'Less is more', a rye straw house with Japanese styling in Poland.

  
   
 
   

Click 1 to 8 to see the build steps
 
 

Mies van der Rohe was widely acknowledged as one of the 20th century's greatest architects. By emphasizing open space and revealing the materials used in construction, he helped define modern architecture. He is attributed with coining the phrase 'less is more' in his efforts to reduce and distil buildings and their components into simple forms. This is an natural home inspired by those principals, designed by Bartek Boratyn of B2 Architekci where you can see more steps and details in the design and construction of the home.
   
           

     

The pine prefabricated rye straw walls took 2 men 40 days to build. Assembly of the home and cladding took about an additional 10 days by 4 men. The construction of the home was by natural builder Moritz Reichert of Dobry Dom [Polish for 'Good Home']. Select numbers 1 to 8 above to see some of the stages in its construction.

The dark cladding is fired larch, a Japanese technique called 'shou sugi ban' usually applied to cedar. The process involves charring the wood, cooling it, cleaning it, and finishing it with a natural oils. It is a way to preserve the timber and, paradoxically, make it fire resistant. See this dramatic video of the traditional shou sugi ban method [ discussion] in the video right.