Research

In this area we provide and signpost information on research into straw bale building. An important part of informing our efforts will also be understanding the research data that you want to see. Please contact us with your ideas.

Straw EPD  – Published by the School of Natural Building, as part of the UPSTRAW project, this is the first Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for straw as building insulation material. See here for more on this: EPD.

Straw Construction – Technical Guide UK 2022: The first edition of the UK Guidelines for Building with Straw has been written as part of the EU Interreg-funded UP STRAW project through the UK partner, the School of Natural Building (SNaB).

The UP STRAW Zotero database: https://www.zotero.org/groups/2187655/upstraw/

This fantastic resource includes research data from the UK and all over Europe. It’s open source – create a free log in for full access to articles.

UPSTRAW BIM (Building Information Modelling): https://bit.ly/3bxXv48 Within the framework of the UP STRAW project and by the use of BIM, 12 walls representative of straw construction were designed and documented by Eco-Etudes and drawn by its partners.

ARUP and Material Cultures Report on Circular Biobased Construction in the North East and Yorkshire

The Leechwell Garden House by Jim Carfrae and Pieter DeWilde - A passive solar dwelling built from renewable materials

Layman’s Report by Jim Carfrae Pieter De Wilde, John Littlewood, Steve Goodhew and Peter
Walker -

: Layman’s Report Draft V5 29-08-14

Decarbonising Construction Using Renewable Photosynthetic Materials by Craig White and Oliver Styles’: Building+Information+Modelling+Building

Institution Of Civil Engineers – Development and testing of a prototype straw bale house: Development and testing of a prototype straw bale house,

Racking shear resistance of fabricated strawbale panels: Lawrence_et_al_2008_Racking_shear_resistance_of_prefabrciated_straw-bale_panels

University of West England/Craig White – Balehaus: BaleHaus

Paper by Neil May, 2005: Breathability – The key to building performance

Pete Walker’s Bath University Profile includes links to publicly available research: http://www.bath.ac.uk/ace/people/walker/

Bath University page on straw research
https://www.bath.ac.uk/case-studies/straw-scientifically-proven-as-viable-building-material/

Fire Test Reports: Modcell TRADA Fire Test Report, Fire Testing Report ModCell, BM Trada Fire Classification Report, Carbon Connections ModCell Report