Strawbale in the City
Sunny Day Earth Solutions, a store for sustainable living products, wanted to their long-awaited new workshop in Minneapolis to employ the most energy-efficient systems possible, in step with the uncompromising spirit of their business.
The innovative solution was a straw-bale garage: a 675-square-foot load-bearing structure made using only infilled strawbales, 2 x 4 stud walls, metal diagonal bracing at the corners, and manufactured hip trusses to hold the roof. The walls are to be finished with stucco on both the interior and exterior faces and topped with a standing-seam metal roof.
To expand the value of the project beyond the structure itself, the building will be monitored for two years to study the long-term viability of strawbale construction in the Upper Midwest. This collaboration features planning and design by ALM Design Studio with Bearpaw Construction as the builder.
An approved Code Interpretation and Equivalency Request dossier for strawbale construction is available by request.
