While most of these buildings are constructed out of more traditional materials like cement, brick, drywall, and plywood, forward-thinking architects and members of the construction industry have increasingly been turning to natural materials as an alternative for the future. Due to its ability to sequester carbon, hemp has landed itself at the forefront of the conversation about natural building. — Topic A

Hemp’s high tensile strength, pliability, and strength-to-weight ratio are increasingly valuable in the manufacture and design of products like fiberboard and even a new concrete alternative. The recent COP26 conference in Glasgow featured the speculative 'Urban Sequoia' design from SOM that combined hempcrete with other green materials like algae and bio-bricks to create a high-rise tower capable of sequestering 1,000 tons of CO2 per year. 

One industry executive says it’s going to change the way we build, and that this is only the beginning in terms of what we’ll see coming onto the marketplace in the next few decades. “We’ve made blueprints for hemp villages,” Jayeson Hendyrsan, CEO of Hempcrete Natural Building Ltd., told the AIA’s Topic A blog. “We want families to live in these carbon neutral homes for generations. While we’re a way off from that being widespread, we’re seeking new ways of doing things. We need to create parallel systems in the building industry.”

I am working on developing a Load-bearing Hempcrete Block. I am looking for investors so I can develop them. More info is on my website.

This is exciting news! My thesis on hemp agriculture was published on Archinect back in 2006. Maybe it’s time to republish?

Hemp was always my favorite.

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