Organic Cob House
Written by Jennifer Heyns
It looks like the first little piggy may have had the right idea after all—he just needed to turn his straw house into one of cob.
Cob is a natural building material made of straw, clay, sand, pumice and water. Aside from the addition of pumice to make it lighter and more energy efficient, cob is a very old method of building.
This house is a great example of how creative architecture, mixed with modern technology, can turn an ancient building method into a comfortable, progressive home.
The house is unique in many ways, including how cob has been used to create the entire structure, both inside and out.
One of the coolest things about cob is that it requires no additional materials to finish the exterior or interior walls. On top of that, you can see how it’s also been used to form pockets, shelves and furniture as built-ins from room to room.
And check out the awesome skylight. A wooden roof tops the cob’s circular hut-like appearance, which would be completely ancient in style if it weren’t for the large void in the center that contains a specially-made skylight.
Curious where this fine eco-building is located? If you guessed NorthEastern Missouri, you'd be exactly correct (and probably cheating)!
This cob house is part of the Dancing Rabbit Eco-Village, a community to promote and help each other live a sustainable life, reduce one's footprint and provide an environment for green building jobs and sustainable building internships.
In addition to cob, they stress using other sustainable building materials and living methods, such as living homes, rain-water harvesting systems, composting toilets, earth floors, living roofs, passive solar design and many other eco-friendly systems.
As you can see, their work is not only creative and amazing to look at, but also eco-friendly to the max.
Photos of the Cob House were taken by Ziggy from The Year of Mud: Cob and natural building.
What others have said
Our apologies Ziggy. we confused your relationship with Dancing Rabbit as correct attribution. I added your credits at the bottom of the article.
Thanks,
Dean
Funky space. Could anyone tell me approximately how much the building materials would cost for a space like this, granted I know most come from the earth? Please respond I'm currently pursuing earth architecture.
Check Ziggy's blog, The Year of Mud, which is linked to at the end of the article for more particulars about the building process, as well as, the cost involved.
Cob! How does it fare in Canada, where frost freezes 4 feet deep? We tend to prefer Straw Bale for its high R values and ease of construction. Cob just might be torn apart by frost - I'm not sure and not well enough to pioneer it either!
How much will Remodeling cost you?
What type of remodeling job are you interested in?
BEST OF REMODELING BLOG
Odd but true remodels
The first photo was not taken at Dancing Rabbit - it's at Cob Cottage Company in Coquille, OR. The rest of the photos are from my home at Dancing Rabbit, though. Also, it would be nice to get some credit for all of the above photos - I took them. Thanks.