To solve modern problems with construction, Indio councilmember looks to the past for innovation

Indio has been in a construction boom the last few years, with thousands of new housing units popping up on the market and still more under construction. From single-family homes to mixed-use developments and low-income housing, the city is building a wide variety of housing to keep up with the city’s growth.

One city councilmember has an idea to add to that housing variety with innovative construction methods that build on the same methods of construction used by humans for thousands of years.

Oscar Ortiz first began considering how to rethink construction and housing materials after seeing the effects of 2018’s devastating Camp Fire, which burned more than 150,000 acres, killed 85 people, and destroyed the town of Paradise.

Reports soon emerged that nearby drinking water sources were contaminated with “volatile organic compounds” like the carcinogenic benzene and heavy metals. Much of the hazardous material came from burning household items, cars, and batteries.

Some of the toxicity came from the material that makes up the houses themselves. Materials like arsenic from pressure-treated wood, heavy metals from burning electronic devices, benzene and other volatile organic compounds from burning synthetic materials.

Results coming out of Los Angeles after this year’s Eaton and Palisades fire show toxic material present in soil after so many homes and buildings burned down. 

“I started to think about different ways to do things,” he said. “I wondered how we could replace these construction materials.”

To find the answer, he started by looking to the past.

“How did we build homes before we had all these new materials?” he  wondered.

In his research, he learned about how cultures living in hot and arid climates survived by building structures that worked with the land and natural environment.

There are structures like windcatchers in the Middle East — a tall and chimney-like design with open slats that would capture hot air that naturally rises so cool wind can sweep it away and keep the interior more comfortable. Native Americans in the Southwest lived in temperature controlled structures that were naturally insulated and kept cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Mediterranean designs date back hundreds of years, with inward facing architecture structured around a small shaded courtyard often with a fountain or other water feature and vegetation that would be a naturally cooler center of the home. Open architecture helps naturally the cooler air naturally circulate throughout the home.

He landed on an idea called straw houses, a modern interpretation of an old idea of using straw bales as a basis for construction.

“It solves so many different things in one project,” he said. The homes are energy efficient, taking less energy to cool than a traditional home. They’re also fire resistant and built with fewer toxic materials. 

It might seem like a straw bale home would be a tinder box, but the bales are dense and the homes are finished with plaster. The California Straw Building Association said a test showed a two-hour fire resistance. “Unlike stud construction, in which a series of chimneys form the wall, bales are dense and difficult to burn.”

The homes fare best when kept dry, perfect for a desert environment and are outfitted with everything just like a modern home including electrical and plumbing. 

They’re not all about function over form either, the homes are more than just a primitive shelter. Ortiz wants to make sure there are ways to make them attractive, “Let’s make it a modern house, but as sustainably as we can,” he said.

Ortiz wants to incorporate water-efficient native plants and even garden beds as a part of a future pilot program.

Though not widespread, straw homes have made enough of an impact that there is a section in the California Residential Code with specific rules for straw bale homes. 

The idea is still in its infancy, and though straw houses have technically been used since the paleolithic era, there aren’t any large modern studies on the feasibility of such a project on a large scale. 

Ortiz hopes the city can embark on a pilot program that would study if straw homes could be implemented in the city. Things like the cost, logistics, and manpower needed are all things that have to be figured out.

Other cities have experimented with innovative housing ideas like tiny homes or 3D-printed homes. Straw bales could become the next innovation in housing and construction.

“We need to start learning how to do this again,” he said. “And we need to think about how to modernize it.”

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