Published Wednesday, September 4, 2002
By Larissa Theodore
Students returning to school always have exciting stories to tell about their summer vacations, but for Robert Peterson of Hermitage, his summer experience is one he'll probably be recounting years from now.
In July, the 22-year-old Pennsylvania State University student, along with 39 classmates, staff and alumni went to the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Montana to help build a literacy center for Dull Knife Memorial College in Lame Deer, Mont. David Riley, associate professor at Penn State led the trip with professors Scott Wing and Michael Rios.
The 1,500 square feet center will serve as a new home for a GED and adult basic education program. While that's impressive, the center's construction is just as amazing.
It's made of straw.
Invented centuries ago, straw-bale construction has recently gained in popularity in the southwest. Straw is a tough and abundant waste product of wheat production and was the key building block that was used to construct the much needed literacy center in Montana.
Peterson said the running joke was "you can build your house out of straw. Just don't let a pig build it."
The architectural engineering class was the first ever from Penn State to participate in the project as they joined students and alumni from the University of Washington.
The project was a part of a cross-disciplinary honors course for architectural engineering, architecture and landscape architecture students at Penn State. The class explores how sustainable building methods, including straw-bale construction, can be used to improve the poor living conditions common on American Indian reservations.
A three-part learning experience, Penn State students met last spring to learn about the physical and cultural environment that a straw-bale structure is designed and constructed in and the unique qualities of straw as a building material.
Peterson and his classmates also prepared by studying Northern Plains Indian culture. They also studied design, how to build with straw and learned about straw as a valuable resource. Students had to find sponsors and raise their own money for the trip. Peterson said HHSDR Architects Engineers in Sharon sponsored his trip.
The second part of the course was constructing the literacy center and the third part occurs this fall when students return to University Park and reflect back on their project and suggest ways to advance the housing effort.
So far, partnering universities and non-profit organizations have helped construct three straw-bale demonstration homes on the Northern Plains Indian reservations. Peterson said they used 2 ft. by 4 ft. bails, much like large masonry bricks.
"The bails are environmentally friendly," Peterson said. "We also used the local resources instead of having it shipped in from elsewhere. They weighed 100 pounds, so two people would carry one at a time."
He said the straw walls were two feet thick, which provides good insulation.
"It's very good and cost friendly. You need less energy to cool or heat because of better insulation. Especially for being in Montana. While we were there it broke 100 degrees"
However, the floors are cement-based, which prevents them from catching on fire. The hay was covered with a cement based stucco, a plaster-like material, to prevent burning. The wood floor and concrete foundations were covered using wood truss with ply wood and sheeting, he said.
After they finished the center, there was an open house for the community. The center also received a large donation of books, he said. He said the tribe members also invited them to town parties and for prayer at a sweat lodge.
"We met a lot of the tribe members, We got to learn a lot about their culture. We were given a pretty warm response."
Peterson said he learned a great deal about construction and how to get along with others in a tight space, which allowed him to walk away more enriched by his experience.
"I would like to do it again next year," he said.
You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Larissa Theodore at ltheodore@sharon-herald.com