Off-The-Grid Straw Bale Getaway

David Arkin and Anni Tilt of Arkin Tilt Architects design beautiful homes. A lot of architects design beautiful homes, though. What distinguishes the work of Arkin Tilt is their ability to capture the essence of a place and the personality of a client and craft a design that complements both to near perfection.

What makes the firm particularly unique is their unwavering dedication to ecologically sensitive design. They won’t take on a project that doesn’t have energy and resource efficiency as a core focus. This takes us to the Chalk Bluff Cabin, an off-the-grid straw bale getaway high on the remote edge of the Tahoe National Forest in California.

Hybrid Straw Bale

The 872 sq.ft. cabin is a hybrid straw-bale home. That simply means that some of the walls are conventionally built with dimensional lumber, the roof is made of SIPS and the other part—the main volume in this case—is built with straw bales. It’s an approach commonly taken by the firm, who are strong advocates of the ecological and performance benefits of building with straw bales, but acknowledge the benefits of other construction methods as well.

Cut off from the Grid

The home is so remote that its location is well beyond the utility grid. The home harvests energy from the sun through a PV array on the roof and stores the energy in batteries to operate the well pump and other domestic electrical services. A Solar Hot water collector provides domestic hot water and heat for the small cabin. Along with the solar hot water collectors heating is accomplished through a 2ft deep Sand-bed heat storage system.

Though it’s tucked deep into the wilderness, the home sits isolated in a clearing to protect it from wildfires. The siding, metal roof and earth-cement on bale walls all contribute to the home’s wildfire resistance.

An Honest Interior

Inside, the home is unadorned with plywood-clad ceilings, polished concrete floors and rich, textured plastered walls. The arrangement of the floor plan is simple, but executed with defined, functional spaces. A queen sized sleeping nook off the living room, for instance, can be used as daytime away space while still being connected to the hub of the house. At night, it becomes its own bedroom by being buffered from the other sleeping areas by the living room. The kitchen, tucked below a bedroom feels as though it occupies its own room even though it shares floor space with the main living area.

Upon visiting their site, Arkin Tilt presents you with a short passage. It reads:

“As a branch grows in search of sunlight so too does a design evolve as a natural fit to its climate and circumstance.”

Like all of their work, the Chalk Bluff Cabin delivers on that idea.

Architect: Arkin Tilt Architects www.arkintilt.com

Photographer: Eric Millette www.ericmillettephotography.com

*For more information on Straw Bale Construction visit the California Straw Building Association (CASBA): www.strawbuilding.org

Fine Homebuilding Recommended Products

Fine Homebuilding receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.

Code Check 10th Edition: An Illustrated Guide to Building a Safe House

It would be great if this book didn’t need to exist, but it's definitely a must-have. It's a one-size-fits-all code book that's easy to understand and will help you sail through your inspections.

Buy at Amazon

A Field Guide to American Houses

If you want to plan, design, or remodel based on the vast tradition of American architectural styles you first have to understand their history, geography, architectural significance, and relationship to one another. This book can help with that.

Buy at Amazon

The New Carbon Architecture: Building to Cool the Climate

With this book, architect Bruce King changes the conversation around what it means to build a green home. Take everything you thought you knew about the topic, and just set it aside and let Bruce explain why embodied carbon trumps the rest of what is undoubtedly important.

Buy at Amazon