Blog Post

Mud and Straw in the Shadow of the U.S. Capitol

In 2008, the USBG (that's the US Botanic Garden — not the USGBC) organized "One Planet — Ours!" to showcase sustainable techniques and technologies including things like edible school yards, urban orchards, a solar greenhouse, photovoltaic panels, residential wind turbines, green roofs, and rainwater harvesting. Part of the exhibition was a gorgeous little strawbale demonstration building (video link). One of the results of that exhibition — besides the huge public exposure — was a Congressional briefing about straw bales as a building material. Last winter (after the inauguration), the demonstration building was lifted in one 8-ton piece by crane and trucked to a new location where it now lives on as a studio. And there's video of that, too. Even though you've missed the little strawbale house, there's more natural building on the next block. Always Becoming is an art installation on the grounds of the National Museum of the American Indian. "The five sculptures range in height from seven and a half to sixteen feet tall, and are made entirely of natural materials: dirt, sand, straw, clay stone, black locust wood, bamboo, grass, and yam vines." Here's some pictures I took while it was going up in 2007.

Published August 21, 2009

(2009, August 21). Mud and Straw in the Shadow of the U.S. Capitol. Retrieved from https://www.buildinggreen.com/blog/mud-and-straw-shadow-us-capitol

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