[simeonf]

For context I built a straw bale home with a lime exterior plaster (carbon neutral on the long term scale) and clay interior plaster. The claimed R-value of the exterior walls is R44 and there is no thermal bridging due to the 20 inch walls that are solid straw bale with plaster directly adhering to the inside and outside of the bale. I think it's a high performance home... That said:

Part of the conservatism of building is due to building codes. Building inspection is fundamentally about risk management and my building inspectors wanted to see familiar products with already specified installation procedures in the building code - or else a detail stamped by a eg structural engineer so there is somebody to sue if things go wrong. In some cases they would also take a manufactured product with manufacture provided installation instructions.

Any "high performance" building that is innovative will automatically require a lot of additional engineering overhead to pass building inspection and in general residential building departments wish you would just do things like everybody else...