This straw bale wall in the gardens of Capel Manor College in Enfield, UK is not just a privacy screen, it is a sculpture that blends organically into the landscape. Plastered with several layers of lime, it defies the forces of nature.
Photos: © Chug’s Strawbale World
After several coats of lime plaster, the wall is ready for the lime paint coat.
Then the straw bales are covered several times with lime plaster, a Strawbale-Window (window) is to prove that there really are straw bales underneath.
The protruding stalks are cut off with a lawn trimmer and a hare net is pulled over the bales as a plaster base and attached to the strings.
Building a straw bale wall: on a foundation of concrete blocks, sealed by a foil, the straw bales are stacked in staggered rows and compacted with packing straps as in load-bearing straw bale construction.
The organic wall looks like a large sculpture or a stone house in Arizona, more than just a privacy screen.