In Křižany, an eco-house made of straw is being built, and more will be added

Křižany (Liberec Region) - Straw, wood, and clay are sufficient for building an ecological cottage, which is rising in Křižany in the Liberec region. The simple building, with an area of 24 square meters and a cozy living attic, will cost about 150,000 crowns. However, price is not its main advantage. Apart from being inexpensive and energy-efficient to build and operate, it has a very favorable climate; it is easy to breathe and live in it, said Petr Porada to ČTK, who, along with his girlfriend, is building the house as a long-term worker and currently resides in it temporarily.
    "We were driven indoors by the October snow; we need to finish the stairs and the shower; the house still lacks a green roof of grass, but we'll have to wait for spring for that,” he added.
    The young couple started building last year and had about 30 workers, mostly young people seeking relief from urban hustle and smog, assisting them intermittently. Porada previously worked in social work, while his partner studied biology. Now they have become builders after previously residing in Prague; according to them, construction opens up new knowledge, and they both wish to eventually turn to ecological agriculture.
    The owner of the straw house in Křižany, which the workers are constructing, is Peter Skořepa. Once the house is built, he intends to sell it for about half a million. Besides the so-called straw house, he has also built a round wooden structure insulated with sheep wool this year in Sencio near Bratislava, where he lives himself. Behind Ještěd, his place of origin, he plans to construct about 40 more eco-houses, log cabins, half-log houses, wooden structures, straw, and clay buildings. According to him, eco-houses are popping up all over, having emerged near Brno, Mladá Boleslav, or in Skalka near Doksy. This year in Jindřichovice under Smrk, actor Jaroslav Dušek built a dome made from bags filled with clay.
    "Many young people are drawn to ecological living. They fear the syndrome of unhealthy buildings made of drywall and concrete, where proper ventilation is impossible,” says Porada, who hopes to use the experience gained from building in Křižany for constructing his own house. His house is also to be made from bales of dry straw, which costs between 100 to 200 crowns per cubic meter, and from pliable clay, which can be dug up locally. Clay deposits can reportedly be found near almost every village. However, Porada’s plot should be in an even more remote location than the edge of Křižany with its 700 inhabitants.
    According to Skořepa, people most often build eco-houses independently. It is not uncommon for entire families to get involved, and for people with no prior experience in house construction to take part. They hear about it online and then apply themselves for the job. Skořepa prepares projects and calculations for them and also offers oversight of the construction. "People can build their little house with their own hands for a fraction of the price that construction firms charge,” he noted.
    Straw houses possess the qualities of passive buildings. And if they are not large, people do not even need a building permit. Clay plasters guarantee the fire resistance of straw and improve insulation and accumulation properties; 40 centimeters of straw is equivalent to 20 centimeters of polystyrene. The advantage of clay is its easy shaping; lamps, stoves, seating, niches, or rounded corners can be made from it. When they get boring, they can simply be moistened and remodeled. "Today, it is no longer a problem to insure the buildings,” Skořepa remarked.
    Straw houses are not a new phenomenon; they were already being built in the USA, the Balkans, as well as Germany and Austria in the 19th century, and still stand today. New straw houses are also built on concrete foundations, using galvanized ground screws or durable films for the roof. Compared to other buildings, they are about ten times cheaper.