Straw Bale Alternative

-Anahita Farahani-

Slums are not what is wrong with urbanity in today’s modern world - although they require some reassessment they do carry certain advantages. They are situated extremely close to city centers, they carry a great entrepreneurial enthusiasm, as well as a tightly-knit community. Slums in a way are also environmentally friendly because the building materials they use would have been put towards a piling landfill anyway. Some urban planners advise we should completely destroy these residencies and replace them with entirely new projects. This method usually fails and in turn not only relocates slums but disrupts neighborhoods that had a development potential. Sometimes a little encouragement rather than destruction can be very beneficial in these situations. In some regions they are jumping on this idea by diminishing the problems within instead of completely destroying the slums themselves.

"We should not dismiss them because they look ugly, they look messy - they have sophisticated, participatory practices, a light way of occupying the land. Because people are trying to survive, creativity flourishes." - Teddy Cruz (Architect)

A green architecture firm from Berkeley - Daniel Smith & Associates are exploring and experimenting with the natural material of straw bale for housing construction. There are many benefits that come along with using straw bale - for example; the material is much stronger than a heavy stud wall and with the proper connections and stronger mesh and plasters its performance can exceed that of a plywood shear wall. The straw bale is able to take in a great deal of force in a way that eliminates cracking and breaking and instead absorbs the energy. Since straw bale is so thick walled and high in mass it is even able to react well in Earthquake-prone regions. Another benefactor would be the feature that straw bale has an even mix between insulation and thermal mass.

Daniel Smith and Associates are currently working on developing low cost minimal straw bale houses for Pakistan’s earthquake zones. The buildings are very small (400 - 500 square feet) and are built from only a couple thousand dollars for material costs (half the cost of a. This type of housing becomes very efficient to not only neighborhoods that are situated in disaster sectors but would be incredibly useful to neighborhoods that require more affordable living conditions.

The firm’s Kelly Lerner has also successfully helped with building straw bale housing in Mongolia and China. In Mongolia where the temperatures can reach 40 below, the straw bale houses still have not really required the installation of insulation. This is not only energy efficient but also cost efficient.

If people were able to get their hands on a cheaper material that is also stronger and more effective on a number of levels they would love to build a house out of it. A possible shelter development idea for slums would be to improve their way of living by making straw bale a more available material. The material itself is extremely abundant and more renewable than wood but we need to stir more awareness on the straw bale alternative.

Bibliography:

1. Tuhus-Dubrow, Rebecca. "Learning From Slums." Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/03/01/learning_from_slums/?page=1.

2. Daniel Smith & Associates Architects . http://www.dsaarch.com/index.html .

3. Waxman, Matt. "Architect Daniel Smith: The Strength in Straw ." Worldchanging. http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/006724.html

4. Jacobs, Jane. The Death and Life of Great American Cities. : Pelican , 1965.