Construction of house 1920 (≈ 1920)
First known strawwood house in the world.
1921
Publication and patent
Publication and patent 1921 (≈ 1921)
Article in *Science and Life* and patent filed.
2013
Purchase by CNCP
Purchase by CNCP 2013 (≈ 2013)
Participatory financing for its preservation.
3 mars 2020
Historical monument classification
Historical monument classification 3 mars 2020 (≈ 2020)
Registration of the house and hangar.
2022
Become a training centre
Become a training centre 2022 (≈ 2022)
New educational vocation of the site.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
Parcel AI 214 and its three main buildings, a prototype house known as the "Feuilette" house, hangar and former sales office, as delimited in blue on the plan annexed to the decree: inscription by order of 3 March 2020
Key figures
Émile Feuillette - Engineer and inventor
Designer of the house in 1920.
Centre national de la construction paille (CNCP) - Owner association
Repurchase and rehabilitation since 2013.
Origin and history
The Feuillete House, designed in 1920 by engineer Emile Feuillette in Montargis, is the first building known in the world to use a wood frame isolated from straw bundles. This project is born in a post-First World War context marked by a shortage of materials and labour, with the aim of creating a fast, economical and comfortable home. An adjacent hangar, built before the house to protect the straw bales, shares the same wooden structure, but without filling.
In 1921, La Science et la Vie published an article on this construction, highlighting its thermal and economic advantages: "Fresh in summer, warm in winter, straw houses are primarily economical." That same year, Feuilletette filed a patent in the United States for its constructive system, published in 1923. The house, inhabited without interruption until 1975, bears witness to the durability of this material, the straw of the walls remaining in excellent condition a century later.
In 2013, the Centre national de la construction straw (CNCP) purchased the house with participative funding, launched by the Réseau Français de la construction straw (RFCP). After two years of respectful rehabilitation (wood chip insulation, PMR access), the site becomes a place for training, promotion and testing straw as a building material. The hangar, classified with the house in 2020, is being rehabilitated as part of the European UP STRAW project.
The architecture of the house rests on an oak and poplar frame, filled with uncut straw bundles to save time and material. The interior (plates) and exterior (lime-sand) finishes ensure waterproofness and durability. The brick base and shallow foundations reflect the lightness of the structure. Today, the site hosts the CNCP offices and offers guided tours, while symbolizing an ecological advance in built heritage.
In 2020, the Feuillete House and its hangar are listed as historic monuments, recognizing their heritage value. A public event for its centennial, scheduled for May 2020, is postponed to 2021 due to the VOCID-19 pandemic. Since 2022, the site has also been a training centre, with a new building planned to partially replace the original hangar, which will be reassembled by 2024.
