Homeowners Chris Vander Hout and Christine Hoy have reimagined sustainable housing with their incredible straw bale residence, as highlighted by Treehugger.
In Minto, Ontario, Vander Hout and Hoy live with their son on a 20-acre property "in harmony with nature." The impressive sanctuary was designed by architect Martin Liefhebber of Breathe Architects, who has designed some beautiful outdoor cottages and public spaces, including museums. The house was built by Harvest Homes and Evolve Builders.
The straw bale home was built on an existing clearing. It features some breathtaking sustainable systems, including a green roof with drought-resistant vegetation, locally sourced materials, hot water heated by solar energy, a rain-harvesting system, a composting toilet, a central greenhouse, a wood stove for heating, a dug well for their water source, and a water recycling system for watering their garden.
During the winter, the home maximizes its solar energy through its southern-facing units and large windows for natural light and is naturally cooled in the summer by surrounding trees and an insulating green roof.
The homeowners, who don't owe a mortgage on their home after using their own labor and income, grow their own food, harvest solar energy, and collect rainwater.
"To have good indoor air quality with no off-gassing, we've used a lot of natural wood, finished with natural oils," said Vander Hout to Treehugger. "We've used natural paints; all the walls are finished with silicate-based paints, we have clay finishes on some of the walls. The [adobe] earthen floors was one of the elements that we wanted to test out, as well as a light clay straw wall system, and stone [paving] — you know, just minimizing the amount of plywoods and particle boards."
You can check out a video tour of their residence on YouTube.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average American house uses about 10,500 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. It uses 300 gallons of water per day, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. That is over 109,000 gallons per year per household.
Vander Hout and Hoy's straw bale sanctuary helps eliminate water waste and energy sourced from dirty energy like coal and natural gas. With unconventional living in a home like theirs, you can benefit from healthier skin and body as well as increased mental wellness.
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Other families are looking at ways to increase their sustainable living and mental wellness through homes like this straw bale home. A couple in Hawaiʻi turned a shipping container into a temporary residence. Companies in Toronto are working on prefabricated homes that could help create more housing that is sustainable and creates less waste, while a tiny home builder in Australia has worked on maximizing its design to lower energy usage and costs.
As Treehugger wrote: "The couple's straw bale house is a testament to the great love and patience that has gone into building this unique house over a period of many years. There are some very smart and effective sustainable design ideas here that make it a wonderful example of how various systems can work together to create a self-sustaining, off-grid homestead."
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