1992 marked an important milestone in the debut of straw bale in mainstream domestic construction throughout the world. A major feature of the 20th annual Southern Arizona Home show was a full-scale mock up of a habitable straw home structure. Pioneers Jon Ruez (jcruez@mac.com), Judy Knox and Matts Myhrman collaborated to organize a crew of local contractors and suppliers to pull this together under the roof of the Tucson Convention Center. Tens of thousands of visitors to the show witnessed firsthand; a one-of–a-kind exhibit that would speak of unprecedented success and change to follow. This started a renaissance of straw building that fueled the creation of hundreds of such structures in Arizona alone, and which continues in popularity all over the globe.

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