You may not have noticed them, but scattered around Martinborough there are some houses that are built from a very unconventional material.
They were all constructed in the early 2000’s and use straw bales for the main body of the house. On closer examination you will notice that the walls are not straight and smooth. They are quite irregular and wavy, giving an adobe look to them. Most have large overhanging verandas to protect the walls from the rain, as the straw needs to be kept dry or it will rot.
These straw houses in Martinborough are family homes. But a larger one, in nearby Moiki Road, was originally built as winery and is now reconfigured for short term accommodation, sleeping up to eleven people. Straw bale construction started in Marlborough and Central Otago in the late 1990’s. These areas have the dry climate that is necessary for the use of straw. Martinborough, being another dry winegrowing area, was the next logical place for it be used.
The straw for the bales is usually barley and can be grown locally. It’s the waste product left over to dry in the fields after the grains have been removed, then compressed into a rectangular shape and tied up with string. These are placed on the concrete slab foundation of the house and stacked up like Lego blocks in order to make the walls. There are occasional vertical studs to keep the wall reasonably straight. The bales are then wrapped in wire-netting and everything is stitched tightly together with fine wire to make a solid structure. The next step is to apply three coats of plaster which is then covered in a silicon-based compound that doesn’t seal like paint, but allows the walls to breath. There are many benefits of living in a straw bale house. The walls provide very good insulation, keeping the house warm in winter and cool in summer. The fresh air that is constantly passing in and out unnoticed provides a lovely fresh atmosphere inside. With their not quite straight walls, there is a satisfying softness to them. Not many have been built recently, which is a shame as they are wonderful houses to live in and relatively cheap to build.
