Design of Straw Bale Buildings

The State of the Art

Bruce King, P.E.

For the first time, a design manual for practicing professionals, drawing on the collective experience of the most senior and respected figures in the rapidly-emerging field of straw bale construction.

This is the only book that provides truly useful information to architects, engineers, building officials and builders who want to design intelligently with plastered straw bales.

“Anyone who is considering the design and construction of a straw bale building would be wise to read this book first.”

—Richard Okawa, P.E.
Vice President of International Services, International Code Council (ICC), Whittier, California

“Bruce King’s previous books have become essential references, and I am sure this well-structured volume will become the standard reference of straw bale construction.”
—Hugh Morris, Senior Tutor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Auckland, New Zealand

“This authoritative source of information on the technology of straw bale building is long overdue, and raises both the art and science of low impact building to a new level.”
—Tom Woolley, Professor of Architecture
Queen’s University, Belfast, Ireland, author of Natural Building and The Green Building Handbook

About the Author

Bruce King is a registered structural engineer in private practice in San Rafael, California. He is the author of Buildings of Earth and Straw; Structural Design for Straw Bale and Rammed Earth Architecture (1996) and Design of Straw Bale Buildings; The State of the Art (2006). He is founder and director of the nonprofit Ecological Building Network and co-founder, with his wife Sarah Weller King, of Green Building Press. He lives in San Rafael, California.