Community News

As part of the research for their new book, The Natural Building Companion:A Comprehensive Guide to Integrative Design and Construction, Natural Builders Jacob Deva Racusin and Ace McArleton used state-of-the-art technology, including infrared photography and blower door testing, to document the thermal and moisture performance of seven straw bale homes in the northeastern U.S. As NBN helped fund and publicize the project, Deva and Ace have shared with us the results of the study, which NBN members are welcome to download here: http://www.newframeworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Research-Paper-2011_Final_Complete.pdf

SPOILER ALERT: What they found was that attention to detail makes a huge difference in building performance. Anywhere timber frames or rafters or other structural members break the insulative envelope is a potential problem spot and requires a greater level of detailing to avoid compromising performance. Hidden checking in timber frame members and unsealed joints within the frame can allow significant air infiltration. Consistently across all test cases, the largest sources of air leakage occured in non-straw-bale-wall components of the assembly, particularly in roof penetrations, roof edge detailing, and window-unit-to-rough-opening sealing.
More of this type of research and documentation needs to be done on natural material building systems, especially in an “as built” situation. The thermal performance of a house, especially in harsher climates, has a profound impact on the ongoing ecological footprint of a building, and the comfort and well-being of the people who live there. Our hats are off to Deva and Ace.

Their book can be found at
http://www.chelseagreen.com/bookstore/item/the_natural_building_companion/

Ace and Deva are co-owners of New Frameworks Natural Building, a Vermont-based contracting and consulting business specializing in the integration of natural materials, holistic design principles, an intentional process to create high-performance structures of beauty. They also teach natural building courses through the Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Warren, Vermont.

The Natural Building Network is proud to announce the grand opening of our new Classifieds website.  Buy or sell, find work or workers, or a new mud buddy. Basic ads (with pictures!) are free for Natural Building Network members, $5 per month for everyone else.  Please contact us for your members-only coupon code. Please note that this system is used by members and non-members so you will have to register separately. Feel free to use your existing NBN member name and password.

Dear Friends,

The main event will be a gorgeous presentation by Paul Baker-LaPorte and Robert LaPorte on their several decades of work with light straw clay.

So, we are putting out a call to all the natural builders in the NW region with this invitation! Come join us, you will get in for free! Just come to the gate, let us know that you are a natural builder, give your name and affiliation if you have one, and come on in! The event will occur on the opening night of this year’s VBC, Friday, May 27, festivities start at 5:30PM. The venue for VBC11 is at St. David’s of Wales, 2800 SE Harrison in Portland. We hope to see you then!

Mark Lakeman

Principal & Design Lead Mark Lakeman, Co-Founder

1639 SE 12th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97214

Architect:
Studio D’Arc

Developer:
Green Development, Inc.

Owner:
Green Development, Inc.

Sota Construction Services, Inc. 7,500 s.f. home office building is a registered LEED NC project, with a level of Platinum anticipated. It will be Western Pennsylvania’s first LEED Platinum NC project. The building combines state of the art structural, mechanical and electrical systems with super efficient thermal envelope using natural building materials (including straw bale and interior walls using clay straw infill) in a unique way to not only provide a thermal mass but also a hygric mass to control humidity in the building. The building also incorporates a biophillic space to provide a supplemental heat source during the winter months, as well as exterior exhaust/fresh air intake for the building’s environment.

This work builds on the work of the internationally renowned ARUP’s Chris Twinn along with Boston based Building Science Corporation and Iams Consulting based in Pittsburgh. The goal for this project is to make it a net-zero energy building through low energy consumption-grid tied roof mounted photovoltaic, geothermal heat pumps and micro hydro from an adjacent stream.

http://www.sotaconstruction.com/

It’s been a few seasons now that we’ve talked about hosting a colloquium again here at O.U.R.Ecovillage. Now we’re getting serious: we are planning a gathering of Natural Builders and folks who are involved in creating human settlements in sustainable ways. Since the time when we first hosted a colloquium we have continued developing O.U.R.Ecovillage and we are excited to invite the Natural Building community back to reconnect and to see what’s happening in our part of the world. Dates for this event are May 19-22, details are still being worked out.

Today I am looking for expressions of interest from presenters and individuals who would be able to volunteer support in getting ready.

Please email me at naturalbuilding@ourecovillage.org.

A full event invitation and listing will be coming out soon!

Hello Friends of Quail Springs,
We wanted to share with all of you that we’ve just come through two days of major flooding that have altered the face of Quail Springs. First of all, we are SO GRATEFUL THAT NO ONE WAS HURT OR LOST. This is a huge blessing for which we are all thankful.
Beginning on Friday, October 1st, we had a storm that dropped a little over 2″ of rain in about an hour that caused extreme channel flooding that ripped out our lower gabion, silted up our larger swales and caused damage to about 10% of the garden. We wish that this was the extent of the damage yet mother nature had another story to share with us.

On Saturday, October 2nd, at about 12:30pm, a second and much more ominous thunder storm descended on our valley down from Iwihinmu (Mt. Pinos) beginning with a huge hail storm followed by torrential rains and heavy winds. The lighting and thunder stood right over us for what seemed like a lifetime yet was just a few minutes. In just a half an hour, over 3 inches of rain fell directly on Quail Springs and much more in the canyons that feed the main canyon. Little rivers began to flow down the secondary and tertiary canyons, and then it happened.

A wall of water we could have never imagined in our wildest dreams and ruminations made its own thunder as it careened down the canyon. This wall of water tore at trees, ripped out our largest gabions and breached the walls of our incised stream and created a rushing river that spanned at some points over 1,000 feet across the canyon. It was a sight to behold and an event that made your heart nearly stand still. Read the rest of this entry →

Fellow travelers,

Please forward to anyone you think may be interested and qualified…

Nouvelle Vie has just been awarded a contract from UN FAO to expand our urban food security efforts in the greater Port-au-Prince area. This is an initial three month program, starting immediately, with strong potential for extension and expansion to other regions of Haiti. A brief description of the project is attached (attach original proposal text), and more information about Nouvelle Vie is available at: www.nouvelleviehaiti.org.

Haiti Update:

Recently several Builders Without Borders members and colleagues returned from reconnaissance visits to Haiti.
They found the people there to be both traumatized and resilient. And there is need for many new homes.

But what should be built? Designs should be seismically resistant, sustainable, affordable and aesthetically pleasing to the people living there. Many systems could meet these criteria. There is certainly a lot of broken concrete available, and Andy Mueller found a large amount of rice growing near Port Au Prince.

Builders Without Borders is developing a pilot project to try out a few different building methodologies in Haiti, which will probably include rice straw-bales and rice hulls, bamboo, clay and urbanite, and other locally available resources. Architect Martin Hammer, a BWB representative, is currently in Haiti meeting with potential partners, and looking at potential building locations. BWB is currently accepting donations to fund this project.
Donations should be earmarked: Haiti Housing Solutions

BWB partner PAKSBAB (Pakistan Straw Bale and Appropriate Building) is also considering a pilot project in Haiti. They envision bringing their building team from Pakistan, to share their super seismically-resistant housing design with Haiti. Paksbab is currently completing their 17th straw-bale building in Pakistan, and need an additional $1000 per month to keep their local building crew employed. BWB is also accepting donations on their behalf, which should be earmarked: PAKSBAB

Thank you for your generosity.

Sincerely,
Catherine Wanek & Derek Roff
Co-directors
Builders Without Borders

www.builderswithoutborders.org
575-895-5400

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