The design process

I have always been interested in architecture. There was a time in high school when my plan was to attend Auburn University to learn architecture. I went another way with my education. However, my interest in architecture never went away. On our honeymoon, my wife and I travelled down the Natchez Trace touring all the beautiful antebellum plantations along the way, and staying in a few that were now B&Bs. When we travelled to Ireland and the U.K. we always marveled at the architecture.

Yet in my mind, architecture isn’t just about creating beautiful spaces. I am generally a very pragmatic person. Frank Lloyd Wright, the great American architect, designed many interesting and beautiful buildings, but he always seemed to ignore the practical aspects of the design, in my opinion. Now before all you architects jump down my throat for challenging your idol, let me explain.

I believe use and maintenance should be part of the design process. I want beautiful structures, but I also want structures that are low maintenance so that they stay beautiful without constant care. Wright’s structures almost always had major issues like leaks, requiring major retrofits in some cases.

So in my design process, I wanted to focus on several factors.

Aesthetics. We wanted an Italian style villa, and I looked for technologies and materials that would stay true to the style.
Ease of construction. I am building this myself, so I wanted to focus on construction methods that I could implement without having to hire specialists.
Low maintenance. I don’t want to spend every year after painting, and staining, and working on the structure. So I focused on design issues that “take care of themselves” so to speak.
Low cost. I had set out from the beginning to focus on building a structure that just about anyone could afford to build.
Efficiency. I wanted a super efficient structure that would not only be inexpensive to build, but would also be inexpensive to own (heat/cool).
Growth. This first building is my test case, so I wanted a design that could be expanded later if I choose.

My initial designs ideas were timberframe construction, poured concrete forms, earth berm...anything I could find I considered. I was leaning toward timberframe, as I have access to a bandsaw mill and it was my intention to cut and mill my own timbers. But as I continued to research, and sought information through discussions with engineers, architects, and of course, the internet...a friend, who also was interested in the same things I was looking at, told me I should look into strawbale structures.

Now my reaction was probably the same as the one you are having now...”WHATHA? Straw...are you insane?” Images of the three little pigs were going through my mind. He let me borrow a book he had, the Red Feather Handbook for Strawbale Construction (I think). It was very interesting. So I began searching the internet for more information and technical data. The more I researched, the more it seemed like a viable solution.

I ran across Andrew Morrison’s website, strawbale.com, and began getting more and more questions answered. Andrew runs strawbale workshops, and I decided to attend one in New Mexico in September, just after closing on our land. The workshop was somewhat helpful. I can’t say it was priceless, not because of the quality of the workshop, but because on the second day I got sick as a dog and missed half the workshop sick out both ends (like you wanted to know that). It was apparently altitude sickness, and I wouldn’t wish that on anybody.

Anywho, I was able to get all the information I needed, and that settled my design. I would build a post-and-beam structure with strawbale infill.
This design fulfilled all of my requirements. Inexpensive (if done right), easy to build, super efficient (data I have found rates strawbale around R-50), and low maintenance (again if done right).