Inside the tiny community of English master thatchers, a fight is unfolding over a tradition that may not survive.

The Germanic immigrants to this area brought with them the custom of rye straw roof thatching. Rye is a cereal grain similar to wheat, but with a habit of growth yielding stalks almost twice as high ...

The custom of continuing to thatch farm buildings with rye straw throughout the 19th and into the 20th century was among the most intriguing. This traditional craft was handed down ...

Straw is a traditional building material, but today's building methods are relatively new. Discover how modern straw bale ...

Straw bale houses of the western Nebraska prairies were comfortable places built where there were no trees or sod. In Lancaster County, straw - the leftover stalks of wheat, rye, oats or, sometimes, ...

At first glance, Dorte Mandrup's design for the Wadden Sea Center seems to mimic the landscape. Its low height, its horizontal lines and, above all, its materiality make it a modern building in ...

A house made from straw didn't work out so well in The Three Little Pigs, but maybe it's not such a bad idea after all. Sustainable building firm BaleHaus recently unveiled a number of new ...