Straw office building process

September - December 2013

Mediamatic Fabriek's roof leaks and the summer sun has been replaced with chilly winds and cold toes. To protect ourselves and our Aquaponics farm we built an office from straw and loam.

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Dak van de strohut - Het dak van onze nieuwe werkplaats. Rosanne Schenk

The walls of our new office consist of straw bales, finished off with a layer of clay. The 100% organic materials came from a local field. René Dalmeijer, professional straw builder, guided us through the process from field to office, step by step.

December

Done! We built an office-in-an-office. Made of straw and loam, the roof rests on nine aquaponics installations. Not only do they keep the roof up, the warmth that comes from this urban farm keeps our feet from freezing and soon will provide us with lunch.

November

We held our breath during the storm in November. While working in the exhibition space, a few glass planes of the roof above the straw hut snapped. It rained inside and the shards of glass were scattered on the ground. But not to worry, the straw hut is dry and unharmed! Currently we are building up the aquaponics towers and we can proudly announce that our new office has a roof!

September and October

The Mediamatic team built the office together with whoever liked to learn how to build with straw. We even hosted a straw-bale and clay plastering workshop (25 - 28 September). After every building day we came together, shared a wonderful meal and listed to presentations from expert straw builders, architects and other straw-bale lovers.

Thanks to Tierrafino for supplying the adobe.