WEBSITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION
LIGHT CLAY STRAW
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Light Clay Straw construction / Leichleim
Background:
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Used for many 100’s of years in Germany & medieval northern Europe
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The 300-year-old double storey town museum in Genadendal near Greyton in the Western Cape is made of clay straw roles.
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It can be used for both internal and external walls as well as for ceilings, and is commonly compressed between a frame.
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Benefits:
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Materials can be sourced from the site itself and is easy to work with.
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Simple tools are required.
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Offers very high levels of insulation for relatively thin walls.
Technical Information:
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The timber framing structure, Shutter work is constructed and fixed in position.
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A mixture of clay, straw and sand is mixed together and placed between a shutter framework and compressed.
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2 layers of shuttering are compressed and then the shutters are successively leapfrogged over each other panel by panel.
Track record/examples of work
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House Mendel – Hout Bay, Cape Town, Cape Town, 2021
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Production of light clay straw panels & clay straw panel repair work for restoration Guga S’thebe Theatre (after fire damage), in Langa, Cape Town 2021
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Technical feasibility study for CNNIA architects for the TWK Resource Centre for VPUU Villiersdorp, Western Cape, 2016
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Staff housing for Organic Farm Shehaan, outside Lusaka, 2008
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Stanford Valley Conference Centre workshop 2006 made partial use of light clay straw panels.
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Eco Design held a light-clay construction workshop at the Cob Colloquium in December 2006 for the McGreggor’s Centre for Alternative Technology.