Rare Forms, Inc

We’re proud to have developed an interior plaster base coat system for straw insulated panels with @newframeworks , @rareforms.design , @seed.collaborative , @liz_earthen_endeavors , & @naturalbuildingsupplies . Three cheers for collaboration at the cutting edge of low carbon regenerative building technology 🎉🎉🎉 These panels will be delivered to a job site pre-plastered and will only require treatment of the joints followed by @earthaus.plaster or @goldhillclayplaster finish coats. #earthausbuild #earthausplaster #strawpanelconstruction #regenerativebuilding #carbonsequestration

Building Integrity co-founder Virgil was proud to co-present at NESEA’s Building Energy Boston conference last month alongside Ace @acegonzmc from New Frameworks and Greg from Rare Forms! We spoke about scaling resilient, socially responsible, and climate-restorative construction practices through cooperation and mutual aid rather than competition. We highlighted our emergent Seed Collaborative as a vehicle through which we are modeling this: A Straw Panel Producer’s Cooperative dedicated to sharing services, improvements, and consulting amongst one another, and lifting each other up as vetted straw panel producers! We couldn’t be more excited to be a part of this, and are steadfast in our commitment to making healthy, high-performing and carbon-storing walls an option for your next project!

A few shots of the foundation progress at our Stockbridge project. A mixture of footings and piers pinned to ledge. Hemlock timbers from @konkapot_tree_timber coming soon, followed by our straw SIPS that are waiting in the shop🌾 Bonus on site waterfall for lunch breaks. #netzerocarbon #carbonstorage #healthyhome #zeroenergy

Excited to be heading to BuildingEnergy Boston 2026 next week to share some of the work we’ve been building through the Seed Collaborative 🌱 Greg will be joining Ace from @newframeworks and Virgil from @buildingintegrity to talk about “Scaling Resilience Through Community & Collaboration” — and how we move beyond competitive models toward something more regenerative in the building industry. This work is rooted in a simple idea: 👉 The challenges we’re facing—climate, housing, workforce skill gaps—are too big to solve in silos. The Seed Collaborative is an experiment in doing things differently: -Sharing knowledge instead of guarding it -Building networks instead of isolated projects -Creating systems that restore rather than extract We're really looking forward to connecting with others who are thinking about how we build with community, not just for it. We'll also be representing on the tradeshow floor with the Bio-Based Materials Collective material petting zoo. Come say hi and touch a straw panel! 🌾 📍 Monday at 10:30am in Harbor 1 #BuildingEnergyBoston #nesea #SustainableBuilding #ResilientDesign #Collaboration #ClimateAction

This Halloween season, we hosted a BYOP (bring your own pumpkin) non-traditional tradies meet up in partership with @buildhelm in our straw panel manufacturing facility! This was a casual and fun evening for women, trans, & non-binary folks in construction and trades to connect, share experiences, and build supportive community, while carving some epic pumpkin characters and scenes. Swipe all the way to the end to see an incredible representation of panel installation in pumpkin form, compliments of our very own Audra! 🎃🌾 . . . . . #ecofriendly #ecofriendlyproducts #regenerativeagriculture #greenbuilding #energyefficient #carbonnuetral #passivehouse #sustainablebuilding #embodiedcarbon #strawbale #strawpanels

Thank you to the folks at @rareforms.design who built these gorgeous benches and accessible picnic tables for our Living Building! 🪚 They’ll be used by our summer campers when they eat lunch, afterschool students playing games and crafting, Hitchcock staff sitting down for meetings, tour groups from around the world taking a break and asking questions, and anyone visiting our grounds for some fresh air and time with native plants and trees. We’re so grateful for the many ways Rare Forms supports Hitchcock Center and our work, including sponsoring last weekend’s Hitchcock Harvest event! #AmherstMA #MyLocalMa #OtherSideMa #WesternMass

Our friends at @rareforms.design just wrapped their first install of New Frameworks–fabricated pre-plastered straw and @timberhp.insulatebetter panels in the Berkshires—an 1,800 SF home installed in a matter of days! The majority-new crew, including Audra, Nicole, Mikey, and Caleb, stepped in with skill and confidence, showing how accessible and intuitive these wall systems are. From cradle to gate, this project stores over 10,000 kilograms of carbon, a tangible reminder that construction can help heal our planet when we build with intention and reciprocity. This collaboration between New Frameworks as fabricator and Rare Forms as installer reflects the heart of our work through the Seed Collaborative—growing a culture of cooperation and shared purpose that values relationships, knowledge and resource sharing, and the wellbeing of our teams, our occupants, our communities, and our planet. Together with fellow Seed Collaborators in Vermont, Massachusetts, Maryland/Washington D.C., Missouri, Colorado, and Washington state, we’re growing a decentralized network rooted in mutual support and shared purpose - to create a ‘new framework’ for the construction industry. Curious about joining us? Learn more about our straw panels, predesigned ADU and small home kits, and the Seed Program and growing Seed Collaborative via the LINK IN BIO. #newframeworks #ecofriendly #ecofriendlyproducts #regenerativeagriculture #greenbuilding #energyefficient #carbonnuetral #passivehouse #sustainablebuilding #embodiedcarbon #strawbale #strawpanels

Join us for the inaugural BS+Beer Western MA next week! RSVP link in bio. #bsandbeer #bsandbeerwma #buildingscience #highperformancebuilding

We love cozy earth-bermed curves and hobbit-house dreams too – AND —straw bale homes can look like your dream modern farmhouse. Yes, really! Modern straw bale homes can be clean, crisp, and rooted in the same aesthetic you see in high-design mags—wood-clad exteriors, vaulted ceilings, open layouts, minimalist finishes, and energy performance that puts most conventional construction to shame. But here’s the thing: they’re not just beautiful. They’re strategic. These walls store carbon, resist fire, and keep you warm in the winter and cool in the summer. And they’re built from straw—an abundant agricultural byproduct—turned into high-performance walls that challenge the industry standards of waste, emissions, exploitation and toxic materials. And when you build with straw, you’re not sacrificing aesthetics or comfort. You’re choosing a home that feels solid, serene, and deeply connected to the land it sits on. You’re breathing clean air. You’re investing in local materials, circular economies, and systems of care instead of global supply chains and disposable design. 👉 Want that warm, rustic-chic vibe without the environmental hangover? 👉 Craving something modern and timeless that doesn’t come wrapped in greenwashing? 👉 Wondering how the hell straw can be code-compliant? (It is. We got you.) We’re here to show you what’s possible. Head to the ✨LINK IN BIO✨ to learn how our prefab home and ADU kits are helping people build homes that align with their values. We’re a small worker-owned cooperative doing this work on purpose—with and for our communities. We believe homes can be beautiful and liberatory. And we’re here to make that reality more accessible, one project at a time. Beyond sustainability - building with straw panels constructed by a member of the Seed Collaborative - a decentralized network of straw panel manufacturers - is the type of intentional resistance that interrupts extractive systems and invests in collective resilience. It’s about building homes that nurture people, our communities, and our planet—and not corporate wallets. Learn more about the seed collaborative by visiting our website through our link in bio!

This week, the actions of our current federal administration hit painfully close to home. Our friend and colleague at @newframeworks , co-owner José Ignacio “Nacho” De La Cruz, was violently detained by ICE on Saturday, June 14th—along with his 18-year-old stepdaughter, Heidi, just one week after she graduated high school. Nacho is a skilled builder and a thoughtful leader who played a key role in training our team on straw panel construction through the SEED Program. His generosity, knowledge, and care have had a lasting impact on our work and our people. His absence is deeply felt—not just by his family and coworkers, but by the wider community of builders and advocates working toward a more just, climate-resilient future. Here’s how you can support Nacho and Heidi right now (links in bio) -Donate to their family’s GoFundMe campaign -Sign the petition to ICE demanding their freedom -Contribute to the bail fund -Support @migrantjusticevt Share their story to raise awareness of how this impacts our community and our industry This is not an isolated incident. It is part of a systemic, intentional effort to intimidate immigrant families and communities. We stand with Nacho and Heidi. We demand their immediate release from detention and an end to deportation proceedings.

Join us Monday @umassbct . Greg will be giving a public lecture on bio-based building materials, carbon-storing construction, and healthy housing solutions—exploring how the future of housing can help solve our climate crisis. 📍 In person at UMass Amherst 💻 Or join us virtually — Zoom link in bio! 🗓️ Monday, April 28 4pm 🕓 Free + open to the public Whether you're in the AEC industry or just curious about how materials like straw and wood can shape a healthier future, we'd love to see you there! #CarbonSmartBuilding #BioBasedMaterials #HealthyHomes #ClimateAction #SustainableDesign #UMassAmherst #PublicLecture #SeedPanels #GreenBuilding #ArchitectureForChange #SeedCollaborative

🌱 We’re proud to announce: the Seed Collaborative is here. We’re a decentralized network of straw panel manufacturers—growing local economies, transforming how we build, and making carbon-storing construction radically more accessible. We believe homes can heal. That building can be a climate solution. And that real change starts close to home—with our hands in the work, and our hearts in the future. Welcome to the Seed Collaborative. 🌾 @rareforms.design and @buildingintegrity , our founding Seed Collaborators, are now in Year 2 of our 3-year Seed Program—actively fabricating straw panels in Easthampton, MA and Columbia, MO. Meanwhile, our 2025 Seed Cohort— @a1designbuild_ , @living_craft , and @pomstudiodc / @earthboundbuilding —has officially kicked off Year 1 of training. This is just the beginning of our efforts in the race to reverse climate change through collective action and collaboration. JOIN THE MOVEMENT or learn more about the Seed Program and greater Seed Collaborative at our LINK IN BIO. #SeedCollaborative #NaturalBuilding #StrawPanelRevolution #RegenerativeDesign #ClimateAction #LocalMaterials #CraftedWithCare #BuildTheFuture #SustainableHomes #StrawBaleBuilding