Interior designer Marcia Wolff wanted a house that's energy-efficient, ecologically sensitive, fire-resistant and, above all, beautiful. So she chose a building material that might surprise some ...

Would you ever live in a house made of straw? It might sound unusual, but this company in Missouri is proving that this ancient building technique is not only durable and efficient, but it is also a ...

The straw bale home of Elise Lang and her husband, Michael Pierce, was finished in 2001. SPECIAL TO THE TELEGRAPH Winding under the canopy of trees shading the long driveway, goats and sheep peered at ...

Dear Jim: I want a natural way to build an energy efficient house without plastics, foams, adhesives, etc. Straw bale houses seem to be natural. Is the straw bale construction efficient for low ...

A time-honored method of construction will find new expression as a Columbia building company shows off its home built of prefabricated straw bale panels. The house, which its builders believe is the ...

The story of our family’s straw bale home began in the mid-1970s, when my husband, Lytle Robinson, retired and wanted acreage to carry out his fantasy of “living off the land.” In keeping with that ...

SAN JOSE -- Straw-bale construction suddenly seems new and savvy again as the California energy crunch grinds on. The age-old building material is being used in many structures, from homes and offices ...

HOVLAND -- A half-mile down a dirt driveway through woods, a stack of straw bales signals one's arrival at Chris and Cameron Norman's new home. Approach the house, and the scattering of straw on the ...

Would you build a house of straw? Contrary to the childhood story of the big, bad wolf that huffed and puffed and easily blew down the little pig's house, straw can be an excellent building material.

The Big Bad Wolf might have been able to blow down the straw house of The Three Little Pigs, but the same result isn’t likely if he huffed and puffed at the front door of Laura Tashjian’s Greenfield ...