A house built of wood and straw?

The experiment: combining ecology and uncompromising circularity with an aesthetic that conveys peace and clarity. The solution: a residential and holiday home about 60 kilometres north of Berlin that contains no concrete at all and is made mainly of wood and straw. This represents a saving of around 18 tonnes of CO₂ in the building shell alone, compared to a conventional building. It boasts approximately 90 m² of living space over two floors, with bedrooms and working areas on the ground floor and a spacious living area with kitchen, dining area and living room on the upper floor. The two floors are connected by a central staircase surrounded by a wooden balustrade. The architect was particularly interested in clear lines for a feeling of security and orientation, in deliberate contrast to the irregular forms that are particularly widespread in ecological architecture. Also key are the many windows, often with cosy window seats.

Since the intention was for the NOW to be completely and easily deconstructable, it does not have a basement. Instead, its base plate made of solid structural timber rests on 20 foundation bolts, which have been sunk between two and three metres deep into the ground. This made it possible to compensate for a slight slope, and the roughly 30-centimetre air gap below the house also protects against damp and allows rainwater to seep away. Not only the floor, but also the walls and roof are made of native solid softwood timber, with the interior walls and intermediate ceiling being made of cross-laminated timber. One of the key aspects is the thermal insulation, which involved pressing around 80 m³ of untreated straw into the floor, roof and wall elements. The building is protected on the outside by lime plaster and on the inside by clay plaster. The design principle here is unadulterated naturalness: the untreated wood of the load-bearing interior walls, the exposed ceilings, the cork flooring and the visible clay walls create a feeling of comfort – and a demonstrably good indoor climate. Finally, the breathable materials ensure natural humidity and temperature buffering.

The building shell of the NOW Lindow meets the passive-house standard. Since this means that every heat source in the house influences the indoor temperature, no central heating is required. Instead, infrared ceiling heaters heat the rooms in a targeted way and a flow heater provides hot water. This means that all of the building technology operates on electricity, which is generated in part by a photovoltaic system on the otherwise green roof. A power storage unit covers the night hours. When it comes to the electrics, switches and socket outlets from the Gira E2 design line in matt black were selected to match the minimalist design concept. Overall, this consistent low-tech approach involving the use of affordable, renewable materials, exposed surfaces, simple construction solutions and reduced building technology not only saves resources, but also reduces costs. The developer expects a total price of EUR 300,000 for the complete house (as at 2026). Who knew that a sustainable single-family home could be so affordable. Or so beautiful.