A straw bale house in Blackheath will be among the many houses open for a peek inside at this year's Sustainable House Day on Sunday, September 15.
Miranda Corkin designed and built her straw bale house, which won her a design award in 2017 at the Building Designer Association of Australia awards.
The striking house combines sustainable building methods and materials, including timber framing made from trees felled and milled on the site, with recycled tyres rammed with earth and straw-bale walls rendered with cob and lime.
The design incorporates solar passive design principals to be energy efficient, warm and comfortable in both winter and summer extremes.
She said the straw bales provided excellent insulation.
"The walls are 500mm thick, and have a beautiful aesthetic look, with deep, rounded window sills.
"The other key benefit is the comfortable air quality. The straw bales, rendered with lime, moderate the humidity inside by allowing water vapour to be absorbed and pass through the walls, known as 'breathability'."
Ms Corkin's company, MKC Building Design & Drafting, recently had a DA approved for a straw bale house in the flame zone.
Anyone want to visit on Sustainable House Day has to register (for free) at https://sustainablehouseday.com/ to get the details and address of Ms Corkin's home and details of other houses in the region that are open.
