Hemp Used to Build House in UK

Film producer Steve Barron grew hemp on Cambridgeshire farm and turned into construction materials that sequester carbon. The woody inner section of the plant's stem, called shives, was processed into hempcrete by chopping it up and mixing it with lime. It was used at

BY Realty Plus
Published - Monday, 12 Jul, 2021

Film producer Steve Barron grew hemp on Cambridgeshire farm and turned into construction materials that sequester carbon. The woody inner section of the plant's stem, called shives, was processed into hempcrete by chopping it up and mixing it with lime. It was used at Flat House as a non-load-bearing wall infill and insulation material. Hemp-based bioplastic was used to clad the outside of the home. This is made from the strong outer fibres of the plant's stem mixed with bio-resin and pressed into corrugated sheets. Fast-growing hemp is a highly versatile raw material as well as an effective way of sequestering atmospheric carbon, according to Cambridge university researcher Darhsil Shah, who advised Barron on how to make construction materials from the plant. Barron estimated that the house stores 24 tonnes of atmospheric carbon that was absorbed by the hemp via photosynthesis as it grew. "The house is pretty much made of hemp and it has locked in atmospheric carbon," Barron told Dezeen, adding that it took 100 days to grow the hemp on eight acres, or 3.2 hectares, of land. "I guess that's 24 tonnes of carbon," he said.