Building With Awareness

The Construction of a Hybrid Home DVD and Guidebook

by Ted Owens

Constructing a straw bale solar home requires the merging of solar design with alternative building techniques. Books are useful for accessing information on these topics quickly and easily, while videos are a great way to show actual building methods and techniques firsthand.

The Building With Awareness DVD/guidebook combination brings you the best of both worlds. The award-winning DVD is inspiring and informative, with over five hours of material on every aspect of building a green home. The handy-reference guidebook complements the DVD, with color photographs, diagrams, suggestions and step-by-step methods, all condensed into a nuts-and-bolts format. Used together, these two valuable resources provide a visually dynamic and easy-to-understand library of information.

Take a front-row seat on the work site, learning from the experts as they notch and stack the straw bales and mix the mud;
Learn about foundations, post-and-beam wall framing, roof construction and insulation, interior thermal mass walls for improved efficiency, rainwater cisterns, electrical wiring and photovoltaic systems;
Learn earth-plastering techniques that create beautiful wall finishes;
Understand how window placement and other structural elements can help to heat and cool your home and lower your energy bills;
See how the structure works as a whole, and how both energy efficiency and superb aesthetics can come from the same materials.