Cob Houses – Simplicity At Its Best

by Paul Ciocoiu · December 15, 2015

We have already reviewed the potential of the unique cob houses. They will always be healthy alternatives to expensive traditional houses, especially for those people in love with nature and a really simple life style, away from the city bustle. If you are one of these, then take a new look at some cob houses in this article. With construction materials abundantly offered by nature – earth, water, straws, clay and sand – the project of an ecological cob house can swiftly come to life and to a final conclusion over the course of a single summer.

The first example comes from Romania where a young couple built a clay and straw house on the outskirts of the town of Turda, in central Transylvania. The house was thermally isolated with straw bales so to keep coolness inside in summer and heat in winter. The two young people invested a little more than 20,000 Euros in this house which features a room, a kitchen, a bathroom and a lobby. Part of the money went to the purchase of solar panels so the home becomes fully green.

Cob houses – the abode in Turda, Romania

As we’ve said before, clay allows builders to give the homes some impressive organic shape, as we can see in the images below. This is a cob house actually located in Mayne Island, Canada. It features the smooth surfaces, curved walls and archways so typical of cob architecture. Some modern elements are included as well, such as the pre-fabricated windows. It stands as a solid proof cob houses can also spread on two stories and thus accommodate larger families, not only youngsters willing to experiment.

Cob houses – charming two story design

And if you’re still not convinced by the potential of cob houses, then we will let others’ examples speak for themselves in very telling images. Use more natural construction materials, such as wood and stone, to give these living places truly captivating facades.

Cob houses – mix natural construction materials for an original looking design

And since you’re pretty familiar with the exteriors of cob houses which are also easy to visually infer, here are some very interesting pictures showing some interiors of such natural homes. This is actually the space where those organic shapes we just mentioned gain maximum expressiveness, turning into truly amazing mazes bursting with refinement.