Building with Passion
At Sanillés we are passionate about traditional and eco building methods. Not only are the results warm and wonderful, but the construction process is fun and friendly, and it brings people together, whether it is cob dancing, making clay balls, or hailing straw bales.
the cob dance
Building with Cob
Cob is a mixture of sandy-sub soil, clay and straw. It is mixed by cob dancing, mechanical means or as in the old times by farm animals who would walk up and down on the sand, clay and straw. The sandy sub-soil must ideally contain sharp stones and gravel which makes it stronger.
covering straw bales with clay
Building with Straw
Building with straw is one of the fastest and most satisfying methods of building walls. Straw is a great insulator, as much as expanded polystyrene, so imagine that a straw bale wall provides plenty of insulation. Adequately protected and sealed with clay or lime, straw can be made highly fireproof and free of pests.
rammed earth - structure & art
Rammed Earth
Rammed earth or Terre Pisé is an ancient method of doing walls with compressed earth. Modern systems developed in Australia and USA use cement form systems to create wonderfully strong walls, which can have substrates of various tones to produce amazing results.