Lifts and separates

The straw bales are cuboid. They are to be stacked between the cruck frames which are curved. To get them to express a curved shape they need to be lifted and separated on one side.

Wedges, cut from solid insulation, with a fall of 50mm have been placed on the plinth wall plate between the rib beams. The wedge lifts the inner edge of the bottom bale so tilting it outwards to follow the outward curve of the cruck frame at its lowest point.

A bale retainer, a strip of timber fixed between the inner edges of the outer flanges, prevents both the wedge and the first bale from sliding out.

Retainers for subsequent bales have a flange which sits between two bales and lifts the outer edge of upper bale, tilting it forwards and gradually creating the curve.

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