Sustainable country house built using hempcrete

A Czech country house has become the first in that country to incorporate hempcrete in its construction

Spotted: Czech architect Lina Bellovicova has recently completed a house built using hempcrete, a first for the Czech Republic.  The house is located in the countryside and is designed to be used as a winter retreat and photo studio. The house also features large sliding windows that fill the interior with natural light and frame the picturesque views. There is also a green roof, which provides added insulation for the house.

Hempcrete is a relatively new composite material made from wet-mixing hemp shiv – the chopped up, woody core of the hemp plant, with a lime binder. The resulting mixture is a vapour-permeable insulation material, which has a high thermal performance. It allows the creation of chemical and damp-free indoor environments. Hemp is also useful in zero-carbon builds, as it locks away more atmospheric carbon over the lifetime of the building than was emitted during its construction.

Here, as in other new builds, the hempcrete is used to form the walls, in combination with a timber structural frame as well creating an insulating floor slab. The layout of the house is designed to use a minimal amount of space to the fullest. It includes a cellar, photo studio and a large terrace with a roof overhang, to allow the owner to spend as much time outside as possible.

According to the architect, the owner, “had a clear idea about the building material,” adding that, “As hempcrete has never been used as a building material in the Czech Republic, it was a great challenge for me as an architect. First struggles evolved in a valuable experience and fascination with its features and its history. Building with hempcrete is easy and allows the builder to build their house on their own.”

Architects are increasingly working with both new designs and new materials in order to deliver zero carbon or carbon negative projects. As Springwise has covered, they are being aided by a new platform that allows the easy estimation of carbon emissions over a building’s lifetime, and by innovative new techniques, such as flat-pack sustainable homes.

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