* step-by-step instructions for creating cob structures
* information on natural finishes, including lime plasters, renders and washes, home-made clay and casein paints, and earthen plasters
* advice on how to construct a cob building which complies with modern building standards
* guidance on restoring and repairing old cob structures
* a comprehensive list of resources and suppliers
Building With Straw; Design and Technology of a Sustainable Architecture, 2005, by Gernot Minke & Friedemann Mahlke
Original Title "Der Strohballenbau: Ein Konstruktionshandbuch".
Publsihed by Birkhaeuser-Publishers for Architecture, Switzerland
ISBN: 3-7643-7171-4
This book is a practical, hands-on guide to building with straw. Fire safety, protection against moisture, damp, pests and parasites are treated in detail. Numerous on-site photos document the process of assembly and construction step by step. Thirty-two exemplary international projects illustrate the wide spectrum of design possibilities with straw.
Now available at "the building bookshop" in Sydney.
"Houses of Straw" (Original Title Stroh im Kopf) DVD/VHS by Heidi Snel - Oekofilm(43 min.)
An old building material - rediscovered. This fantastic new film presents the current state of strawbale building in Germany. A small project in Lower Saxony is filmed during construction and many other examples of strawbale homes show different technique and design ideas possible with this remarkable building material.
Interviews with strawbale home owners, builders, architects and international experts/pioneers, e.g. David Eisenberg, Prof. Gernot Minke, Dirk Scharmer, address many important issues in regards to strawbale construction.
Now available at "the building bookshop" in Sydney.
Sticks, Stones, Mud Homes (back cover) by Nigel Noyes (2004)
Synopsis (from publisher)
There is a fascinating diversity to how we live, from the tight confines of inner city one-room boxes to expansive accommodation on isolated rural retreats. Whatever the location or scale of our potential sanctuaries, there exists the opportunity to enhance these spaces to something we can genuinely refer to as home. Sticks, Stones, Mud Homes is a book about eco-friendly living, founded on the principles of minimal impact and sustainable practices. The buildings in the book are designed to conserve energy, to create new life from old, and employ good recycling practices that work in with the environment. With ingenuity, determination and a new aesthetic sensibility, seemingly unconventional materials can often be adapted to building in some way. The houses featured are made from rammed earth, baled straw and mudbricks, from salvaged material, recycled timber and stone, and from tin and other inexpensive contemporary materials.
Australian Books
STRAWBALE HOMEBUILDING - An Earth Garden publication
ISBN 0 9586397-4-4
$19.95 aus inc. GST
The Healthy House; Creating a safe, healthy and environmentally friendly home.
Sydney and Joan Baggs (1996)
ISBN: 0-7322-5753-0 Harper Collins Publishers
Magazines
Eco Voice, The Environment Newspaper. Australia & New Zealand. www.ecovoice.com.au
http://www.emagazine.com The Nation's only non profit, independent consumer publication on the environment, is a clearinghouse of information, news & commentary on today's environmental issues. It's our intent to inform and inspire individuals who have concerns about the environment and want to know what they can do to help bring about improvements.
EARTH GARDEN - For bush or city alternatives
ISBN 0310-222X
BUILDINGS OF EARTH AND STRAW
Bruce King P.E.
ISBN 0-9644718-1-7
Publisher Ecological Design Press
EARTH CONSTRUCTION HANDBOOK The Building Material Earth in Modern Architecture
G. MINKE, Director of the Building Research Institute, Kassel University, Germany
ISBN 1-85312-805-8
By James Steele (1997) Published by Thames and Hudson Ltd, London. ISBN: 0 500 279918
From the introduction by J. Steele: Fathy felt that human beings, nature and architecture should coexist in harmonious balance. For him, architecture was a communal art, that should reflect the personal habits and traditions of a community rather than reforming or eradicating them. While he was certainly not opposed to innovation, he felt that technology should be subservient to social values, and appropriate to popular needs.
EARTH CONSTRUCTION HANDBOOK 
