This year I had the opportunity to add another string to

my bow.
I’m fascinated with wanting to create solutions to homelessness and I’m also
fascinated with hemp.

So, I thought to myself, how about combining the two fascinating to create a
solution - tangible housing.

So I started headhunting hempcrete companies in the UK and asked if I could

volunteer on various projects.

I connected with Graham Durrant, who was Operations Manager for hempcrete
projects at The Limecrete Company, working alongside Myles Yallop. Since
April 2015 he’s run his own hempcrete company. I also connected with Tom
Woolley, Professor of Architecture at Queens University. He has been involved
both as a practising architect and as a teacher and researcher in environmental
building design for much of his career. He is an elected member of the UK
Architects Registration Board. He is a pioneer of community participation in
design & the community technical aid movement and has published extensively
on housing and social issues. For the last 12 years he has concentrated on
looking at the impact of the building industry on the environment and this has
led to the publication of the Green Building Handbook, Volumes 1 and 2. (Vol2.
Won the CIOB Gold Medal).This work emphasises the importance of the toxic
and damaging impacts of conventional materials on the eco system and human
health as well as issues such as energy and resource depletion. His latest book
“Natural Building” was published by Crowood Press in the summer of 2006.

I travelled up to meet them in a beautiful little place in Dumfried & Galloway,

Scotland called Gatehouse-of-Fleet in the summer & spent four weeks learning
everything I could. I met Tom, Rachel, Graham & Robbie and had such a great
experience. Spending each day absorbing as much information and skills as I
could.

So, why we should build with hempcrete?

The K value of hempcrete is 0.07 W/mK which makes it a very effective

insulator, and unlike almost all other lightweight building materials it behaves
like a thermally massive material. As a relatively lightweight walling material, at
320kg per cubic metre, hempcrete can sit very easily on the minimal footings
frequently found in very old buildings without needing additional foundations or
underpinning. Conversely, hempcrete behaves like a thermally massive
material, heating up quickly and cooling down slowly, enabling it to even out
diurnal temperature variations. Allowing the very fabric of the building to warm
in this way helps the building to stay at a more constant temperature and
reduces condensation risks.
Hempcrete is …..
● carbon negative
● insulative
● breathable
● affordable
● versatile
● non-toxic
● fire-resistant
● rodent-proof

Hempcrete can …..

● regulate humidity
● store heat
● absorb sound
● improve air quality
● preserve timber structures
● eliminate voids and draughts
● reduce electromagnetic interference
● work in harmony with natural materials
● blend into the aesthetic of any building old or new

You can use hempcrete for …..

● renovation
● restoration
● new-build walls
● garden studios

Music - ‘Hemp Redemption’ by @mobiusloop