Anne Netherwood

This chapel for a private client is built of straw bales with a reciprocal frame roof.  We started on site last July when we had to dig a 2m deep trench to get down to bearing soil for the foundation.

This was then filled with concrete and topped with a brick plinth and timber sole plate.

Meanwhile we collected hazel withies to make the three tiers of stakes which hold the bales together.  The first row fits into the base plate, but is only put in place just before the bales are placed.  You could do yourself a lot of damage if you tripped and fell on them.

By July 2017 the weather was clear and we started to build the walls.

The last bale was fitted on July 24th, and then the weather broke.  We wrapped the walls to protect them.