High/Low Impact

Straw Bale Pavilion

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This experimental pavilion test modular construction as well as covivial construction methods, 

where building processes are deliberately organised, in the spirit of Ivan Illich's "tools for conviviality," which remain comprehensible and accessible to non-specialists.

Through processes that are simultaneously involving direct engagement with places, people and materials, collective (such as involving communal construction and potential future users), comprehensible (organised so that participants can understand what is being done and why), and consequential (producing real, lasting effects that participants can observe and live with).

Straw bale construction lends itself to this kind of methodology - the walls of this bio based pavilion are made from straw bales, a net-positive, carbon-sequestering  material that is fire-certified, low-cost, rodent- and insect-resistant, and suitable for multi-storey construction. Straw, an agricultural by-product requiring no extraction and minimal processing, regulates humidity, supports healthy indoor environments, and can return safely to the earth at the end of its life. 

The modules of this pavilion meet Passive House standards and can be disassembled and reused. 

 

We demonstrate how low-carbon construction methods can support circular design principles and more sustainable forms of building practice.

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This is an experimental Live Project co-designed and co-constructed with students from the School of Architecture+Cities of the University of Westminster led by Maria Kramer with Michael Burchert and Mark Rowe; 

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The pavilion was conceived as an experimental demonstration of straw bale construction and its potential as a sustainable building method. 

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Funded by CETI with thanks to our Collaborators: LiveProjectsPractice, Steve Webb, Nicholas Alexander, The Stone Masonry Company, Margent Form, the Harrow  Estate Team;