Ithaca Straw House (under construction)

A Collaboration with Salty Labs

Designed in collaboration with Jonsara Ruth of Salty Labs and Design Director of the Healthy Materials Lab at Parsons, this compact house demonstrates the viability of prefabricated compressed-straw panels for building healthy, regenerative dwellings.  The 1,400 sq ft, 3-bedroom, guest house is positioned low into the hill to minimize obstructive views to Lake Cayuga, utilizing low-impact helical metal piles instead of concrete foundations.  The house is constructed with prefabricated floor and wall panels developed by New Frameworks. These cassettes are timber framed, infilled with straw in the walls and wood fiber in the floor. The interior face of the walls was given an initial coat of lime plaster in their Vermont facility prior to shipping.  

Panels were delivered to the site to be easily secured to each other through the abutting 2x4’s forming the exterior load-bearing and insulative skin. Major Interior walls are formed by hemp-lime blocks made by Jonsara Ruth and the Parsons Healthy Material Lab, and the additional layers of lime plaster on the straw panels were added through hands-on workshops run by Liz Johndrow and her team at Earthen Endeavors. The exterior rainscreen is unfinished larch over a vapor-open weather barrier. A four-foot-wide eave protects the exterior walls from weather while creating an inhabitable porch that wraps all sides of the house, fully embracing the site. 

Type

Residential, Biogenic

Credits

LTL Architects:  Principals: Paul Lewis, Marc Tsurumaki, David J. Lewis | Team: Jocelyn Beausire, Abby Duffey, Anna Knoell, Kyle Reich.

Salty Labs: Founder: Jonsara Ruth

Straw Panel System: New Frameworks

Contractor: Artisan Builder’s Collective: Jacob Boyett + Gavin Pataki

Lime Plaster Workshop: Earthen Endeavors: Liz Johndrow

Materials: Organic Straw, Timber HP Floor+ Roof Insulation, Helical Piles. Larch Siding, Ash Floors, Earthaus Plaster, Proclima Vapor and Air Barrier System, Marvin Windows + Doors.