What makes the Petitt unique even or the green Californians is that it was built using steel beams. The straw bale houses previously featured on this website have had wooden structures. So the Petitt is somehow the best of the both worlds. It started out as a conventional building with a concrete slab and steel structure but then the walls were filled with natural material – straw. It provides great insulation qualities and coupled with photovoltaic system and rainwater recycling system it is pretty green.
Of course, you may argue that they’d be better off building with screwpiles and wooden frames (I would by all means!), this particular project has chosen to use concrete and metal but it is much greener than a conventional build anyway.
When it came to rendering, it’s really ground breaking. You won’t find any cement here – it’s all covered in clay plaster, which is another unique feature making the Petitt the first green house in the City of Vista to have clay plaster. As you might already know, lime plaster is another alternative often used in green buildings here in Britain.
Pic © SimpleConstruct.net
