STICKS AND STONES Father-son team James and Drew Hubbell helped pioneer green building practices in San Diego, changing the way California builds homes
BY AMELIA RODRIGUEZ
S
traw houses get a bad rap. If nursery rhymes are to be believed, folks in them are a heavy breath away from being a wolf’s dinner. But according to architect Drew Hubbell, the piggy in his straw abode would’ve been just fine—and impressed the LEED certification panel while he was at it.
“Straw bale homes have been around for over 120 years,” Drew explains. “They’re one of the most green building technologies you can use.” Straw is a byproduct from the farming of wheat, rice, and barley. While straw has long served as insulation between stone masonry, straw bales—the big blocks of scratchy hay that city slickers mostly see at pumpkin patches—became a primary building material in Kansas a little over a century ago. Homebuilders would simply stack the bales and slather plaster over them to create walls. A few decades back, the tech spread to the American southwest. Hubbell helped pioneer its usage in California, securing the first-ever permits for straw bale buildings in both San Diego and LA counties. He and his team have now constructed more than 40 straw structures, often sourcing their material from Imperial Valley wheat farms, which have historically burned their excess hay. They use the time-honored straw-and-plaster method while adding a wood or steel frame to ensure the buildings withstand California earthquakes (and maybe the occasional huffing, puffing wolf). Even with the use of a frame, straw bale structures utilize 50 to 60 percent less lumber than conventionally constructed buildings. The bales keep those inside warm in the winter and cool in the summer, and, because straw is an annually renewable waste material, it’s inexpensive and “super sustainable,” Drew says. As the son of legendary artist and longtime environmentally minded builder James Hubbell, Drew considers green strategies to be rooted in his DNA. Known for his “Hobbit houses”—undulating, cave-like structures that resemble Lord of the Rings set pieces—James Hubbell became renowned for sourcing materials from the local environment to create work that honors and respects that landscape.
47 SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE
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