Architect Bogdan Muresan aims to revolutionize how people see the home. Inspired by German and Norwegian houses, the architect from Brasov, Romania, is building straw bale houses.
Up north there are hundreds of such houses. Last year in the Romanian village Soncuta Mare, a team of Norwegians built the first straw bale house for a community of Roma people.
„I’ve always been interested in green buildings. I was honoured to be invited by Harald Medboe and Eirik Gram Frank, two Norwegian friends, to take part in the Soncuta mare project. They taught me how to build with straws. Whereas in the West a project like this leans more toward ecology, in Romania it can become a social project due to its very low costs”, says architect Bogdan Muresan.
A straw house of 75 square meters costs only 1.000 euros to build. It is made out of stone, wood, cob and of course straws. The house can be built in two to five weeks. The walls are 50 cm thick, which makes for a good thermal comfort. The house is cool in summer and warm during winter time. With a green roof heating costs drop 30%.
