Southern Comfort in a Straw Bale Home
(Page 2 of 7)
June/July 2004
By Claire Anderson
Although the 1970s earth-sheltered cabin met immediate needs for housing, Elise still dreamed of building a straw bale home and turning the old cabin into an art studio for Michael.
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She began to read everything on straw bale building she could find, starting with what she says is "the bible of straw bale building" — The Straw Bale House by Athena and Bill Steen (available on Mother's Bookshelf, Page 111). During a 1995 trip to Europe, she toted along this tome, dog-earing page after page and making notes in the margins. When she and Michael returned to the United States, she says, "I made the dozens of phone calls that I was dying to make [while we were] overseas. I had lots of questions that I wanted answered."
Elise's primary concern was the humid climate of northeastern Georgia. All of her readings described homes built in arid climates, and she doubted that straw bale could stay dry in the sultry South. "I decided to call The Last Straw [a straw bale building periodical] to subscribe," she says. "Joanne De Havillan answered, and we started talking about straw bale building. I told her that I'd really like to do it, but my property was in Georgia. And then she said, "Don't you know about the 68-year-old straw bale mansion in Alabama?" — The home De Havillan referred to was the Burritt Museum in Huntsville, a large two-story straw bale house, built in 1936 and still standing strong after almost seven decades. "From that point on," Elise says, "I was encouraged that a straw bale house was possible in the South."
Blending Beauty & Efficiency
From then on, during her commutes to and from work, Elise took mental notes on the homes she passed en route. She says she always has admired the clean, solid lines of hip roofs and the charm of wraparound porches, typical of the South. So when it came time to design her own home, Elise wanted it to reflect such Southern building traditions. "I wanted the house to appeal to a wide audience — to inspire even conventional families to build with straw bales," she says. "I wanted to impress the typically conservative-minded bankers, home appraisers, insurance agents and building inspectors. I wanted this home to give straw bale a good reputation here in the South, and I wanted to present a house that would balance beauty and efficiency."
But she and Michael needed some help to create the home that existed in Elise's mind's eye. They found it in architect Howard Switzer of Linden, Tenn.
“I wanted this home to give straw bale a good reputation here in the South, and I wanted to present a house that would balance beauty and efficiency.”— Elise Lang
Down to Earth Design
Switzer belies the typical architect. First, there's his appearance: he bears an uncanny resemblance to Jerry Garcia, the late Grateful Dead singer and guitarist. Then, there's his history: Fresh out of high school, Switzer started work as a draftsman in an Illinois architectural firm. He eventually moved to Tennessee, where he took the architectural exams and passed all nine on his first attempt.
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