You Can Now Buy a House Made of Straw in the U.K.

Straw homes went on sale to the general public this week in the southwest English city of Bristol.

The environmentally friendly homes use prefabricated timber-framed walls that are packed with straw bales, according to the BBC.

The sustainable design — by researchers at England’s University of Bath, together with architecture firm ModCell — has been refined through structural, weight-bearing and thermal-insulation tests.

“I think there’s a lot of misconception about using straw — stories about the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf, concerns about fire resistance,” Professor Pete Walker told the BBC.

Researchers say it is a robust and safe construction material, boasting several environmental advantages such as insulation efficiency. Straw homes lose far less heat than a traditional home and can reduce energy bills by up to 90%.

“The more we can build out of renewable materials like straw and timber, the less carbon will be in the atmosphere, so we can reduce climate-change effects,” said ModCell director Craig White.

[BBC]