Wolff Residence
Akron, Ohio
HarvestBuild consulted on the natural building portion of this single-story straw-bale house. The home features a post-and-beam frame, our baling-on-the-edge infill straw-bale wall system, and earth and lime plasters throughout. HarvestBuild also led a weekend workshop for the Cleveland Green Building Coalition as part of the construction process. Our colleagues at Fox Natural Building assisted with the workshop and also performed much of the carpentry work. The homeowner, Marcia Wolff, was able to complete the remainder of the natural building work with the help of family, friends, and volunteers.
Testimonial
"About ten years ago while attending a Cleveland Green Building Coalition seminar, I met Mark Hoberecht. It had become my intention to build a home and studio using straw bales and earth plaster. How fortuitous for me to have one of the leading straw-bale construction experts in the U.S. living in Cleveland, and that person happened to be Mark."
"From that first meeting I joined Mark on the journey he had already embarked upon — learning as much as possible in developing the best building practices using bales of straw, earth plaster, new technologies, new materials, and the techniques in perfecting their use. His research is broad, methodical, and persistent. Mark’s hands-on approach in building and teaching has provided numerous homeowners with successful straw-bale homes. And more importantly, each one is better than the last."
"We have worked on several projects together since the completion of my home (I'm an interior designer), and in the process his dedication to excellence is obvious. You would not do better than to have Mark Hoberecht on your design and engineering team. My own home would not be the success it is if not for Mark. His ideas, insight, and collaborative spirit are a wonderful resource in the pursuit of ecologically responsible building."