Susanne and Tilman's house is built of straw. Hundreds of bales of straw are hidden in the outer walls. In the meantime, nothing can be seen of it, because a thick clay plaster covers the straw. From 2008 to 2009, Tilman Schäberle and Susanne Körner built their straw-bale home in the Odenwald. At the time, they were among the pioneers of this type of construction. Since straw is a renewable resource and straw bales are often produced as a by-product in agriculture, they require virtually no additional manufacturing effort. This makes them an inexpensive, energy-efficient and sustainable building material. The construction price for a straw house is thus no higher than that of a conventional home, and straw provides excellent insulation. For Tilmann's and Susanne's house, 750 straw bales from the region were used. The two were even involved in the wheat harvest for their straw bales. They paid just one euro per bale of straw at the time. The one-meter-long straw bales were installed in a wooden post and beam construction, compressed and then plastered with clay and lime plaster. Today, only minor irregularities on the exterior walls give an idea of the materials that were used here. The straw bales provide complete thermal insulation for the house, which should actually last 100 years. The clay for the interior plaster was obtained locally from a clay pit in Reinheim and contributes to a very good indoor climate. In addition to straw and clay, Susanne and Tilmann also used mainly ecological building materials in other respects: glass foam ballast for the floor insulation of the basement, wood joist ceilings, wood for the supporting structure, hemp for filling the interior walls, soft wood fiberboard as a plaster base and a recyclable underlay for the roof. The combustibility is classified as fire resistance class F30. This means that a wall can burn for at least 30 minutes without losing essential functional properties. The total area house extends over 260 square meters. In the lower part of the house there is a granny apartment, which is rented out. You have also paid attention to sustainability in other places during construction: Hot water comes from a solar thermal system, heating is with wood, and there is also a photovoltaic system on the roof. The family is thus nominally self-sufficient. A 7,000-liter rainwater cistern collects water for use in the toilets, washing machines and for watering the garden. Through the garden, they can be 60 to 70 percent self-sufficient with fruits and vegetables. Susanne and Tilman met while studying architecture and specialized in sustainable building. The two encountered building with straw quite by chance in the USA: During a cab ride while staying together, they met an architect who told them about it. Since then, this idea has not let them go. In the orientation of their home and also in the interior design, Susanne and Tilmann have been inspired by the principles of Feng Shui. Above all, the application of certain harmonious geometric laws of proportion, such as the golden ratio, was important to them. Tilman and Susanne have recycled, refurbished and restored much of their furniture. In the coming years, the couple plans to continue working on the house and develop the idea of sustainability even further. A film by Feline Gerhardt (editing), Mirjam Michutta (camera), Katharina Kraft (camera), Cécilia Marchat (sound) and Matthias Wölbing (editing). Production: Production: EIKON Media GmbH, on behalf of SWR. 00:00 Living in a straw house 01:54 Kitchen 03:07 Dining room & play corner 04:16 Office 04:53 Fruit and vegetable garden 05:43 Living room 07:26 Children's room 08:05 Bathroom 08:50 Bedroom