Strawbale Senior Living Duplex - Holland, VT
Southeastern view
Project Brief
Built in 2013 in Holland, Vermont, the Evelyn Page project stands as Vermont’s pioneering straw bale affordable senior housing duplex. Collaboratively designed by Ward Joyce Design, Stephen M. Frey (AIA, Principal of Arocordis Design), and structural engineer Ina Hladky for Rural Edge, this high-performance project demonstrates how carbon-storing, natural building methods can deliver exceptional thermal comfort, low embodied energy, and long-term durability in Vermont's harsh climate. Featuring passive solar orientation, deep-energy wall assemblies, and flexible post-and-beam framing, the building was easily converted in 2023 into a net-zero-ready single-family home—proving that bioclimatic, natural architecture provides timeless flexibility and enduring value.
What Are the Key Features & Highlights of This Project?
Carbon-Storing & Non-Toxic Enclosure: Constructed with 18-inch straw bale exterior walls wrapped in natural lime plasters, cellulose insulation, and non-toxic interior finishes, creating a healthy, allergy-free indoor environment.
Bioclimatic & Passive Solar Orientation: Sited longwise south-to-north on a hilltop slab to maximize passive solar gain, natural cross-ventilation, and far-reaching views of the Northeast Kingdom landscape.
Net-Zero-Ready Infrastructure: Engineered with a frost-protected concrete slab featuring pre-designed conduit sleeves for seamless on-site solar PV integration.
Expert Natural Building Collaboration: Designed in partnership with natural building specialists New Frameworks, general contractor Back 2 Basics Builders, and Energy Balance to achieve Efficiency Vermont Energy Star certification.
Adaptable Spatial Design: Designed with a flexible internal post-and-beam structure that allowed a seamless 2023 transformation from a senior living duplex into a high-performance single-family residence.
How Did This Project Begin in the Northeast Kingdom and Why?
Vermont’s first straw bale affordable senior housing project was built in 2013, in Holland, in the Northeast Kingdom area of the Green Mountain State. The house is close to the local community and residents’ families, says Becky Masure, Project Manager (now Executive Director) for the affordable housing non-profit, Rural Edge, where “seniors retain their independence.”
The land was donated by Evelyn Page, now deceased, from her family’s nearby farm and in memory of her husband; she also gave funds to Rural Edge. As standardized energy efficient construction methods have become increasingly expensive, Rural Edge decided to test a new approach and some new-old ideas.
Illustrative floor plan
Why Choose Strawbale Wall Construction for High-Performance Design?
Rural Edge found strawbale an appealing exterior wall alternative. That’ because of its fire-resistance, insulation capability, savings on labor costs, availability of local talent to build this way, carbon footprint reduction, low-embodied energy, chemical and allergy free composition. Enduring comfort, durability, and beauty also inspired Rural Edge to try the straw bale approach, so they asked the architects to consider the material.
Ward Joyce Design collaborated with Arocordis Design architecture firm principal, Stephen M. Frey - AIA, and structural engineer Ina Hladky on the design of the duplex with two one bedroom apartments with a shared common area, an entry porch, and separate unit porches facing south. Planned vegetable and flower gardens facing the view will get built in a later phase, as will solar trackers to help power the home to make it Net-zero. This further enhances its resilience in the harsh northern Vermont climate.
Pre-Purchase Architectural Assessment: Evaluating an existing home in Stowe, Woodstock, the Mad River Valley or elsewhere in Vermont for a major addition or Net-Zero conversion? We offer flat-rate pre-purchase feasibility consults to identify structural limits, zoning constraints, construction cost ranges, site-planning, and spatial expansion potential before you remove your inspection contingencies.
The duplex sits on the top of a hillside, taking its architectural cues from nearby farm buildings and working landscape, such as the bent uplifting roof that reaches south towards dramatic rolling vistas. Built on a cost-reducing, frost-protected concrete slab, with empty sleeves designed into the slab for future installation of on-site solar electric PVs for the potential for greater self-reliance and renewable readiness. This makes the duplex net-zero ready and forward flexible for later adaptations.
Site Plan
How Does Bioclimatic Site Planning Maximize Efficiency & Views?
The architects sited the building to face the long way south to north, for passive solar heating, but also to capture the stellar farway views of mountains and meadows beyond. Operable awnings and casement windows naturally ventilate each unit and common area; ceiling fans circulate air in the living spaces. This is a classic natural building bio-climatic design approach.
A small parking area, reached by a winding drive, serves residents and visitors. Eventually, the owner will install and maintain pathways around the building along with a small vegetable garden and edible landscaping to provide outdoor activities and fresh food for the residents.
How Is the Straw Bale Building System Constructed & Weatherproofed?
Uncontrolled moisture is the natural enemy of straw bale construction, so the architects worked to reduce exposure to wind-driven rain and snow. Extensive roof overhangs shed water away from the plaster and stucco walls. A two-foot-high double-stud pony wall forms a base on which the non-structural straw bales rest. The pony wall is cellulose-insulated. Straw bales extend up to the underside of an I-joist framed cellulose insulated sloping roof, clad in gray EPDM (Ethylene-Propylene-Diene-Monomer), a long lasting rubberized roofing system used in low-slope situations like this.
Interior view of southeast - views to mountains, daylighting monitors overhead.
Lee Cooper of Back 2 Basics Builders, the general contractor, built a post and beam frame, with 18 inches of straw bale surrounding it, to support the roof. The builders installed air fins made of half-inch Homosote, finished with air-sealing tape, fit into specially detailed slots in the wood frame, helping to reduce heat loss at joints between materials. Multiple rough and finished coats of plaster encapsulate exterior and interior faces of the straw bale wall enclosure. Natural colored lime coatings and wood finishes were used along with other easy to care materials for interior finishes such as polished concrete floor.
Building Section Through Living & Bedroom Areas
New Frameworks Natural Building is the straw bale consultant, with Ben Graham and Deva Racusin working on the project. Ben helped the architects with the unique detailing of the straw bale enclosure system. Deva provided construction administration assistance during the straw bale installation and assisted Lee Cooper with straw bale enclosure construction and air-sealing work.
How Does Natural Building Deliver Both Affordability & Energy Star Efficiency?
Rural Edge obtained certification from Efficiency Vermont as a Vermont Energy Star Home project. During construction Efficiency Vermont provided invaluable technical assistance, including such inspections as blower door testing, some of which are currently under way. These help prevent energy losses that might result from unnoticed air leaks that can develop during construction. Energy Balance of Montpelier, Vermont is the energy consultant.
Front wall of living area - detail
This project sets the example of how a natural building alternative approach can put the “affordability” back into affordable housing. At the entrance to the building a “Truth” window graces the hall where the straw bale system is revealed to show how the building was made. Only time will tell the impact the Page Project will have on Rural Edge’s overall affordability approach as well as others’ around the state.
How Did Flexible Architecture Allow a Seamless Conversion Ten Years Later?
In 2023, after ten years of ownership and operation as a senior living duplex, Rural Edge sold the project after first converting it to a single-family home. They had found its remote location from the rest of their properties elsewhere in Lyndonville too far of distance for their property maintance and operations teams. The duplex design with its flexible post and beam internal framing and layout made it easy to modify. Now the Evelyn Page legacy endures, but now as a Net-zero ready high-performance single-family home for generations to come.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Are straw bale walls fire-safe and moisture-resistant?
A: Yes. When tightly compressed and encapsulated in thick coats of lime or clay plaster, straw bale walls lack the oxygen required to fuel combustion, making them exceptionally fire-resistant. To prevent moisture damage, the building is designed with wide roof overhangs, a raised cellulose-insulated pony wall, and vapor-permeable lime coatings that allow the walls to "breathe" and release moisture naturally.
Q: What does "Net-Zero Ready" mean?
A: "Net-Zero Ready" means the building is engineered for extreme energy efficiency, requiring minimal power for heating and cooling. It includes pre-planned structural and electrical infrastructure—such as conduit sleeves built into the concrete slab—so that solar photovoltaic (PV) panels or renewable energy systems can be installed in the future without major retrofits.
Q: Can straw bale buildings be altered or renovated later?
A: Absolutely. Because the straw bales function as an infill insulation envelope around an internal post-and-beam timber frame, the interior partition walls are non-structural. As demonstrated by this project’s seamless 2023 conversion from a two-unit duplex to a single-family home, the interior layout can be reconfigured with ease.
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