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BEN'S WORK
18 July 2010
My life has changed somewhat since 2008. In October 2008 I closed my business as I had not enough work to continue. I devoted my thoughts to construction with staw-bales realising that no other construction could be as cheap. My thinking process lasted more than 6 months with an absolute condition to refrain from looking at or handling a straw-bale in the meantime. This allowed me to see straw-bales as they really are, that is not as large straw bricks, but as rectangular sheaths or bundles of straw more or less aligned. With this view I was able to analyse their properties and to formulate the essential rules for constructing with them that have led to the technique that I have named the 'Vertical-Straw Wall'. With the collaboration of my friend Ben Corrie, we have been able to bring this technique to maturity so that with our new colleague, Jessie Sauvé - architect,  we are able to offer help and advice to those who wish to build using this technique which is more logical, efficient and rapidly constructed than the existing straw-bale techniques, namely Nabraska, GREB and CUT. In our system the bales are aligned with the straws vertical between two multilayer frames (see WORLEC article) and compressed longitudinally and fixed by cross-ties. The resulting straw mass is homogenous, without holes that require stuffing and can immediately be rendered for it's protection from the weather. The framework including the roof timbers can be placed before starting the infilling with straw-bales. The roof is equally insulated with straw-bales.


13 March 2008
My business is in fact established and around one third of my clients are English. I am beginning to concentrate on my WORLEC building technique, having sucessfully completed a feasability study to prove that the material lives up to my expectations, (see menu left) and to start trials to find the best methods to apply the material on new constructions and for thermal optimisation of existing buildings from the outside. In additon I hope that the material will undergo quantitative tests to accertain the specific heat and thermal conductivity of different proportions of woodcips and clay. An update will follow shortly.

May 2007


Living here in France since 1983 I have less and less contact with the English speaking world. One result is that I forget to keep this side of the site up to date. In fact if you click on (VERSION FRANCAISE) on the left, and then LORIEN CREATIONS or Peter's Blog you can see the Photos of my recent work, with comments in French.  

I have been buzy preparing to set up a business offering Restoration and Improvements to the thermal performance of traditional buildings in the departments of Aričge and Haute Garonne south of Toulouse in France. This should be operational from June 2007.  I will try to keep my English speaking readers informed.

I would like to introduce myself

I am 64 years old, male, a qualified Carpenter and Design Teacher. I have been building a house with an extremely small budget. I have learned how to construct timber-framed wattle & daub structures with wood from my forest and mud from my land. I realized that a home must be an attractive, cozy and practical space made from sound materials without damaging the environment.

I cultivate an organic vegetable garden employing no-digging techniques. I have spent my life bringing up a number of children in several different families and since the last ones have left home I start to find the space to pursue those projects which have often interested me, but which have never been successfully completed
Peter Lórien
Peter Lórien
My house is a case in point. I recently realized than I am not actually building a house, I am carrying out building research on my own building project. Now I realize why it doesn't get finished; I want to find a better way to do everything. This could become an obsession, but it has led me to a new feeling about building.

I live through cycles of cutting and preparing trees and other plant materials; of preparing mud and separating out the components of the earth in order to mix them again to the specific proportions required for a particular application. I live within my building in order to feel the difference that each new element makes.

I am discovering a living philosophy which guides me in my pursuit of building excellence. I am not speaking of any kind of cult or religion but the principles that can be observed in nature by each one of us, in ourselves, in each other.




The physical structures that form our bodies and all around us, the mental structures that program our minds and the social structures within which we choose to live are the natural backdrop to our daily lives.



These structures, built to the laws of nature, by which we daily operate, are the fundamental laws of our universe and they can never be contravened. Everything that happens is a natural consequence of the events that preceded it; it is for us to study and learn from what happened.


I would like to share my experiences with you and I welcome yours.

Contact by e-mail: lorien@free.fr