House of straw: A new face of sustainability on campus
by Morgan Sherburne
What can a house made of straw bales teach us about sustainability?
A University of Michigan class recently completed one—Ann Arbor’s first student-built, off-the-grid structure on campus—to bring awareness to natural building, local food and sustainable living.
Despite some rain delays, University of Michigan students, led by Joe Trumpey, an associate professor at the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design and professor at the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability, recently completed the straw bale building at the U-M Campus Farm at the Matthaei Botanical Garden.
Students with Joe Trumpey’s Green Building class mix adobe for the straw bale building they built on the U-M Campus Farm at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens. Trumpey is an associate professor at the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design and professor at the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability.
Class leader Joe Trumpey begins digging the foundation of the straw bale building at Matthaei Botanical Garden.
Students in the Green Building class dig the foundation for the straw bale building on the U-M Campus Farm at the Matthaei Botanical Garden.
U-M students make a cut in their build of the straw bale building on the U-M Campus Farm at Matthaei Botanical Garden.
The straw bale building faces south, looking over the U-M Campus Farm at Matthaei Botanical Garden.