Evolve Builders Group builds its reputation
for value, healthy building and environmental
responsibility one straw bale at a time
Guelph based Evolve Builders Group Inc. has developed
a reputation for changing the home and school landscape
one bale at a time through its work producing custom
homes and manufacturing modular and portable class-
rooms from straw bales. The company recently designed,
fabricated and delivered the world’s first prefabricated,
modular home comprising straw bale walls.

Evolve co-founder Ben Polley says mobEE modular straw
bale homes are a response to demand for moderately
priced, modestly sized, naturally constructed, healthy and
energy-efficient new homes. “Evolve has adapted technol-
ogy and designs we already successfully developed for
portable and modular straw bale classrooms – dubbed
mobEE’s - to now also fabricate modular homes utilizing
straw bale walls among other features.”
He says the first of a planned line of mobEE customiz-
able modular homes was delivered to its permanent loca-
tion just north Huntsville of in October.

Once the initial design was complete, Polley says the
house took 16 weeks to fabricate. During that time a full
basement, drilled well and septic system were prepared on
site. “Intended as an affordable home, this first mobEE
modular house was provided in only a partially finished
state inside.”
This, he says, allowed the homeowners to place some
of their own sweat equity into the home, an act that further
reduced costs while “adding immeasurably to their enjoy-
ment by participating directly in the construction and selec-
tion of finishes,” he said.

Evolve will continue to offer mobEE’s in different states
of finish to best match the buyer’s needs.

One of the challenges of this type of construction is that
the straw bale walls are heavy because they are typically
finished both inside and out with a durable cementitious
plaster. “While this aids with robustness - ideal for lifting,
18 – June 2017 — The Canadian Design and Construction Report
transporting and placing a building - it also creates special
requirements to ensure that the structure can be self-sup-
porting before it is placed on the foundation.”
Polley says because straw bale walls fall within the Al-
ternative Solutions section of the Ontario Building Code,
special consideration for how and who would inspect the
building during fabrication had to be determined so that the
local building department could satisfactorily assess the
partially completed building when it was delivered on-site.

“The design and production solutions applied to these con-
siderations are now being baked in to new designs that are
in progress.”
Known for its early work in straw bale homes, Evolve re-
ceives dozens of requests each year to build complete cus-
tom straw bale homes in areas beyond its ordinary service
range. “mobEE modular straw bale homes are trans-
portable across Ontario and beyond, which should help to
begin to satisfy this demand.”
He says the additional flexibility in finish options from
fully customized floor plans and finishes, to optional pre-
selected offerings, to unfinished “white boxes” that allow
owners to add their own final touches will satisfy all man-
ners of architectural expectations and budgetary demands.

“Today’s buyers are increasingly attuned to total cost of
ownership which accounts not only for mortgage payments
but also maintenance, repair, and energy as a better metric
for comparing homes than just initial purchase price.”
Polley says typical production-built conventional prefab-
ricated homes often focus on a low-price, moderate quality
market, while Evolve has consciously applied its experience
as a quality, custom builder. “mobEE modular straw bale
homes included details, features and finishes more com-
monly found in custom homes while standardizing some
basic dimensions and production methods means that they
can be delivered more affordably.”