Читать книгу More Straw Bale Building - Peter Mack - Страница 111

City builders must consider issues of lot size and availability, local zoning and building restrictions, neighborhood quality, availability of services, proximity to employment and schools, and transportation networks. Don’t forget to research the city’s development plan to see whether or not your prospective neighborhood is slated for major zoning changes. Talk to people who live in the area and find out what they have to say.

If the lot you are considering has been empty for a long time, find out how it has been used in the past. Be suspicious of former industrial sites or sites that have been used for gas stations or other polluting businesses. Paying for a soil analysis is a good idea if you harbor any suspicions or concerns. Don’t forget to consider noise and light pollution. Excessive shading of your site by other buildings, proximity to high-wattage street lights, signage or factory lighting, and car headlights can become constant irritants for urban dwellers.

To date, straw bale homes have been idealized in rural settings. Straw bale construction, however, works well as urban housing. The remarkable sound-proofing nature of thick bale walls can significantly lower the amount of ambient noise in your home, making it a more relaxing environment. By virtually eliminating noise transfer, straw bale dividing walls can remove a major disadvantage of multi-unit structures. Furthermore, bale construction allows for design adaptations to surrounding home styles without requiring higher expenditures for conventional materials.

While the ideals of clean, environmental living that are identified with straw bale homes might seem incongruous in urban settings, urban living offers us many opportunities to lower our personal environmental impact. Using bicycles and public transportation make environmental contributions as valuable as building with bales.

6.2a - b: This type of hand-drawn floor plan shows all the main features of the space. Plans for additions to be constructed later should be thought through at this point, allowing a small initial structure to grow smartly into something more spacious.