Learning With The Land: Strawbale and Agrarian Architecture

July 13th, 2009

Fall 1997

Roald Gundersen writes for The Last Straw about his experiences working on Biosphere 2 and how we need to turn that interest in sustainable design into a local movement in places like Wisconsin.

“Solar greenhouses and agrarian architecture are natural points of departure as buildings welcoming life other than human. By inviting life, particularly plants and soil bacteria, into our buildings, we can clean and recycle our air, water, and biological wastes onsite while producing food, solar heat and light. Extrapolate this integration of ecology with architecture from rural, to suburban, and even urban buildings, and—I believe—we could see the dominant predacious or parasitic forms of human ecology evolve into more photosynthetic and ecologically diverse cultures.

“My point of departure is at America’s grass roots: the family farm, a culture still alive and growing in Wisconsin. I see the solar greenhouse as the “new barn” at the heart of diverse organic farms growing crops year round. I see “sustainable” architecture in the old farm buildings throughout Wisconsin, built from locally-abundant materials. This is the work I’m building on. As with these buildings, my palette is locally-abundant rocks, dirt, sand, water and fast growing plants, primarily grasses and trees: hence poplar-pole frames and strawbale construction…”

Gundersen, Roald.  1997. “Learning with the Land.”  The Last Straw.  Fall,  23-25.  For a link to the article click here.

Entry Filed under: Uncategorized