For several years now we have enjoyed the company of local straw bale builder -:- Ian Brown.
He is the tutor on our -:- Building with straw bales course, and without him our -:- straw bale Fruit Factory would not be the building of beauty that we see today at Stanmer Park!
Ian is a carpentry tutor at South Downs College in Eastbourne and also runs his own company Timberbale. He is incredibly passionate about this way of building.
Here he tells us why he loves building with straw bales:
“The fairy tales are all wrong!
Although untested against a big bad wolf, straw bale structures have shown to be very secure against hurricanes, earthquakes and landslides.
As a building method, straw bale construction offers great environmental credentials, low embodied energy, great fire resistance, and outstanding thermal and sound insulation.
Unlike other low-impact building methods, it has a place in both urban and rural developments.
Straw bale building is tried and tested and will integrate easily with modern technology and other mainstream building methods.
To build with it is easy, forgiving, natural, nontoxic and fun.
Having worked in the building industry for many years I instantly fell in love with straw bale construction. Who wouldn’t? It’s just playing around with large furry LEGO bricks!
Anyone can do it and everyone should.
Whether you are a builder or not, straw bale building is very accessible. It is the best low impact option for the self-builder.”
We are running two courses taught by Ian this year.
If you are interested in having a go or getting some hands-on experience to embark on your own project, find out more about the course and book your place -:- here.
See photos of a previous course.