The use of sustainable materials in building design and renovation has been driven by government initiatives such as...
Category - Research
This huge collection of STRAW BUILDING RESEARCH is a co-production with the UP STRAW Interreg Project (contributors to this site: Herbert Gruber (ESBA, ASBN), Mike Deveria (ASBN), Hugues Delcourt, Wiebke Kaesberg, Barbara Jones, Benoit Fortz, Benedikt Kaesberg, Laurie Celina (UP STRAW), Jakub Jirku (StrohNatur), Dittmar Hecken, Burkhard Rüger, Dirk Scharmer (FASBA):
FR: Fire behaviour of façades 2009
EN: Research test, at L.E.P.I.R. 2, of a facade integrating wood and straw materials in its constitution. FR: Essai de...
Strohbau konkret – establishing the Virtual Building Site for Straw Bale Trainings / AT
Professioneller Strohbau konkret: „Virtuelle Baustelle“, Ausstellung und Schulungsunterlagen The asbn – Austrian Straw...
Lateral Stability of Prefabricated Straw Bale Housing
Straw bales have been used for building for about 140 years. Until recently bales were only used for load-bearing...
Modcell BaleHaus: acoustic transmittance, thermal resistance and fire resistance tests
To date, ModCell panels have been used for cladding on framed buildings. However, they are now being developed for load...
BaleHaus: a modern innovative low carbon housing system using prefabricated straw bale panels
To date, ModCell panels have been used for cladding on framed buildings. However, they are now being developed for load...
Straw bale construction – La construction en botte de paille
Authors: FUCHS Stéphane; Krumm, Olivier; Cauderay, Elsa LINK to presentation
Thermal Decomposition of Wheat, Oat, Barley and Brassica carinata Straws. A Kinetic Study
The slow pyrolysis of four biomass samples was studied by thermogravimetry (TGA) at different heating rates. The...
The future of cob and straw bale construction in the UK
Recent building research literature shows a renewed interest in the use of natural building materials for constructing...
ES: CLASIFICACIÓN DE RESISTENCIA AL FUEGO – Fire resistance test in Spain, 2008
EN: CLASSIFICATIONAccording to EN 13501-2:2004, the non load-bearing wall “ExpoZaragoza” received at...
Paper No: 218 Totnes Eco House: interaction between design and in-situ monitoring
This paper explores the decisions made during the design and construction of an award-winning Low Carbon House, and how...
DE Basic principles for the recognition of straw bale construction by the building authorities
EN Objective and reason for the project Despite the existence of a general building authority approval for straw bales...
Fundamental principles for the building supervisory recognition of the Straw bale construction – further development of the load bearing construction type and optimization of building physic performance
With straw bales, environmentally-friendly, high-heat and sound-insulated, low-cost residential buildings can be easily...
Test certificate thermal behaviour of a straw bale wall – Prüfzeugnis thermisches Verhalten einer Strohballenwand
Author: FIW Munich LINK (Test on page 449)
Straw bales and (load-bearing) straw bale constructions – Strohballen und (lasttragende) Strohballenkonstruktionen
The dissertation was supervised by Professors Minke and Hensel at the University of Kassel’s Research Laboratory...
Sound Insulation of a Straw Bale Wall: Test Report
EN: In the IAB wall testbed, a wall was erected using straw bales. Research was carried out to determine the degree of...
The adaptation of the façade sound insulation requirements in the Belgian standard
In a previous paper, a draft of the new Belgian requirements for the sound insulation in dwellings in the...
New building Biohof Achleitner. Building made of wood, straw & clay. / DE
This report documents the results of a commissioned project from the program House of the Future within the framework...
The fire behaviour of rendered straw bales
Experimental and theoretical investigations were conducted on the combustion behaviour of compacted, rendered straw...
Examination of straw bales and straw bale constructions with regard to their application for energy saving construction with particular reference to the Load bearing construction, DE
Straw Bale Building is said to be a promising way of building both under ecological and economical aspects. But its...
US FireTest ASTM E 119-05a Non-Bearing Clay Wall: 60min
A 12ft x 14ft non-loadbearing wall constructed with 7.5 pcf rectangular wheat straw bales stacked in a running bond...
US Fire tests ASTM E119-05a non-loadbearing cement stucco wall 2007: 120min
A 10ft x 10ft non-loadbearing wall constructed with 7.5 pcf rectangular wheat straw bales stacked in a running bond...
DE: Single Burning Item (Fire) Test: REI 30, B-s1,d0
EN: Fire behaviour according to DIN EN 13823 (“Single-Burning-Item” test): Test report: The results of the...
US: structural performance of straw bale construction for homeowners, builders, building inspectors and engineers
Executive Summary: The objective of this research was to obtain data on the structural performance of straw bale...
Pyrolytic behaviour of different biomasses (angiosperms) (maize plants, straws, and wood) in low temperature pyrolysis
The thermal degradation of agricultural products and by-products (two kinds of maize plants, wheat, and barley straw)...
Introduction and design of straw bale masonry
Introduction and design of straw bale masonry Author: Adedeji, Adeola A. LINK to PDF
Teaching Sustainability in Building Design and Engineering
Engineers and building designers make decisions that have critical impacts on the environment and society, making...
Evaluation of Strawbale Building: Benefits and Risks
This paper evaluates the range of current information in relation to construction using strawbales in walls of...
Innovative Nutzung von nachwachsenden Rohstoffen am Beispiel eines Büro- und Ausstellungsgebäudes
Have a look at the English summary on page 8: The S-HOUSE demonstration building is a show case for modern best...
S-House: Planning and Building for the future, AT
The S-House is a two-storey straw-bale passive solar design. The building shell demonstrates the potential of straw...
Research to Mold- and Moisture Behaviour in Straw Bale Constructions, DE
EN: One of the most important objectives of the Fachverband Strohballenbau Deutschland e.V. is, in addition to the...
Building your Straw Bale Home: From Foundations to the Roof
This practical guide is written especially for the owner-builder and provides step-by-step instructions supported by...
Normes, DTU, assurances, … et utilisation de la botte de paille (2006)
Author: Courgey, Samuel Link to Powerpoint
Compressive Testing and Analysis of Plastered Straw Bales
The structural performance of plastered straw bales under compressive loading is extremely important when considering...
Compressive Testing and Analysis of Plastered Straw Bales
The structural performance of plastered straw bales under compressive loading is extremely important when considering...
Compressive Strength Testing of Earthen Plasters for Straw Bale Wall Application
Straw-bale construction is an emerging building method and many builders choose to plaster the straw bales with earthen...
Practical Straw Bale Building
Building with straw bales is being embraced by amateurs and professionals for its versatility, comfort, environmental...
Breathability – the Key to Building Performance
Breathability is a misleading term, but it has now become firmly embedded in the vocabulary of building technology. It...
More Straw Bale Building | New Society Publishers
Straw bale houses are easy to build, affordable, super energy-efficient, environmentally friendly, attractive, and can...
Combustion characteristics of different biomass fuels
Biomass energy is one of humanity’s earliest sources of energy particularly in rural areas where it is often the...
Reversed Cyclic In-Plane Tests of Load-Bearing Plastered Straw Bale Walls
The results of an experimental study on the lateral load resisting characteristics of 6 full-scale straw bale wall...
Use of straw with hemp-lime mortar in timber-frame walls
The goal of the research was the rational development of the housing techniques using so called renewable materials...
Compression load testing straw bale walls
Over the last 10 years, a growing number of load-bearing straw bale buildings have been built in the UK. Walls formed...
An investigation of the moisture content in the walls of a straw bale building
This paper examines the use and accuracy of a moisture probe used in the walls of a straw-bale building. The...
Stroh Kompakt – Straw Testing and Demonstration Buildings / AT
Straw as building material has been in use for a long time, for example to build walls or as insulant. A process...
Thermal Transport in Straw Insulation
An evacuable guarded hot plate for thermal conductivity measurements between 200 and 800°C was used to investigate the...
Straw Bale Fire Safety
The ability of plastered and unplastered straw bale walls to resist fire is presented, based on a number of tests and...
Build it with Bales: version 2; a step-by-step guide to Straw Bale construction
Homegrown and folksy, this book is a gold mine of tips and techniques. No bale builder should be without it. Authors:...
Load-Bearing SB Construction King 2003
One hundred years of experience with load-bearing plastered straw bale structures, along with a number of laboratory...
Straw as Building Material – too good to burn it!
EN: Building and insulating with straw is a technique that has been widespread in the US since the beginning of the...
Wall Systems made from Renewable Materials, GrAT, AT
Beside a good marketing concept, a successful implementation of new products into the market of building products is...
Serious Straw Bale: A Home Construction Guide For All Climates
Presents a compelling rationale for building with straw in more extreme climates, where seasonal changes in...
Certificate of Fire Resistance of straw and a plastered straw bale wall by MA 39 – VFA 2000-0644.04, AT
Test report on fire behaviour of a straw bale wall in Austria ASBN, GrAT (Austria): B2-Certificate (normal...
ASTM e84-1 straw surface burning 2000
This report describes the results of the ASTM E84-98 Standard Test Method for SURFACE BURNING CHARACTERISTICS OF...
Acoustical characterization of straw bales as structural elements
For several thousand years, straw has been used mainly as bedding for horses and cattle. This inexpensive, thermally...
Tested R-value for Straw Bale Walls and Performance Modeling for Straw Bale Homes
Since the late 1800’s, houses have been built of straw. Contrary to nursery rhymes, these houses have proved...
Pyrolysis kinetics of wheat and corn straw
The primary degradation kinetics of wheat straw and corn stalks have been investigated under isothermal conditions...
Modelling the Time Factor in the Development of Mould Fungi – the Effect of Critical Humidity and Temperature Conditions on Pine and Spruce Sapwood
In this study, three groups of models based on regression analyses of the critical time required for the growth of...
Buildings of Earth and Straw: structural design for rammed earth and straw bale architecture
Chelsea Green’s The Rammed Earth House and The Straw Bale House chronicle the possibilities and realities of...
EU Commission Decision establishing the list of products belonging to Classes A ‘No contribution to fire’
Author: European Union, Publications Office of the European Website Type Link:
The Straw Bale House
Imagine building a house with superior seismic stability, fire resistance, and thermal insulation, using an annually...