Natural Material Conference

Megan had a great time at the Rocky Mountain Natural Building Conference last week in Bozeman, MT. The conference focused on bio-based low-carbon materials, methods, and philosophies, including strawbale, cob, earthblock, hempcrete, straw-clay, timber framing, natural plastering, and more.  It was a very discipline-diverse conference, with a fun mix of architects, builders, manufacturers, natural building enthusiasts, and more from all over the country.

We got to see how these products are made, how they are used in modern buildings today, and how people are working to remove the red tape to increase the availability of these products in our built environment. Most of the materials are rooted in traditional building techniques from around the world, but they are being adapted for larger-scale commercial projects. It is exciting to see the shift back towards bio-based products as the public becomes more aware of the heavy carbon and health impacts of our standard building materials, especially as we focus on a more climate-resilient building stock.

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