Shelter Masthead
Shelter Home | StretchWare Home | Books | Search | Orders | Contact

Bookmark and Share

Home Work:
Handbuilt Shelter

Bill & Athena Steen:
Pages 74-75

Pages 76-77
Pages 78-79
Pages 80-81

Home Work: Handbuilt Shelter

Bill & Athena Steen
And Their Houses of Mud and Straw

The image below is a two-page spread (pages 76-77) from Home Work: Handbuilt Shelter. Click on any of the photos on the image to see a larger popup window of that photo (close popup window before clicking another photo). Page text is included below the spread.
Paint and plaster studio, also called the rain chain building, almost finished. Straw bale walls with clay/straw plaster on exterior Arched window in straw bale walls, clay-plastered wall finished with red wax and pigment. Interior of window is white clay plaster with micaceous sand. Interior of guest cottage, by-product of first straw bale workshop/happening in 1990. Adobe wall/seat divides bathroom space from living area. Back side of the wall forms lime-plastered shower. Future bath house being used as temporary storage for tools and stuff that have no other place to go
Belled-out corner similar to detail used in mud construction in Africa
Other “bus stop,” used for workshop seating. Both bus stops are invaluable places for interns and the like to refine their skills and experiment without us having to pull our hair out.The souls of many a good intern are embedded in multiple layers of paint and plaster.
Guest cottage, one of our favorites. Like everything else, still under construction. A variety of clay plasters. Exterior has straw/clay plaster in front and lavender clay finish on wall around window. Bamboo, clay and straw shelves to rear were molded into place. Interior has polished clay walls. Sponge being used to finish freshly applied plaster Gallo wine bottles set into straw bale walls with clay plaster Bike shed, with clay/straw plaster on exterior, lime plaster on inside and ceiling of petates, or mats of carrizo and cattails Cut-in-half clay pot makes perfect indirect light fixture.
Clay and straw molding around window in straw bale walls. Arch over the window was formed by making a lightweight frame out of split bamboo and covered with mixture of clay and straw. Detail on wall.
Mixing our basic clay/straw plaster that we evolved while working in Mexico. Screened local clay soil is sprinkled into water until water is covered, then allowed to sit for a few minutes so clay soaks up water. Messing with it sooner makes for lots of clumps. We then add enough chopped straw to make a mix that has body and can be applied thickly on walls without cracking. Our exterior plasters are applied up to 2 inches thick in one single application.
Bill with intern Lori Wright standing on arch made of clay and straw
Mixing our basic clay/straw plaster that we evolved while working in Mexico. Screened local clay soil is sprinkled into water until water is covered, then allowed to sit for a few minutes so clay soaks up water. Messing with it sooner makes for lots of clumps. We then add enough chopped straw to make a mix that has body and can be applied thickly on walls without cracking. Our exterior plasters are applied up to 2 inches thick in one single application. Mixing our basic clay/straw plaster that we evolved while working in Mexico. Screened local clay soil is sprinkled into water until water is covered, then allowed to sit for a few minutes so clay soaks up water. Messing with it sooner makes for lots of clumps. We then add enough chopped straw to make a mix that has body and can be applied thickly on walls without cracking. Our exterior plasters are applied up to 2 inches thick in one single application.
Structure (“bus stop”) used for seating during workshops. Local juniper poles, straw bale walls, seat is from blocks made from sawdust and clay during a workshop. As soon as they came out of mold, they were placed into seat wet to be able to form curves. Behind it is straw bale storage shed for lime and clay putties so they don’t freeze; other dry plaster materials are stored on the outside.
Mixing our basic clay/straw plaster that we evolved while working in Mexico. Screened local clay soil is sprinkled into water until water is covered, then allowed to sit for a few minutes so clay soaks up water. Messing with it sooner makes for lots of clumps. We then add enough chopped straw to make a mix that has body and can be applied thickly on walls without cracking. Our exterior plasters are applied up to 2 inches thick in one single application. Photo shows “harling,” where the lime plaster slurry is thrown on the wall using a “harling” trowel. Great durable and weather-resistant finish. Photo shows “harling,” where the lime plaster slurry is thrown on the wall using a “harling” trowel. Great durable and weather-resistant finish.

More Sample Chapters:

Louie Frazier
The Inspiration for Home Work

Natural Buildings
Photography by
Catherine Wanek

Michael Kahn
Sculptural Village in the Arizona Desert

The Yurts of Bill Coperthwaite

Page 76 Text: none

Page 77 Text: none