Crestone Visitor's Guide 2004>crestonevisit.com

There are many attractions to visiting or living in the Crestone Area. The most obvious is the supreme grandeur of the landscape, which is awesome and inspiring. People often come to participate in the religious or spiritual groups that have established centers here, and find this involvement fulfilling. These attractions seem to bring many artists, musicians, writers, actors, and healers, so these arts are flourishing here. And then there is all of the unusual, alternative building that is going on. It has been said that this area is the "strawbale building capital of the world." I wouldn't dispute this.

So why is all of this alternative building going on here? Well if you look at the factors mentioned above, you might get a clue. The beauty of nature that surrounds us makes us want to be sensitive to its nuances and to the balance of its components. We want to blend in with the natural setting rather than be an eyesore, and that often means choosing materials, forms and colors that seem to come from nature. The other part of the equation is that we want to live as lightly as possible on the land, so that we consume as little non-renewable energy as possible and minimize the use of industrial materials that have a negative effect on our environment.

Then there is the spiritual component to natural building; many feel closer to Mother Earth when their feet are connected to the earth via an adobe floor, for instance. Others feel closer to God when they are embraced by softly rounded forms, or perhaps the quietness that emanates from thick walls of straw or adobe makes them feel more contemplative.

Artists generally want to satisfy an urge for an aesthetic experience, so they choose to live in homes that reflect their personal aesthetics. Such surroundings help them further their particular art form, by amplifying the source of their creativity. Also, artists tend to be eccentric and very particular about how they live; thus their houses reflect this. Over the last decade there has been a renaissance in the use of natural materials for building homes. Strawbales are quite popular because they are a renewable resource that is inexpensive, highly insulating, and easily stacked. When plastered with earthen materials, strawbale walls are completely natural, remain breathable, and are non-toxic.

Building with the earth itself is another sustainable approach to architecture. Adobe, cob, and rammed earth all utilize a mixture of sand and clay, which can be found locally. Earthbag building is a novel way of stacking polypropylene bags filled with earthen materials to make walls or domed structures. The bags can be filled with earth from the building site to create thermal mass that helps buffer temperature extremes, or they can be filled with crushed volcanic rock that serves as insulation.

Cordwood walls utilize short sections of tree branches or trunks in a mortared matrix. This technique provides a nicely textured wall that is both insulating and has thermal mass. With all of the draught and beetle killed trees in the Southwest, cordwood is readily available. The amazingly beautiful "pudding stones" that are common in our area are another resource that can find their way into our buildings.

There are some unusual manufactured materials (continued on page 45)