earth-n-straw
technology to build naturally

Pictorial of Straw Bale Buildings in
Queensland - Australia

Below are some of the Straw Bale Buildings that have been constructed in Queensland. These are the true pioneers who have attended courses, read, researched, and put into practice a building technique that had never been seen in Queensland before 1997. I believe that there are 50 - 100 straw bale building now in Queensland.

	1997. This cottage near Beenleigh is believed to be the first straw bale building built in Queensland. The infill walls are cement rendered with an oxide added to the final coat to achieve the colour. I was a student on this course.
	1997. Colin and I built this wine cellar in the back yard of our residential property at Mt Warren Park. It was council approved, infill walls with cement render. (My first and last cement rendered building.) Internal was 3.5m x 2.5m. We planned our future from here.
	Kate and Allan built this straw bale guest room near Stanthorpe. The room is built within an existing shed.
	Ron built a straw bale shed to live in whilst he was building his home. This shed is near Maleny. Ron purchased a steel frame shed, infilled the walls with straw bales then cement rendered.
	2003 Scott and Michelle sought approval from 'Delfin' to build a straw bale home in Forest Lakes residential estate, Brisbane. They said yes! The internal walls are earth rendered with a finish coat of lime render.
	2004 John attended our Adult Education Course on straw bale building. Three and a half months later this is their cottage at Kingaroy. "This morning it was 5 degrees outside, it was 15 degrees inside"
	1999 - 2004 Shane and Leisa have been owner building their pole home in Beaudesert Shire. The walls are earth rendered, with a lime render finish inside. more images of this house here
	Vicki had a registered builder build her studio at Mt Nebo. It was built on posts and finished with a cement/lime render.
	David and Jo-Anne designed and owner built their steel framed home with a lime render in the Nambour region.
	1998 - 2001 Jo and Kerry have called this cluster of load bearing rooms the Pavilions. John Glassford ran a group of workshops here. Ross Bourne completed the detailing after the workshops. Jo Armstrong added her interior decorating flare to the insides and her permiculture gardens outside.
	2001 - Phil's passive solar designed house at Samford was built by a registered builder. It has some feature straw bale walls with cement render. Great passive solar design - this photo was taken in winter.
	2002 Rhaj and Gapoli have owner built their straw bale home with an earth render near Warwick Their house is powered by the photovoltaic cells on the roof.
	Ken and Ruth owner built their large straw bale with steel frame home in the western suburbs of Brisbane. This was a perfect solution for a house with 5 children. You can build multistory with infill straw bale. Even the internal walls are straw baled.
	2004 Phil and Daphne are in the process of building their straw bale extension. The walls are rendered with a cement/lime render.
	Straw Bale Singing Shed at the Woodford Folk Festival 2001-2002
	Pat and Bin at Kin Kin are having a guest room built on their property. The external walls were earth rendered, the internal lime rendered ... then they made a truth window which grew into a full wall mural from clay and pebbles! Note that the building is on post. More images of construction here
	Yvonne attended our Adult Education Course. She built in a pre fabricated steel frame which had a bull nose roof at the front and back. This was perfect for Yvonne to put the straw bale and earth render theory together. Next she will build her own home.
	Yvonne has now become an owner builder to build her own home. She has outsourced most of the skilled labour, but been a willing worker when it came to wall raising. Great design with overhangs suited to our climate.
	Josef and Niomi attended our Adult Education Course on now to build with SB. They have built a chook pen as their first project, which features nesting boxes within the wall. Little wonder they are getting so many eggs. Their next project will be their home. First coat of lime render on the inside walls.
	Frank and Jayne also turned their hand at a chook retreat. Great way to consolidate your skills before deciding whether straw bale construction is the building material for you. Good overhangs to protect the walls.
	Ivan and Jeanette have build this studio in central Queensland. The internal partition wall provides privacy for a bed.
	Emerald Tourist Centre. Workshop images can be seen here.

If I have missed you please let me know. This page is the page that you were looking for when planning your own straw bale building. In sharing we inspire, and to have inspired someone is pretty special. The buildings above do not represent work conducted Earth-n-Straw, but rather a collection of private and professional groups from Queensland.

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