In a field on Bethel Avenue, there sits a building made of straw.
It's not something out of a fairy tale built by three pigs, but it is a new sustainable structure built during three semesters.
Joseph Martin, a senior architecture and Spanish major, said the building's walls were one straw-bail wide and eight to 10 bails high. Students smeared the building walls with earth stucco dirt from the field that was filtered, he said.
"The building hasn't fallen down yet," he said. "So far, so good."
Students are finishing a sustainable structure they hope will be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified and will raise awareness for sustainable structures, Martin said.
Assistant professor of architecture Tim Gray said about 12 students this semester and 60 students since the project began in Fall 2006 had worked to build the Cooper Field Station at the edge of restored prairie on Bethel Avenue.
Students are building the structure with wind turbine, solar panels and load-bearing, straw-bail walls.
"We were all full of mud," he said about plastering the walls with mud.
Gray said they hoped the structure could obtain a gold LEED rating where the building would meet certain requirements for using sustainable energy.
The building demonstrates sustainable development and will be used as an environmental center for possible classes, he said.
Gray said money for the structure had come from the Environmental Protection Agency, grants and private donations.
Ball State University was given 80 acres of land and developed a master plan for the property, he said. The completed building is the first phase of the master plan construction for the restored prairie field, he said.
Gray said the main goal was to raise awareness for sustainable structures and invited students to visit the structure.
Martin said working on the structure was a great experience to get out of the studio and go outside and have fun.
"It's a good change of pace," he said.
Martin said he had worked on construction but was exposed to green ideas that he learned about in class at the site.
"By the time I go out into the field, what LEED does might be standard," he said.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
