Verdant Structural Engineers

04/14/2026

VSE will be speaking at the AIA San Francisco’s Circularity in Practice symposium on April 22nd (Earth Day!)

Join us and a panel of industry experts for a dynamic session on Circular Materials: Lessons from Aluminum, Wood, and Emerging Materials.

This panel kicks off PechaKucha-style, with three manufacturers sharing insights on the current state of circularity in building materials. This will be followed by a rapid-fire roundtable exploring:

• What we really mean by recycled, reused, reclaimed, and regenerative
• Why scale matters
• Local vs. global considerations
• End-of-life impacts
• The connection between circular materials, waste reduction, and embodied carbon

We’ll wrap with practical tips for researching, verifying, and specifying low-impact circular products.

Join us if you can!

02/04/2026

This Walnut Creek ADU uses a straw bale system called Bale-on-End-Between-Studs (BOEBS)—a hybrid approach that pairs straw bale construction with conventional wood framing. 🔨

A plywood-sheathed exterior stud wall provides the lateral structure, while vertically stacked straw bales sit between the studs as high-performance insulation. 🌾

By working within a familiar framing system, BOEBS makes straw bale construction more accessible, less labor-intensive, and easier for traditional wood framers—with the added benefit of carbon sequestering from locally produced rice straw! 🌍

Architect: Gavin Knowles (.architect)
Engineer: Verdant Structural
Builder: Kuhlmann and Cheyne Builders Inc.
Photo credits: Gavin Knowles

11/04/2025

This week, VSE takes the stage with Luke Lombardi, Massey Burke, Lindsay Baker, and Cameron McIntosh to present "Barriers and Opportunities for Scaling Biobased Materials" at in Los Angeles on Thursday, November 6, at 2:30 p.m. For more information, visit the Greenbuild website and be part of this impactful event! bit.ly/4k6L2Fg

10/08/2025

4 weeks until VSE takes the stage with Luke Lombard, Massey Burke, Lindsay Baker, and Cameron McIntosh to present "Barriers and Opportunities for Scaling Biobased Materials" at in Los Angeles this November 4-7. The countdown to meaningful conversations about our industry's future has begun! What topics are you most excited to explore? http://bit.ly/46NXJPU

09/23/2025

🏡✨ This isn’t your average ADU — it’s a showcase of alternative material use, featuring bamboo like you’ve never seen it before. 🌿

While it may look like just a beautiful wall finish, the laminate bamboo wall panels from Bamcore are doing way more:

1️⃣ It acts as the earthquake-resisting system
2️⃣ Supports the sleeping loft above the bathroom
3️⃣ Functions as an integrated guardrail + suspended stair support
4️⃣ Includes alternating tread stairs with a diagonally oriented center stringer to take full advantage of bamboo’s natural strength 💪

Architect: Arkin Tilt Architects
Engineer: Verdant Structural
Builder: Good Space Builders
Photo credits: Jeanie Ward-Waller



https://www.bamcore.com/

09/16/2025

We're excited to represent VSE at the 2025 Net Zero Conference hosted by at the Los Angeles Convention Center on October 1. This event will feature global sustainability experts in Climate, Net Zero, ESG, Equity, Carbon, and Resilience. Come find us in the exhibit hall!

08/05/2025

Meet Oceanspray — a beautifully crafted multi-family home nestled in Ashland, Oregon. 🌿🏠

This project includes 4 units spread across two floors, plus a fully occupiable attic.

What makes Oceanspray truly unique?
✨ The exterior walls use a sustainable BOEBS system — Bale on End Between Studs — combining conventional wood framing, plywood, and straw bale insulation.
✨ Inside, the partition walls are made from structural bales with plastered mesh — no studs needed.

And don’t miss the staircase, built with reclaimed wood salvaged from the original building that once stood on this site. ♻️💫

Architect: Arkin Tilt Architects
Engineer: Verdant Structural
Builder: Earth Dragon Natural Building LLC
Photo credits: Lydia Doleman

07/30/2025

The Mesa Sky Disk is a one-of-a-kind home in Yucca Valley. This project blends conventional building materials with carbon-sequestering elements, starting with the unique curved exterior walls made of 20" thick strawbales with reinforced plaster to resist seismic forces. 🌿

This project uses a mix of sawn and engineerd lumber, including custom curved glulam beams. 🪵

The roof features a butterfly shape, with its lowest point near the center of the building, creating a distinct architectural profile to fit the land. 🦋

As for the foundation, it's designed with a large cavity in the center to reduce concrete use. The best part? The cavity was filled with industrial metal components that would have otherwise been discarded. A creative way to reuse what otherwise would be considered trash! ♻️

Architect: Leger Wanaselja Architecture
Structural Engineer: Verdant Structural
Master Builder: Signature Builders, Twentynine Palms
Photography: Kevin Cain skydisk.shop

07/23/2025

🌿 Exciting news for the City of Austin, TX! As of April 2025, Austin has officially adopted the hempcrete a.k.a hemplime, appendix (Appendix BL) into its building codes - and we're proud to be the lead engineers helping make this appendix possible. 🏗️💚

Want to learn more?
👉 Visit: https://loom.ly/lkKZR5c

the City of austin maintained its trendsetter image by being one of the first US cities to adopt hemp-lime (hempcrete) in its local residential building codes.