constrawtium

Wed, 07 Aug 2019 13:36:00 GMT

In 2017 we ventured with other members of the INTERREG initiative UPSTRAW , to see the above area for a new Vistors’ Centre in Hastings.

Murray Davidson of Hastings Borough Council spoke about the ambition for the proposed build and we explored how to could pool our energies to bring this to frution.

In May of this year a corsortium of natural builders ( Constrawtium ) began work on the site.

Constrawtium, consists of: Huff and Puff Construction , SIA Design Build , Green & Castle , and Red Kite Design .

The group have been working exceptionally hard and we are proud that their labours (both demonstrably & studiously behind the scenes) are becoming visible for the public to see.

As part of the European StrawBale Gathering 2019 in Todmorden we are pleased to announce that Murray will be presenting a talk about public procurement of strawbale buildings .

We encourage you to be a part of this exciting adventure and visit Todmorden for ESBG2019 as this notable event will include top speakers, builders and educators of the natural building arena of which the UK has never seen before! Tickets are available here

SBUK founder members Chris Hawker & David Copeland are Speakers at ESBG 2019

Fri, 28 Jun 2019 12:17:00 GMT

Chris and David have been with SBUK since day one. Respected builders in the industry they bring with them a studious and creative outlook having met whilst studying at the Centre of Alternative Technology . Their expertise will feature in a workshop on straw bale building within a timber frame. Come and see them at esbg2019.org

ESBG 2019

Fri, 24 May 2019 13:06:00 GMT

The European Straw Bale Gathering (ESBG) is a biennial event, which the UK is privileged to be hosting, for the first time, in Todmorden, West Yorkshire.

Tickest are available here

ESBG this year is part of the Interreg funded UP Straw project. In keeping with the aims of UP Straw, we will be demonstrating the wonderful insulation, fuel cost cutting and carbon reduction properties of building with straw to: planners, architects, public authorities, universities, self-builders and communities.

ESBG 2019 is all about…

Tulse Hill Straw Bale Build

Thu, 16 May 2019 08:17:00 GMT

In the urban landscape of London, where land to build is scarce, and new build opportunities are few and far between, the area of Tulse Hill is fortunate to have within its community a construction that is currently taking place on epic proportions.

Arguably, Europe’s largest urban straw bale build, the Tulse Hill Bale Build has markedly grown into a sight to behold!

Richard Dormandy and Nicole Lyon are orchestrating the construction of the church hall, which began in 2017. With work mainly carried out by volunteers they intend for fitting out to be completed by 2021.

This is a formidable piece of work which was initially assisted by our founding members Straw Works.

The church which is adjacent to the new hall was completed in the mid 19th century, and the site where the hall is being erected was demolished in the 1980s. With a group as enthusiastic as this to bring new energy to their surroundings and build their own meeting place with consideration to the planet, it comes as no surprise that this creation has developed as strikingly magnificent as it is.

The Douglas Fir frame went up in March 2017 and the office and kitchen will be built-in this year (2019). Clay plaster will be applied as well as limecrete for the natural finish….

…and the lift and stairs will complete the picture.

Like what you see? Want to help? Contact Nicole below:

We have great pleasure to announce Richard Dormandy will be at this year’s ESBG2019. Purchase Early Bird tickets here

Come and see us on the @NaturalBuildUK stand G57, at @futurebuild: Today – Thursday!

Tue, 05 Mar 2019 12:03:00 GMT

Come and visit our director @JNaturalBuilder from @hartwyn and @NaturalBuildUK partners at @futurebuild : Stand G57

Omer Saatcioglu from University of Bath is speaking at the BSBG

Wed, 18 Jul 2018 10:45:00 GMT

Really pleased to have Omer presenting the excellent research work from the University of Bath – The lecturer will give information about a load-bearing straw-bale wall assembly which aims to be an economical alternative for the countries where timber is a limited natural source.

Get your tickets now from www.strawbalebuildinguk.com/The-Big-Straw-Bale-Gathering

Name:

N.Omer Saatcıoğlu

Organisation:

University of Bath

Lecture title:

Re-Reading Straw Bale

Brief description:

The lecture will be subjected to the summary of an ongoing research project at the University of Bath about the straw-bale construction. The lecturer will give information about a load-bearing straw-bale wall assembly which aims to be an economical alternative for the countries where timber is a limited natural source.

Speaker Bio:

Saatcioglu is a “Visiting Research Fellow” in “Center for Innovative Construction Materials (BRE CICM)” at Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering in “University of Bath” and currently been employed as an “Assistant Professor Dr.” at “Istanbul Kultur University”. His major research interests include “Straw Bale Design”, “Green Building Systems and Technologies” and “Simplicity and Complexity in Architecture”.

Saatcioglu has taken an active role, as an architect, in the process of designing and constructing Turkey’s first load-bearing straw-bale building. Under the organization of Turkish Wheat Association, design and construction processes were completed as a demonstration project for the public to visit. At the same time, straw-bale construction and green architecture lectures were given by him to the volunteers and the public. Saatcioglu has several papers, proceedings and two international patent pending applications about straw-bale construction.

Rae Parkinson is teaching clay plastering!

Mon, 16 Jul 2018 19:16:00 GMT

The wonderfully talented, Rae Parkinson, is teaching a clay plastering workshop at the Big Straw Bale Gathering!

All workshops and talks and included in the ticket price – so get your ticket now here!

BSBG Workshop – Will Stanwix – Making Clay Straw Blocks

Mon, 11 Jun 2018 10:37:00 GMT

Will Stanwix , co-author of ‘ The Hempcrete Book : Designing and building with hemp-lime’ will be running a workshop at the Big Straw Bale Gathering teaching you how to create you own clay straw blocks. Learn about how to vary the mix to create insulating blocks or mass blocks and how to lay them.

The practical workshops are a massive part of the Big Straw Bale Gathering. A chance for you to learn the hands on skills necessary to build your own home, or brush up on some of the latest techniques.

Workshops are included in the ticket price, and will require signing up on the morning of the workshop (Don’t worry there will be plenty of sessions!).

Tickets are selling fast, so get your tickets here now!

BSBG Workshop – Hawkland – Intro to building with bales

Thu, 07 Jun 2018 10:21:00 GMT

Workshops are included in the ticket price, and will require signing up on the morning of the workshop (Don’t worry there will be plenty of sessions!).

First workshop up is:

Intro To Bale Building

From resizing a bale to notching a post. Build a complete wall, straighten and prep for plaster. Prefect Beginner session.

Workshop led by: Hawkland Ecological Building

Get your tickets now!

Keynote speakers – Ed & Rowena Waghorn

Fri, 18 May 2018 18:38:00 GMT

We are so pleased to add Ed and Rowena Waghorn as keynote speakers for the Big Straw Bale Gathering. Their Episode of Grand Designs, which took over 10 years to complete, is a work of art. We are delighted they are coming to share their views on building a home.

www.lifeonthehill.co.uk

Emma Appleton – Speaker at the BSBG

Sat, 28 Apr 2018 11:46:00 GMT

We are so pleased to announce Emma Appleton’s talk at the Big Straw Bale Gathering. Emma is a very talented straw bale builder and heritage woodworker. Warm, bright and just enough is her design mantra.

Tickets are on sale now for the reduced price (thanks to European funding) of £75. Get yours now!

Name: Emma Appleton

Organisation: Emma Appleton

Lecture title: How can our businesses be anti-capitalist? And is that even possible?

Brief description:

A discussion that tackles the way natural building (and the small businesses that have built up within it) can be, and are, a part of this surge to create something new and outside of patriarchal capitalism. We will explore ways we can transform our relationships to money, work, the earth, and our bodies that further challenge the status quo. And try to determine what can we do to push the boundaries that will tip the balance towards a community minded economy?

Speaker Bio:

Hello. My name is Emma Appleton. I am a builder and community facilitator.

I build houses and community buildings which are warm, bright and just enough. I am inspired by buildings that have a simple beauty and work just perfectly for their owner. The ease of functionality of a space has an inherent attractiveness. Warm, bright and just enough is my design mantra to help me focus on the things that really matter.

I am a trained carpenter and joiner I specialised in Heritage woodwork following an apprenticeship with the Princes Foundation. It is inspiring to work on buildings that tell stories of their history. I was taught by an incredible master craftsperson who leaves a relief of a lion’s head cast in lead in each of his projects for craftspeople of the future to discover as their complete their own repairs.

James Shorten from Regenerative Settlement Trust

Fri, 27 Apr 2018 11:15:00 GMT

We are incredibly pleased to add James Shorten to our massive list of speakers for the Big Straw Bale Gathering. James was the main author on the Welsh Government’s One Planet Development guidance. He is a planning expert and will be talking about regenerative settlements.

James is part of an all star natural building lineup giving talks and presenting workshops a the Big Straw Bale Gathering – Get your tickets from the online store now!

Name: James Shorten
Organisation: Regenerative Settlement Trust
Lecture title: Regenerative Settlement – A New Paradigm For Planning and Eco- Development
Brief description:
Regenerative Settlement is a new way of thinking about development – that development can make things better, not worse, which is what is generally assumed. Nearly 30 years of planning work have led to the formulation of this recipe for sustainable communities which also ticks the planning boxes. An introduction to the concept, our live projects (including a 100 house ecovillage).

Speaker bio: Planner with 25+ years of experience in Low Impact Development. Main author of the Welsh Government’s One Planet Development Guidance. Runs Geo, a consultancy specialising in sustainable rural development projects, large and small.

Peter Beresford and Henrik Saarinen speaking at the BSBG

Thu, 26 Apr 2018 10:59:00 GMT

We are very pleased to add Peter Beresford and Henrik Saarinen from Structural Solutions to the lineup for The Big Straw Bale Gathering. Structural Solutions were the engineers for the Down To Earth Roundhouse that is our venue for the weekend. Their tag team talk is entitled : ‘ Structural considerations in straw-bale construction including foundations, stability, framing, floors and roofs.’

Get your tickets now for the newly reduced price of £75 at our online store.

Name:

Peter Beresford and Henrik Saarinen

Organisation:

Structural Solutions Management Ltd. Bristol.

Lecture title:

Engineering Aspects of Straw Buildings

Brief description:

Structural considerations in straw-bale construction including foundations, stability, framing, floors and roofs.

Speaker bio:

Peter Beresford BSc CEng MIStructE (Director)

Peter graduated from Bristol University in Civil Engineering and joined Buro Happold for 8 years, gaining experience in the design of steel and concrete structures, in the UK and the Middle East, before starting Structural Solutions 23 years ago. Since then he has been engineering smaller but equally exciting buildings; using a broader range of materials, including straw, timber, masonry, glass, steel and concrete; for a variety of clients, from self-builders to property developers.

Henrik Saarinen MEng (Hons) CEng MIStructE (Senior Engineer)

Henrik graduated in 2012 with a First Class degree in Civil Engineering from The University of Bath. He has already gained a broad experience of projects ranging from a few thousand pounds to tens of millions, in the residential, commercial and educational sectors. He is interested in balancing structural efficiency and the practicalities of construction. Henrik joined Structural Solutions two years ago and has been responsible for the engineering design of Down to Earth’s new residential building, as well as a number of straw-bale and reciprocal roof roundhouse projects.

The Big Straw Bale Gathering Speakers List is out!

Thu, 05 Apr 2018 10:47:00 GMT

The majority of our speakers for the Big Straw Bale Gathering are below. We still have a few special guests in the pipeline which will be announced as they are confirmed.

As you can see we have a broad spectrum of speakers lined up, speaking on a wide range of topics.

Get your tickets now / Find out more about the Big Straw Bale Gathering

Speakers

Barbara Jones

School Of Natural Building

Straw Trek: The Next Generation – A journey through time and spaces

Judith Thornton

Aberystwyth University

What’s in a bale and why it matters

Peter Shubert

Capital [A] Architects

Straw and other regrowing building materials for multi storey housing constructions.

Craig White

Modcell / White Design

We Can Make – Affordable Homes Renewable Materials

Emma Appleton

emmaappleton.co.uk

How can our businesses be anti-capitalist? And is that even possible?

Chris Vernon

One Planet Council

One Planet Development: an opportunity for straw

Paul Jennings

Criafolen Permaculture

Permaculture Design: Survival and Beyond Sustainability

Peter Beresford & Henrik Saarinen

Structural Solutions

Lecture Title TBC

Pete Walker

Bath University

Lecture title TBC

5 for 5

Open to all BSBG Attendees

5 photos in 5 minutes – Have you done something you want to share, have an idea or problem in your build you want to discuss? Here is your chance to show your 5 slides, in 5 minutes.

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Paul Jennings is speaking at the Big Straw Bale Gathering

Wed, 04 Apr 2018 12:26:00 GMT

Name : Paul Jennings

Organisation : Criafolen Permaculture

Lecture title : Permaculture Design for Builders

Brief description : Permaculture design offers a whole site and beyond basis for builders looking to fit their projects sensitively and sustainably into the landscape and community. This lecture will provide a brief look at the application of Permaculture to building, site and settlement design.

Next Members’ meeting: Friday 23rd March

Thu, 15 Mar 2018 21:18:00 GMT

Our next members’ meeting is: Friday 23rd March, 11am-3pm

Venue: The Briar Rose (in the upstairs meeting room)

Address: Bennetts Hill, Birmingham B2 5RE.

New members are welcome & can join on the day:

Barbara Jones will be speaking at the Big Straw Bale Gathering

Mon, 05 Mar 2018 10:52:00 GMT

Very excited to announce that Barbara Jones of Straw Works and The School of Natural Building will be sharing her wealth of knowledge with you all at the Big Straw Bale Gathering .

Speaker Name : Barbara Jones.

Organisation : Straw Works and The School of Natural Building.

Talk Title : Straw Trek – The Next Generation.

Talk description: A journey through time and spaces

Speaker Bio:

Barbara pioneered the idea and inspiration of strawbale natural building in the UK in 1994
and has led the growing movement to improve our built environment and speak out about
the problems and health risks of certain manufactured products and practices that are
widely used today. She is internationally recognised for her work in developing the design of
strawbale buildings using only natural materials, speaks at International conferences, and
has a wide network of colleagues and contacts within her field.

She designed and built the UK’s first Council houses out of straw, the first 2 storey loadbearing strawbale houses, the first terrace of strawbale houses and the first strawbale Hotel. She works closely with self-builders to design affordable homes and mentor them through the build process, and has been involved in over 500 builds. She has also designed several options for cement-free foundations, all of which are approved by UK Building regulations, and are increasingly being used by other architects and engineers. Currently she is designing pre-fabricated straw panel houses for housing developers.

Alongside her passion for building, Barbara is also internationally acclaimed for developing a
unique and empowering way of teaching practical skills on building sites. This method has
resulted in an unheard of number of women learning practical construction skills, proving it
is not the job that puts women off, but the way it’s taught and carried out (in construction
there are at present less than 1% women working ‘on the tools’, but in the School of Natural
Building there are over 60%).

All this has been achieved in novel ways through collaboration, skill sharing and community participation. Most recently she is part of the team that successfully secured the Asset Transfer of a Community College in Todmorden, that she will help to run as a Centre of Natural Building, agro-ecology, and community ventures.
She is the author of Building with Straw Bales, a manual for architects and self-builders, that has been continuously in print since 2002, last revised and updated in 2015.

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Judith Thornton from Aberystwyth University is giving a talk at the BSBG

Sun, 04 Mar 2018 11:10:00 GMT

How into bales is Judith? Well, she just bought her own baling machine to play with!

Name : Judith Thornton

Company : Aberystwyth University

Talk title : What’s in a bale and why it matters

Talk description : General discussion on what affects straw bale degradability, alternative straws, potential for bale redesign.

Judith’s Bio : Judith is Low Carbon Manager in the BEACON project at Aberystwyth University. She works with companies on innovations relating to plant-based building materials. In 2017 she was part of the team building the world’s first straw bale house built out of Miscanthus. She is interested in the relative merits of different straw types, and in optimising bale production for the straw bale building industry.

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Craig White is giving a talk at The Big Straw Bale Gathering

Sat, 03 Mar 2018 10:30:00 GMT

We are delighted to add Craig White to the lineup for The Big Straw Bale Gathering.

Name : Craig White

Company : White Design , ModCell

Talk Title : We Can Make – Affordable Homes Renewable Materials

Talk description : In a world where an affordable home is the oxymoron of our time and the
property ladder has no rungs, we need new forms of housing models. We Can Make is a new housing initiative that supports communities to create the homes they want and need. Knowle West Media Centre, White Design and ModCell have brought together Knowle West residents, artists, academics,
designers, architects, lawyers and policy makers to develop a sustainable, affordable housing platform that will deliver 350, 1 and 2 bedroom homes using a unique disaggregated community land trust model.

Speakers Bio

Developer, architect and renewable material entrepreneur, Craig synthesises a number of roles to help deliver sustainable outcomes in the built environment. Craig is currently leading work on a new model of prefabricated, community-led and financed affordable housing to meet the housing crisis challenge using carbon-banking renewable materials. A core focus of Craig’s work is how research-led innovation delivers commercial impact and sustainable outcomes in practice. Craig has a proven passion and pragmatism for delivering innovative, affordable and sustainable design for a better-built environment as well as a thorough understanding of the triple bottom line of social, economic and environmental measures that must be considered to effect change. Expertise in low carbon design that spans embodied and operational emissions, prefabricated systems design and engineering as well as the individual, community and societal behaviours that can drive change for a better designed and more sustainable built environment.

Working in practice for clients in the private and public sectors across commercial, education, housing and community sectors Craig’s work is informed by award winning practice and innovative research to ensure that client’s needs are met with leading edge thinking and its practical application. Systems Thinking underpins Craig’s approach to his work and how its application optimises benefits in reducing environmental impact while maximising societal, economic and environmental outcomes in an interdependent and interconnected world. An experienced leader and company director in the private sector with non-executive director roles and board level experience for organisations in the design, construction, charity, research and arts sectors. An excellent communicator and public speaker able to present complex issues simply, eloquently and relevantly to a wide variety of stakeholder audiences. Experience of delivering sustainable, community-led prefabricated housing developments through effective stakeholder engagement and clear outcome focussed processes.

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Peter Schubert [RIBA] is giving a talk at the Big Straw Bale Gathering

Fri, 02 Mar 2018 12:50:00 GMT

Next up we have Peter Schubert who will be joining us from Vienna.

Buy your tickets here

Name : Peter Schubert

Company : Capital [ A ] architects, Vienna

Talk Title : Straw and other regrowing building materials for multi storey
housing constructions.

Talk description : Structural possibilities, thermal insulation potential & fire
safety of different construction methods using timber, straw, clay – & lime
plaster, hemp, wood-fibre and cellulose.

Speakers Bio :

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Dr Chris Vernon is giving a talk at the Big Straw Bale Gathering!

Thu, 01 Mar 2018 10:28:00 GMT

And we are off! We are very excited to announce Dr Chris Vernon will be giving a talk at The Big Straw Bale Gathering 2018.

Chris and his wife Erica have recently built a two story, roundwood timber frame, straw bale house on their One Planet Development smallholding in Carmarthenshire. This project was motivated by a desire to design and build a ‘zero-carbon in construction and use’ house and have a lot of fun along the way. Chris is also a beekeeper and orchardist. He is a chartered engineer, holds a Ph.D. in glaciology and p reviously worked as climate scientist with the Met Office.

Lecture title:

One Planet Development: an opportunity for straw

A presentation in two parts. Firstly the One Planet
Development planning policy in Wales, the requirements and opportunities it
presents for natural building. Secondly I will describe the process we went
through designing and building our two story, straw bale house with
roundwood timber frame within this policy framework in Carmarthenshire.

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#UPSTRAW meets #AUBHUMAN

Tue, 27 Feb 2018 21:23:00 GMT

Next week for @inspiredAUB one of our founding members, Phil Christopher, will be presenting a talk for ‘AUB Human’ , in Bournemouth, Tuesday 6th March 2018. And if that isn’t enough ‘ Huff and Puff Construction ‘ are building a straw venue for the ‘Pop up Cinema’ too!

The day comprises of symposiums, talks and workshops ‘created to celebrate social, ethical and sustainable creative practice within our community. It connects designers, architects, filmmakers and a pool of creative #AUBMAKERS who share one desire – ‘to bring positive change for global good.”

Full details of the day’s programme are here

The Big Straw Bale Gathering – Last few days of early bird tickets and lineup announcements

Mon, 26 Feb 2018 16:58:00 GMT

On Thursday the 1st of March we will start releasing our lineup of speakers for the 2018 Big Straw Bale Gathering.

Early bird ticket prices will end at 23:00 Wednesday the 28th of February.

We have also updated the event info, so please check out the Big Straw Bale Gathering event page

View from the hill – reflections on building the world’s first Miscanthus bale house.

Fri, 09 Feb 2018 12:10:00 GMT

Straw bale building in the UK has a history of artful and inspired design and has resulted in a small number of iconic buildings, and a much larger number of elegant and understated ones. However, whilst the built form and structural details vary, relatively little attention has been paid to what type of straw is used; the conventional choice in the UK is wheat and sometimes barley. Practitioners tend not to say that one straw type is better than another. It is also quite striking that discussions on choice of bale are almost always about buildability, density and moisture content, as opposed to the plant species it comes from or the implications for long term performance of the building.
But that’s all about to change.

What are the benefits of Miscanthus

Using miscanthus bales

As with wheat and barley, Miscanthus is typically baled in large square Hesston bales for ease of handling and transport. However in 2016, Aberystwyth University asked Terravesta (the UKs leading Miscanthus supply chain company) to produce some small square bales, with the specific intention of trialling their use in buildings. Following successful testing by Bee Rowan of Strawbuild on courses at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) in 2016, the opportunity to use Miscanthus in a real self-build project arose in 2017, which is where the intrepid Steph Robinson takes over the story.
“There were some key considerations for my house build – I wanted a home with a small ecological footprint, I wanted to be able to build it with friends and I wanted a peaceful and healthy place to live. I saw the build tests by Bee, learnt about the research from Judith at Aberystwyth University and I enjoy spending time in straw bale buildings here at CAT which have such a relaxing quality to them due to the air and sound quality.”
The initial work on the strawbale wall element of the house was done via a CAT course. As is generally the case at the start of a straw bale building course, people are keen to get started, and there’s a certain degree of nervousness and excitement about how things will go. Added to this was some background nervousness about the use of Miscanthus itself. However, this proved unfounded; initial demonstrations by Bee Rowan and Hassan Mzali on the basic processes involved went smoothly and within an hour or so, course participants were confidently placing the first course of bales. By the end of the week, the building was beginning to take shape.

So, how well did Miscanthus bales work?

In most ways, using Miscanthus instead of wheat or barley was completely unremarkable. The bales weighed in at a fairly typical 18.3kg and had a low moisture content (10.7%). They were easy to straighten, cut down to size and dress, and notches were easily cut with an alligator saw. The general construction of the walls proceeded normally, and compression was undertaken without anything unusual happening. There were a couple of key differences compared to most straw bale builds, arising from the intrinsic properties of Miscanthus itself. The first is that it was too rigid to use to stuff gaps or make ‘rats’ for plastering; it has a stiff stem, that makes an audible snapping sound when you try and bend it, unlike wheat or barley which is easy to manipulate. This stiffness also meant that the bales were less pleasant to handle; definitely a case of long sleeves and trousers rather than shorts and T shirts. The third difference also related to stem durability; wall strimming prior to plastering needs a sharp blade operating at high speed (on this project a chainsaw worked well, with the alligator saw proving inadequate). The durability of Miscanthus is not surprising when we think about the biology; the plant has evolved to grow to a height of around 3 metres so needs to be stronger than a wheat or barley stem. The physical arrangement of cells in Miscanthus stems reflects this, and the chemical composition is also different, with Miscanthus having a higher lignin content than wheat straw.
Steph spent a further week finishing off the bale placement, compressing them, and then shaping them with an alligator saw around the openings. A long weekend followed with lots of volunteers to plaster the walls with clay which adhered well to the miscanthus.

The future for Miscanthus bales?

New year’s day fire at lammas

Tue, 23 Jan 2018 10:36:00 GMT

All of us at SBUK were devastated to hear of the fire that destroyed Simon and Jasmine Dale’s house in the Lammas Eco village on new years day.

The home was an inspirational house, being built for very little money and a lot of hard work from Simon and a whole league of volunteers. The house used exceptionally low impact materials including straw walls, sheep wool insulation, earth and lime plasters and earthen floors. Being featured on Channel 4’s Grand Designs, the house stood as an example to thousands of what can be achieved.

Friends of Simon and Jasmine have set up a crowd-funding page for £50,000 to help rebuild. We urge you all to give a little if you can.

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/jane-wells-2

The home was an inspirational house, being built for very little money and a lot of hard work from Simon and a whole league of volunteers. The house used exceptionally low impact materials including straw walls, sheep wool insulation, earth and lime plasters and earthen floors. Being featured on Channel 4’s Grand Designs, the house stood as an example to thousands of what can be achieved.

Friends of Simon and Jasmine have set up a crowd-funding page for £50,000 to help rebuild. We urge you all to give a little if you can.

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/jane-wells-2

Straw bale house flammability myth

We were also annoyed to see The Telegraph misreporting the event with a classic straw bale myth – “

The house, situated in Lammas eco-village in Pembrokeshire, Wales, was built entirely of reclaimed materials, including glass and timber and insulated with sheep’s wool. But it was also constructed using straw, meaning the fire on January 1 ended up destroying the entire house.”

Jasmine Dale wrote to us saying:

“You’ll be pleased to know the straw and cob walls did not burn. Some stored reclaimed plastic stuff we intended to use under the earth floors downstairs as insulation ignited from a freak electrical fault nearby. The firemen actually knocked all the straw rendered walls down and raked them into the flames, a very strange experience, as they looked so intact!”

Straw bale buildings in Californian wild fires

This ties in with a report from the California straw bale association on the resilience of straw bale buildings during their extensive wildfires. This one example shows the whole house burned down EXCEPT the straw.

Full report here: https://www.strawbuilding.org/resources/Documents/Fire-ResistiveStrawbaleWalls.pdf

Video of official fire testing of straw bale wall

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjM0yXF7sy8

Big Straw Bale Gathering – Early Bird Tickets Now on Sale!

Wed, 10 Jan 2018 10:33:00 GMT

We are very pleased to announce the early bird tickets for The Big Straw Bale Gathering 2018 are on sale now. Get them early to take advantage of this discount price.

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SBUK Presents: The Big Straw Bale Gathering 2018

Theme: Sowing the inspiration, growing the industry & harvesting the knowledge

Down To Earth – Swansea, UK – 10th,11th & 12th of August 2018:
SBUK are proud to present the inaugural ‘Big Straw Bale Gathering’ – a gathering to discuss and learn straw bale construction and share the latest and best thinking within the industry.

Held at Down To Earth’s beautiful strawbale roundhouse in South Wales. The weekend will feature talks, discussions and hands-on workshops, for all levels, led by the UK’s best natural builders and leading associated professionals. So come down and get excited about building with straw, learn some new techniques or get stuck into the geeky technical stuff.

When you are full of knowledge you can relax with great local organic food, music, dancing, yoga, ‘Strawbale Ale’, children’s activities and a host of extracurricular events ranging from walks to canyoneering on the beautiful Gower peninsular!

Our aim – To promote straw bale building and best practice within the sector

Mon, 18 Dec 2017 21:51:00 GMT

Our aim – To promote straw bale building and best practice within the sector

The Big Straw Bale Gathering 2018

Mon, 02 Oct 2017 10:21:00 GMT

SBUK Presents: The Big Straw Bale Gathering 2018

SBUK Members meeting Friday 22nd September 2017 #strawbale #upstraw #construction

Wed, 13 Sep 2017 13:36:00 GMT

SBUK Members meeting

Date: Friday 22nd September 2017, 11am – 2pm

Venue: St Luke’s Church, Great Colmore Street, Lee Bank, B15 2AT

http://www.st-lukes-church-centre.org.uk/about-us/

SBUK Members meeting Friday 22nd September 2017 AGENDA

You are brilliant @ModCellTweet for flagging this

Fri, 17 Mar 2017 12:18:00 GMT

@ApprovedInsp @ArchitectsJrnal #strawbuilding #naturalbuild #earthbuilding

@EcoBuild_Now : Whose Regeneration Is It Anyway?

Tue, 07 Mar 2017 14:43:00 GMT

The complexities of housing on a large scale need to be redressed especially when the debate on inclusivity and construction materials are taken in wholeheartedly. Read our take of this discussion at EcoBuild 2017 and come and visit us at Stand F209 over the 3 days with Hartwyn – Natural Building , Straw Build , Straw Works , EBUKi , UK Hempcrete , Grain Architecture , Native Architects , and Orchard Barns.

ASBP HEALTHY BUILDINGS CONFERENCE & EXPO 2017

Wed, 15 Feb 2017 21:00:00 GMT

Construction conferences in today’s economic climate are important not just in sorting the wheat from the chaff but in opening up the conversation.

One of our founder members asked the question about challenging the perception that the mainstream has about ‘natural building’: why not have “Lectures challenging the industry’s approach to embodied carbon, circular economy, sustainable construction, inhabitant health, ecological impact, moisture regulation?” It was as if the organisers of today’s conference was listening to his inner thoughts.

We heard bold statements from the likes of Ian Mawditt and he, like others demonstrated how one click out of the cycle of the system can throw health and wellbeing of an individual into a downward spiral of illness (see Slide 8).

Mark Allan of Saint Gobain pointed to how the narrative is evolving into bettering the outlook for ‘health and wellbeing’: feeding into it with better performing materials. Public sector funding might well need a higher level of accountability and private funding on a mass scale might well be frowned upon if delivered just to the privileged, however instead of looking upon these moments cynically perhaps we ought to joyously look at the bigger developments as a source of inspiration as the public sector tweaks its systems to lean this way. The debate of man-made materials versus natural materials will always cause consternation across the industry and as one delegate opined “the impact of widely sourced materials and its affect on the eco-system on the whole” as a point for debate one gets the feeling that a meeting of minds is no longer just a soundbite for empty, vacuous action.

One of the most heartfelt talks was from Amena Warner of Allergy UK . Despite dismissing myths of washing clothes at cooler temperatures the more pertinently topics centred on the initial designs of a school, workplace or home. We overlook the wider outcome to meet our immediate, urgent needs and sadly pay for this in the long term.

The effort of this collective group of insightful minds will keep innovating and be always forward looking. Barbara Jones of Straw Works has persisted when others might previously have given up and her talk astounded the already converted about the wonderments of building with Straw Bale . The benefits of working with clay and earth building was not missed by those in the rom and at last outside the industry these aspects are beginning to bear fruit too. Roll on ASBP 2018!

ASBP Healthy Buildings Conference and Expo 2017. Early Birds last call!

Sat, 14 Jan 2017 13:17:00 GMT

A golden opportunity is available in constructing buildings, the healthy way.

Whether your interest is in the performance, sustainability, or functionality of a building there is something here for everyone. Many aspects will be covered under one roof and this conference appeals to the architects, self-builders, public building designers or those wanting to understand the benefits of low impact construction.

A 20% discount is available here . Closes tomorrow so get in quick!

Founder Memberships

Mon, 20 Jun 2016 20:04:00 GMT

I would like to invite you to make an initial payment to become a founder member of SBUK. The cost of a founder membership has been set at £50 per individual. In return for this payment you will receive your first year’s membership of SBUK and also be listed in perpetuity on the SBUK website as a founder member, along with a link to your company/website etc. if desired. The future membership model is still yet to be decided.

The founder membership monies are vital to helping SBUK meet its setup and running costs for the first year.

If you would like to become a founder member, please visit the membership page .

Add your skills to the ESBA database

Tue, 05 Apr 2016 11:52:00 GMT

We started the Skills-Database on ESBA website.

If you are interested to offer your work also in other countries, please fill out this form (its free).

Have a look here what others offer: http://www.strawbuilding.eu/ category/skills/

ESBA European Straw Building Association founded in Venice

Tue, 05 Apr 2016 11:48:00 GMT

SBUK – Meeting #3 – Jan 14th – Birmingham

Tue, 15 Dec 2015 10:30:00 GMT

Our next meeting will be at:

The Briar Rose Hotel, Bennetts Hill, Birmingham, B2 5RE

On January 14th 2016. 11am – 3pm.

Full agenda will be published closer to the event, if you would like to add any items please use the contact page.

SBUK – A new voice for strawbale building in the UK

Sun, 15 Nov 2015 10:33:00 GMT

http://www.lowimpact.org/sbuk-a-new-voice-for-strawbale-building-in-the-uk/

SBUK

A Practical Introduction to Natural Building – Straw, Clay, Lime: Derby

School of Natural Building – Practical Natural Building Course

Accessible by Nature - Inclusion, Health and Measured Performance

Measured performance in a lived-in load-bearing straw bale home

ASBP Material Mornings - Natural Fibre Insulation (online)

ASBP Material Mornings - Natural fibre insulation in practice

Straw Construction Featured in Build It Magazine

The December 2025 issue highlights the UK resource and the low embodied-carbon values set out in the straw EPD.

Healthy Buildings Conference and Expo 2026

Bringing science and industry together to advance healthier built environments

SEDA on biobased systems in housing and retrofit

Growing our homes: biobased materials and offsite practice

Architect and urban designer Clara Koehler of Woodknowledge Wales to speak at SBUK Symposium 2025

Architect and urban designer Clara Koehler of Woodknowledge Wales to speak at SBUK Symposium 2025

Judith Thornton joins SBUK Symposium 2025 speaker line-up

Dr Judith Thornton joins the SBUK Symposium 2025 stage

Jonathan Davies joins SBUK Symposium 2025 speaker line-up

SBUK Symposium welcomes Jonathan Davies to 2025 speaker line-up

Paul Crosby joins SBUK Symposium 2025 speaker line-up

Paul Crosby joins SBUK Symposium 2025 speaker line-up

Learning from Denmark: What the UK Can Take from a Leading Embodied Carbon Strategy

Denmark's Embodied Carbon Story and Learnings for Part Z

Now Live: How a Straw Panel Home Performs in Use – with Annie Benton

Agreka Build Joins SBUK with Breakthrough Wheat Straw Insulation Board

How an Ecococon Straw Panel Home Performs in Use

A lived-in look at seasonal comfort, heat loss and real-world performance in a straw panel home.

SBUK March Webinar - Timber framing for straw bale construction with Chris Hawker and Ben Nother

Watch now: Timber Framing for Straw Bale Construction

SBUK Webinar: Timber Framing for Straw Bale Construction – 25th March

Timber Framing for Straw Bale Construction with Chris Hawker and Ben Nother

SBUK Webinar: SBUK Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)

SBUK Webinar: Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)

SBUK Webinar: Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Straw Construction

Wednesday, 12 February 2025, 1pm - 2pm

SBUK Launches 2025 Webinar Series: Building with Giant Straw Bales

From Dream to Reality: Mastering 330kg Straw Bale Construction

SBUK Evolves

Embracing the Future of Straw Construction

Straw as a Sustainable Insulation Material in UK Construction

Straw as a Sustainable Insulation Material in UK Construction

SBUK Presents: Building Your Dream Strawbale Home - A Welsh Self-Build Journey

SBUK Presents: Building Your Dream Strawbale Home - A Welsh Self-Build Journey

ASBP webinar - What the Building Safety Act means for Low Carbon Construction

The State of Straw Construction in the UK and Europe

The State of Straw Construction in the UK and Europe

﻿

Wednesday 30th October, 1800 (GMT) / 1900 (CET)

SBUK Symposium 2025: Bigger, Better and Celebrating a Decade of Progress

SBUK Symposium 2025: Bigger, Better and Celebrating a Decade of Progress

What's New:

Retrofit Workshop & Straw Panel Double Bill

Retrofit Workshop & Straw Panel Double Bill

Listen to the 'Zero Ambitions Podcast' With John Butler: Can you have a zero carbon building?

Zero Ambitions Podcaast with John Butler

Warmest congratulations to Barbara Jones, awarded 'Greatest Woman Builder of All Time' by The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB)

Congratulations Barbara Jones!

Strawbale UK Presents: Strawbuilding Symposium 2024 - Biophilia - Nature's Blueprint

Strawbuilding Symposium 2024 - Biophilia - Nature's Blueprint

Become a member of SBUK on our new ’Straw’ Membership

Join SBUK on our new ’Straw’ Membership

Futurebuild, 5th -7th March 2024, ExCeL, London

﻿ SBUK members at Fu turebuild 2024, ExCel, London

Should more British homes be built using straw? SBUK Opinion

Should more British homes be built using straw? SBUK Opinion

European StrawBale Gathering

Thursday 31st August – Sunday 3rd September

Strawbale UK’s online event: Alex Burch presents, “How do strawbale walls perform in severe wind-driven rain conditions?”

SBUK online event ‘Living Retrofitting Urbanism’

Finance and strawbuildings

London’s Building Centre

Strawbale UK’s online event with Juraj George Mikurcik and Old Holloway

SBUK online event. Old Holloway: An award-winning straw panel house.

Timber and Insurance – SBUK Video

SBUK Members’ meeting Special: Timber and Insurance

MIscanthus – sbuk video

ecobuild 2016

sbuk online event – Miscanthus: How can the construction sector benefit with its use?

msc module review: sustainable materials in the built environment – cat

Building to net zero: costing carbon in construction – Environmental audit committee report

SBUK members at Fu turebuild 2024, ExCel, London