Strawbale Home couple built after fire is bioclimatic marvel

Ken Haggard and Polly Cooper have built natural homes with passive solar techniques and powered by renewables since the seventies, so when in August 1994 a wildfire destroyed their property and home, they decided to rebuild them back, only better.
They used fire-resistive strawbale walls for their new studio and home, built next to the only structure (also made with straw bale) that survived the fire. Strawbale has a two-hour fire rating when clad in earthen plasters.
The studio's main facade includes both a masonry and a water Trombe wall for storing daytime heat for use overnight. The water wall uses an internal chamber filled with water that regulates the interior temperature: convection currents within the water help transfer heat through the entire thermal mass much quicker than only masonry.
When the Haggards bought the land in 1980 it was an abandoned trout farm, but they worked to restore the waterways to create natural swimming pools (filtered by plants) not just for people, but also for endangered species of turtles and frogs. A charming little piazza sheltered by trees and several ponds helps regulate the area's temperature and create a respite for them and the local fauna -students and researchers from Cal Poly come to the property to study the frog population.
-Ken & Polly Haggard: slosustainability.com/
-David Bainbridge (water wall): www.sustainabilityleader.org/
-Kenneth Haggard's bio: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth...
-Organic architecture: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic...
-Fractals in architecture: users.math.yale.edu/public_ht...
-Trombe wall definition: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trombe_...
On *faircompanies: faircompanies.com/videos/all-...

[@colinkelley6493]

Really FUN!!!! I was a student in the School of Architecture at Cal Poly when Ken Haggard was teaching there. He was a big influence on me and my whole class, along with George Hasslein, the founding Dean, a great guy, and the heart and soul of the school. Our motto was "Learn by doing". Everyone was assigned his own large cubical with large drafting board in a giant room -- it was always open 24/7. This was before PC's and CAD.. So we practically lived there doing our design projects. We learned by watching each other as well as from our professors. Teachers, including Ken, would wonder in and we would have great midnight bull sessions. Our school had I think 200 acres, called "Poly Canyon" where we built a bunch of experimental structures and buildings over the years. There were many interesting passive solar experiments, new materials experiments, construction technique experiments and so on. This house Ken built feels and seems to me like an extension of Poly Canyon, which is why I mentioned it. I will bet he had volunteers! Hi Ken! It was so fun to see Ken again and see what he has done here. I going back to watch it again. Thank you.

[@kirstendirksen]

Thank you for this bit of history. Sounds like a really hands-on learning environment. I have heard a bit about Poly Canyon. I like the motto at the trailhead: "Here we seek to abolish the distinction between theory, design and construction. 'For the things we have to learn before we can do them we learn by doing them.'"

[@moopurce8973]

I am a retired carpenter. I loved working for people like this. Very nice place,great couple. Kristen you do a great job thank you.

[@robinprice6879]

This is really spectacular. If I could go back and live my life (or just my youth) over again I’d hope that I would’ve had the courage to fully live outside the box

[@KoenaWarriorPrincess]

This comment just needs to be pinned! Amazing teaching style, which you can see less and less in the "civilized" world. Thank you so much for sharing!

[@colinkelley6493]

@@kirstendirksen Yes. In my sophomore year design class we studied early childhood development, then designed and built an amazing play ground for a Montessori pre-school. Later, another professor, who had previously been teaching at the PHD level in psychiatry, researching the effects of colors, textures and shapes on mentally insane people. In that design class we designed and built a "community room" for an insane asylum. So it wasn't just Poly Canyon. We re-designed and build a courtyard with an amazing band stand on campus between a bunch of buildings. Often great and famous architects would be in the area and randomly wonder into our cubicles. They were genuinely interested in what we were doing, and then they would talk about what they were working on. Dean Hasslein was well connected and greatly liked and respected. They would come to see him and then drop in on us. It was a very special time and place. I am so grateful you did this episode. Your channel is my absolutely favorite on the internet.

[@ChristopherBreedyArchitecture]

I love these homes that have a unique shape or concept. These modern white boxes are getting boring quick, but these stand out. I hope to design stuff like this ♥

[@TheSteveAS]

I've lived 30 minutes from these folks for 30 years, and had no idea their homestead existed! I wonder if they ever do tours? They've learned so many important lessons and techniques over the years - I hope they are imparting their knowledge to the next generations of builders!

[@nathankoren]

Amazing to see this here! Apart from how amazing their home is, Ken and Polly are also two of the absolute loveliest people in the known universe. (I've counted them as friends and mentors since about 1990). So glad to see their accomplishments getting more recognition.

[@poorboy2012]

Hello my friend. Your video is very good, I have watched it many times and I like it. Wishing you a good day and lots of luck❤❤❤

[@truthbetold2611]

Fractal architecture. That's what I need to study to build a dome home. Thinking outside of the box needs education and inspiration.

[@dawnbern2917]

Kirsten my darling you never disappoint! And thank you also to this beautiful couple for sharing their story and their space.

[@pariahsgrit]

Love your channel. Have been following you for a long time and just wanted to comment. I'm grateful for your content and the unique forward-thinking people you shine a spotlight on.

[@johnkim791]

Ditto! I really love seeing the “outside the box”, forward thinking and clever innovations that people come up with.

[@retsub3]

Thank you for showcasing Ken & Polly and including their links. Awareness of Ken's 5 decades of important works and innovations cannot travel far and fast enough in times like these 🙏

[@castelsposhcloset7166]

What an inspiring, peaceful and lovely place. 🥰👍🏡

[@Amanda-jd8xs]

What a beautiful home. I like the philosophy of non-uniformity and that they reusued the burnt trees. So many people shun wood after a fire. Great people too 😊. Californian's always seem so nice.

[@upwiththelarks.]

What a beautiful, Oasis. There is hope for the future of ecovillage. I also love how nature reclaims her land.

[@kimprocarione5473]

Such a resilient couple! Their home and ponds are just wonderful!

[@L6FT]

"Construction and destruction are two sides of the same coin" :-D Exactly. Love the logical practical approach. Wife was devastated, husband's like, oh well, guess we gotta build back better.

[@Waywren]

oh beautiful. You can feel the pain in their voices when they talk about what the fire took, but they've built such wonderful things from it all.

[@cherylcarlson3315]

Kirsten, thank you for finding them as it answers my question about strawbale rebuilding..would love to see Paradise come back with strawbales . I cannot build a square with 4 equal boards and love curves so their home makes me smile. Sadly too old now to start from scratch and do what I wanted 35 yrs ago.

[@Alex_Plante]

What a wonderful couple and a wonderful place!

[@Ramanarayan38]

Very interesting and a lot of depth in the couple and their intelligence and perseverance, patience. Emotionally deep couple a swell. Kudos for finding this project to cover on your channel.

[@wildweeds]

I live in a strawball house also. My walls look like the ones in this video. It's some kind of specialized mixture sourced by the people who owned the place before I purchased it. I'm at just below 7000 feet in the southern Sierra Nevada. The walls are over twenty years old and in pretty good shape despite hot summers and cold winters.

[@wthomas5697]

Interesting. My entire neighborhood except one house burned down in 2015. It was a straw bale house.

[@nicolasboullosa]

I love when Ken Haggard mentions that trying to burn a compacted straw bale structure is "like trying to burn a phonebook." It's a great way to put it.

[@wthomas5697]

Yes, very apt. He did have to replace one 4x4 that was holding up a porch roof, but otherwise you'd never even know there was a fire by looking at the house. Remarkable. Everything else for miles was incinerated. Including a bunch of form work I was doing for my foundation at the property next door. @@nicolasboullosa

[@kmaguire7161]

Oh fun. I live almost exactly 10 miles south west of them. Nice to see you guys in my neighborhood.

[@rzella8022]

Thanks Kirsten and hubby of yours for always such interesting places tours. Such a delightful couple with genius minds and skills.

[@JavierRomero-op5hb]

Fantástic house, is one dream 🎉

[@suziperret468]

Love this straw bale home and nature setting.

[@meganmckennee6131]

I'm a family friend and so happy that you did this film. Love and miss the Trout farm.

[@LaineyBug2020]

I just realized the walls would be perfect for some Elizabethan Wall Art! It would definitely add to the magic of the fractal theme!

[@rickreese5794]

Love the steel roof😊

[@kristinaginorio1344]

Blessed elders sharing their wisdom. Thank for sharing this with us.

[@stilcrazychris]

Really a beautiful home now. It's funny, but not, how the old burns & then you rebuild & it's just a beautiful home comes out of such a devastating act of a fire. Just a wonderful home now.

[@RatedArggg]

Really beautiful house!!!!

[@mombele]

Unquestionably my dreamjob you two got! Your videos are stunningly visual and the editing is perhaps perfect for these house showcases - which in a way feel like you are meeting and talking to the homeowner yourself. Keep on making them, cannot wait for the next :)

[@pasveritas1872]

So many innovations and energy solutions in what is a beautiful homestead ❤

[@Brian-os9qj]

As interesting a builder and build as can be imagined. The structure speaks for itself. Enjoyed your presentation of unique architecture

[@sharonadlam3195]

Thanks Kirsten, yet another wonderfully inspirational couple and their live space is what dreams are made of.

[@carolewarner101]

Yet another fascinating story...LOVE this!

[@italiataouma4954]

Love this place and the amount of knowledge this couple have especially how they built using knowledge and history of the environment. Bespoke their place to the conditions and future proofing it. Fa'afetai lava.

[@fantasticfamily5004]

Absolutely stunning! When you use what you have around in your environment. Even after a fire. We need to think out of the box in order for us to survive.! Bravo to this couple

[@juliemccormack8389]

Wow, I love everything about this couple and their work…bravo 👏💯

[@stormmountain2521]

Amazing video., This couple is just unbelievable in what they've achieved and what they've learned.. And I wish I was their neighbor..

[@johnkim791]

This was one of your best videos. Thank you!

[@RPRosen-ki2fk]

I'd LOVE to see a COLLABORATION between ... Ken and Mike Reynolds. I can't even imagine what amazing & thought provoking projects would come out of it.

[@ruralangwin]

Hope for Glass Fire survivors. Thank you.🌲

[@MakeMeThinkAgain]

I love it when someone else does all the things I always thought about doing. I get to see the results without having to do any of the work. And I get to live in a city where I don't need a car. The problem -- for me -- with all these perfect rural projects is that they require vehicles to get to.

[@aaronjennings8385]

Capitalize on a crisis. What a great idea. It's turned out well.

[@nicolasboullosa]

It’s one of the most beautiful homesteads I’ve seen in a while. I couldn’t believe it when I saw the pics from 1994; everything was gone! Good stewardship pays off.

[@xikano8573]

Whoa, now that's what I call Paradise! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@nissimrandall1535]

Amazing, they are real pioneers. Such an abundance of knowledge, theories tried and tested. And then the library with all those books! Thnaks!

[@jwebbw]

So, it's nice that they have been able to enjoy their straw-walled rebuilt home for at least 25 years since the fire. That's good because they are quite elder now. And I'm sure it was a work in progress for a number of years after the rebuild, kept them busy. I would like to know his opinion on G.W. because he gives us the tree stump annular rings and Native American history and says the fires are cyclic. Thanks for another home with a interesting building material....take care !!

[@thepolitewierdo]

What a beautiful building and a wonderfully interesting couple. The house has a really great Frank Lloyd Wright vibe.

[@SustainerNYC]

Really love the closing audio where you captured the warble of the red-legged wood frog! What an astonishing Gang of Four between you two and this GENIUS couple. ❤❤❤

[@boardwalkbw7130]

So much wisdom in these people...they have so much to teach!

[@OwnerBuildersUnite]

Very cool and unique hybrid place! Earthships for the win!

[@TheAnnaFisher]

So inspired! Thank you and blessings always!

[@creolelady182]

Love this home

[@KoenaWarriorPrincess]

Kirsten, you and your husband need to write a book! The people you meet, the science behind architecture, ecological perspective, sustainable everything... houses, agriculture, ideas on small towns within a city and many more. I will say it again - your videos should be shown in schools around the world and the book should be a part of every country's Encyclopedia.

[@nicolasboullosa]

Happy to reply that we are working on something along these lines. Hoping to share a bit more about this soon.

[@blueman5924]

Very interesting thought process to the re-creation of their home. Thank you for this viewing. 👍

[@MrPhotodoc]

A good source for information on passive solar is The Solar Greenhouse Book, 1978 Rodale Press, James C. McCullagh.

[@nicolasboullosa]

Thanks for the tip, we’ll look for that book.

[@MrPhotodoc]

Another good book is Solarizing Your Present Home, 1981 Rodale Press, Joe Carter editor.

[@nicolasboullosa]

@@MrPhotodoc 🙏

[@Kimberley_Black_White_TV]

I'm so humbled. I can't even speak.

[@jewelssylva3738]

I love this couple. Perseverance. & Gathered wisdom. I'm a fellow Californian, I live among two of the indigenous tribes in the Sierras. Traditionally they lived up in the Sierra Mountains during the summer & then they migrated to the San Joaquin Valley for the winters. Along their migrations they would instigate fires to keep the brush down. Then if an actual wildfire starts there isn't enough brush to really burn the upper parts of the trees. So the fire just burns out without enough fuel. But the environmentalists in California decided that humans shouldn't manage the land so they insisted on letting it grow wild. That's a big part of the reason California has had such devastating wildfires for the past 20 years or so.

[@nicolasboullosa]

Hopefully we learn from the past. Aldo Leopold was already acknowledging in A Sand County Almanac that we have so much to learn from natural patterns and traditional stewardship. He was talking about the Prairies, but his point is valuable in CA or anywhere in North America (thinking about the fires all over Canada).

[@LaineyBug2020]

Oh, I like this couple!

[@danlaub7156]

Ken is absolutely fascinating. Great video.

[@tanyakilbane7636]

Gorgeous home!

[@w.hamilton3327]

What a cool place and the architecture is wonderful and so zen. Love it. Thanks for all the amazing videos that you do.

[@lilaskye2375]

hurray!!! i live in Paso Robles, not far from this place, Thanks for doing a segment on this.

[@SwanSong1234]

Your video's are always filled with interesting places, people, and the unique ways of building sustainable buildings, homes. Such knowledge these people have & including all different idea's using natural materials and recycling the old. Thank you, your work is appreciated.💜 🦢 🕊

[@michaelbrinks8089]

At fisrt I thought it was an earthship type house but it is similar......The solar water heating window wall gave me an idea to also use mirrors in winter to direct more sunlight to heat the water. In freezing winter Illinois temps. I played around with using mirrors to shine more sunlight on my solar panels. It made quite a bit more power without cooking the panels. In summer it'd cook and damage the panels if you tried it.....I forgot about using hay to build off grid.....Seems like something like a 20×20 hay bale cabin would be more insulated than a conventional home.

[@nicolasboullosa]

I replied the following to somebody else, I hope you find it helpful: "Don’t underestimate the caloric power of the sun: dry places that go below freezing consistently tend to be away from the oceans and enjoy clear skies. Think about the Earthships in Taos; this house is, if you want, a Strawbale Earthship. Earthships exploit passive solar in freezing places like Alaska or winters in the Rockies (biggest concentration in Taos NM). So yes, it will work in places below freezing with consistent clear skies."

[@nullhill6486]

An utterly beautiful wilderland

[@patriciarouse16]

Beautiful wall - fire resistant AND not toxic.

[@Jackson33oroToro]

Great info!

[@karelpasicnjek3200]

Always top content by kirsten..

[@whb1968]

Very cool!

[@kingrafferty]

Wow, wow, wow. Amazing.

[@karinschild9020]

Fabulous and inspiring.

[@napalmholocaust9093]

Borax in the bales either watered-in beforehand or between the straw will slow fire down considerably. I've seen it in the middle of a double cord wall also.

[@lisaharper1827]

Very interesting

[@shaunhall6834]

❤

[@JarrettOriginal]

Wow! What a dream!

[@brucedownunda7054]

Nature Rules by Nature's Rules

[@cmpe43]

Im still watching but twice you showed the arch without a keystone. Amazing! Id love to connect with this guy only because I'm a Fibonacci guy.

[@blueman5924]

I know ! I too was wondering why no keystone. 🤷‍♂️

[@patrickluppi2005]

Guys your work documenting all these amazing people is invaluable and a breath of fresh air. Could you check what the German reflective panel "micronol/miconol" is called? I can't find it anywhere online. Thank you for all the hard work. I hope one day you manage to build your own home with these concepts. It would be interesting to see what, as a family, you would like to achieve after all the knowledge that you have accumulated.

[@motogirlz101]

He had me at Fractals.

[@marthareyes4024]

I'm amazed at how smart some people are. Some of this, I'm thinking it's Greek to me.... he's explaining things, but I don't totally get it all. That place is huge, surely just the two of them don't live there? I didn't catch it if they said other people live there. I multi-task as I listen. Really neat people.

[@annedebthune3084]

❤❤❤

[@marielg9143]

WOW

[@bigsarge2085]

✌️✌️

[@manavk]

super cool ! question: what kind of bricks are the large interior bricks ? the ones that make the cool archways and are supposed to be for stabilization in case of earthquake

[@blueman5924]

standard concrete blocks. 8”x8”x16” it appears.

[@princessza1000]

This video was chaotic

[@Sk8Bird]

It's like trying to burn a phone book.

[@gluckso4090]

😻🙏🏻

[@motogirlz101]

How do they keep that huge place clean?

[@johickey3158]

quick tech question, do the metal plates in the bales not cause a condensation point?

[@BurninSven1]

Looks cool like hell but it will be pretty expensive to keep it looking this clean and cool and take some people you have to pay to make it happen.

[@startpage717]

Why was the water vet so difficult for you to understand?I really like that they have keep their privacy over time...

[@sharrablackfire7337]

How well would the stucco walls hold up in an area that gets a lot of rain?

[@nicolasboullosa]

Such methods have been used in places like Britain for centuries.

[@John-Brown]

9:33 Dr. Zaius

[@bonniebryan2541]

You're right. Cab't unsee it now, LOL

[@vickimartintingle3391]

😊

[@AgrianRamos]

Those are adobe block. They built the house how were built the Americans arrived to California and all of the South West n how the indigenous people of the SW built too! It’s funn that this was not mentioned

[@PlanetEarth3141]

I see no learning from the fire event. It seems built the same. There are many ways to create a home that won't burn.

[@samuelboucher1454]

I feel like water walls wouldn't work in areas where it gets below freezing.

[@nicolasboullosa]

Don’t underestimate the caloric power of the sun: dry places that go below freezing consistently tend to be away from the oceans and enjoy clear skies. Think about the Earthships in Taos; this house is, if you want, a Strawbale Earthship. Earthships exploit passive solar in freezing places like Alaska or winters in the Rockies (biggest concentration in Taos NM). So yes, it will work in places below freezing with consistent clear skies.

[@elwoodbluesmorris2120]

Right at the start; Kirsten; 'Is there a reason you have so many ponds?' reply: '??' Kirsten repeats; '??' Sorry what was said here. Sounds to me like he said 'Childs farm' ??

[@Eliguitar1]

guessing he said trout farm. fish.

[@nicolasboullosa]

Kenneth says it was a “trout farm.”

[@elwoodbluesmorris2120]

@@nicolasboullosa Thank you, just could not make it out. Thanks again.

[@serenakoleno9338]

That's when I turn on closed captioning.

[@hectorblogsviajero1623]

😂🎉

[@SimonHergott]

18:50 This guy is based. He's not regurgitating the lies of the media and the politicized climate change narrative, he's just laying down facts about cycles of fires and some of the nuance that the government run media doesn't tell you.

[@DingoAteMeBaby]

i always want to know what these hippie sf expats did for their money.

[@nicolasboullosa]

LOL, get over it. Kenneth is form TEXAS. Do yourself a favor and show some respect, then go visit his bio en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Haggard

[@WN_Byers]

@nicolasboullosa according to your link he has been in California since 1967...not very Texan

[@nicolasboullosa]

@@WN_ByersI like your nickname, which references a person that isn’t you. Back to your comment: our host is a professor who ended up with tenure in California, at San Luis Obispo, a few hours down the coast from SF, or up the coast from LA. He’s made buildings all over the US, and his imprint in TX is way bigger than his presence (or lack of) in SF. But that wasn’t your point. I’m guessing you’re fine with stereotypes. I’m not. What I know is, five years from now, this video will be helpful to a lot of people, and you won’t stop that from happening.

[@WN_Byers]

I appreciate local history even when it is uncomfortable for others 😉@@nicolasboullosa