HERON HALL BLOG
This blog will be our place to share updates, news, and progress of Heron Hall as it undergoes construction, development, and pursuit of Living Building Certification.
Please check back in soon for progress updates and news.
Bond Beam Complete – Time to Frame!
An important milestone was reached today as the last of the forms for the concrete bond beam were removed - helping to tie all the rammed earth walls together structurally. The bond beam proved very challenging - and time consuming! The great news is that this now...
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Architectural Photographer Emily Hagopian Visits Heron Hall
EMILY HAGOPIAN VISITS HERON HALL Emily Hagopian, a talented architectural photographer, who collaborated with Jason on the 2005 publication, Green Dollhouse, visited Heron Hall and took many beautiful photographs documenting the current progress of the project. For...
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Rammed Earth Is Complete
Huge Milestone reached as Sirewall USA has completed the rammed earth walls at Heron Hall! Big thanks to the whole team who put in countless hours building these gorgeous walls. Work moves now to the bond beam that holds it all together and installation of the wood...
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Sponsor Thank You
We want to say a BIG thank you to our wood package sponsor - Sustainable Northwest Wood! Our first big FSC wood package arrived at the house and our first section of framing is now underway.
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The first SIP Panels for floor are installed in Heron Hall – a new milestone reached!
We’ve reached a new milestone in the construction of Heron Hall. The First SIP panels for our floors are now installed in Heron Hall. The FSC SIP panels have virtually no thermal bridging and approaching R-50 insulation!! Installation is continuing and pretty soon...
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Heron Hall Living Building Tour
For the first time, guided, public tours of the construction of Heron Hall - the first Living Building Challenge house to be built in Washington State, are being made available on a first to rsvp basis. Tours will be conducted by Jason F. Mclennan - founder of the...
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Rammed Earth Walls Near Completion at Heron Hall
The beautiful rammed earth walls are nearly done at Heron Hall! They are incredible and feel so permanent and spiritual. This week our first floors get built and a new phase of the project begins. Stay tuned for dates for public tours!
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Stair Tower Revealed
The beautiful rammed earth stair tower is now complete and work on the main ‘barn’ rammed earth walls begin next week as soon as the concrete stem walls are done! Public tours will begin soon too!
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Mark Smith from Neil Kelly Visits Heron Hall
Neil Kelly is a great partner on the project - producing the world’s greenest cabinet line - all FSC and Declare product! Check out the McLennan Series of cabinets designed and hand made in the USA in collaboration with Neil Kelly at:...
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Knauf Insulation at Heron Hall
Rick Blumenthal of Knauf Insulation shows our team the benefits of their amazing Declare listed product - and thanks to Knauf all insulation within the rammed earth walls are now free of any petrochemical products! This is the first time this insulation has been used...
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Amanda Sturgeon, Executive Direction of the International Living Future Institute, Visits Heron Hall Site
On a warm and sunny afternoon this July, Jason F. McLennan welcomed Amanda Sturgeon, Executive Director at the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) out for a visit to the Heron Hall site. Each day the Structural Insulated Rammed Earth walls become...
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RAMMED EARTH WALL REVEALED
Heron Hall Stair tower wall finally revealed!!! The first portion of the stair tower at Heron Hall is a beautiful 24 foot wall of structural insulated rammed earth.
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HERON HALL IS REGISTERED FOR THE LIVING BUILDING CHALLENGE 3.0
We are excited to announce that Heron Hall is officially registered for the Living Building Challenge 3.0! Our sign has been proudly installed on the site celebrating the vision and effort to create one of the most advanced sustainable homes...
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REVEALING OF THE RAMMED EARTH WALL
On a warm summer morning in late June we were present for the revealing of the first Rammed Earth wall at Heron Hall. The McLennan Clan was present, waiting to see the first wall of their house revealed from behind the forms and framing that...
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RAMMED EARTH WALL PROGRESS
During the month of June 2015 we created the first Rammed Earth Wall at Heron Hall. This wall will frame the future green courtyard oasis at the entrance of Heron Hall. The layers of earth that will become the wall will create a piece of...
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CONSTRUCTION OF RAMMED EARTH WALLS BEGIN
CONSTRUCTION BEGINS Construction of Heron Hall started in June 2015! The first thing...
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SITE CLEARED FOR HERON HALL & A FALLEN TREE NURSES NEW LIFE
The site has been cleared for construction to begin of Heron Hall! During the clearing of the site we discovered a few treasures. You know about our delay for the duck nest, but we also found something else special. As we cleared all the bushes and plants a nursing...
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CONSTRUCTION AT HERON HALL PAUSES FOR LITTLE DUCKLINGS
Great news! We have begun preparation for construction of Heron Hall! We were about to start construction and as the way of things usually is, an unexpected obstacle arose. As we began clearing the site for construction in the spring of 2015 we discovered a little...
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