Could hemp be the residential building material of the future?

{"version":"0.3.0","atoms":[],"cards":[["images-card",{"images":[{"url":"http:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/dpcbzfiye\/image\/upload\/v1657646713\/cactvn4blgeg8lo26jyv.jpg","id":"6524720"}],"caption":"A pile of building bricks made from industrial hemp at a factory in Canada."}]],"markups":[["a",["href","https:\/\/www.ipcc.ch\/report\/sixth-assessment-report-cycle\/","target","_new"]],["a",["href","https:\/\/www.hempbuildmag.com\/home\/urban-sequoia-proposed-hemp-high-rise-is-carbon-negative"]],["a",["href","https:\/\/www.hempcrete.ca\/"]],["a",["href","https:\/\/ushba.org\/"]]],"sections":[[1,"h2",[]],[10,0],[1,"h2",[[0,[],0,"Due to its ability to sequester carbon, hemp has landed at the\nforefront of the natural building conversation."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"By Liana DeMasi"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The\nfirst modern hemp home in the US was built in Asheville, N.C., in 2010. Since then, a handful more have been planned and executed internationally. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Why is this significant? As the "],[0,[0],1,"latest United\nNations\u2019 IPCC report"],[0,[],0," tells us, residents of Earth are on the verge of missing a\n\u201crapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable\nfuture for all.\u201d The construction industry accounts for about 11% of annual\ncarbon emissions worldwide \u2013 while buildings in general make up 40%. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"While most of these buildings are constructed\nout of more traditional materials like cement, brick, drywall, and plywood,\nforward-thinking architects and members of the construction industry have\nincreasingly been turning to natural materials as an alternative for the\nfuture. Due to its ability to sequester carbon, hemp has landed itself at the\nforefront of the conversation about natural building. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"In 2021, at the U.N. Climate Change Conference,\nSkidmore Owings and Merrill (SOM) unveiled a prototype for a hemp skyscraper\nwithin a larger city, called"],[0,[1],1," Urban\nSequoia"],[0,[],0,". And they\u2019re not the only ones. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cWe\u2019ve\nmade blueprints for hemp villages,\u201d says Jayeson Hendyrsan CEO of "],[0,[2],1,"Hempcrete Natural Building Ltd"],[0,[],0,"., a\nhemp construction and consulting firm based in Canada. \u201cWe want families to\nlive in these carbon neutral homes for generations. While we\u2019re a way off from\nthat being widespread, we\u2019re seeking new ways of doing things. We need to\ncreate parallel systems in the building industry.\u201d"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Advocates\nsay that hemp can effectively be substituted in for other building materials\nduring the construction process, and there\u2019s evidence to support this. \u201cHemp\nand hempcrete [a biocomposite material that can be used in place of concrete]\neffectively replace the drywall and pink insulation present in typical construction,\u201d\nsays Cameron McIntosh, owner of Americhanvre, a cast-hemp company in\nPennsylvania. \u201cBeyond being mold-, mildew- and fire-resistant, a hemp home is\nalso good for the planet. An 8,000 cubic square foot home sequesters about 76\nmetric tons of carbon.\u201d This means that a house made of Hempcrete can\neffectively suck carbon out of the air, reducing \u2013 if not eliminating \u2013 its\nenvironmental impact. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Contrary to what recent enthusiasm for the\nmaterial might suggest, hemp has actually been around for centuries, predating\nRoman times. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cSome of the first uses of hemp for building\nwere found in China, mixed with limestone and pig\u2019s blood,\u201d says Jayeson.\n\u201cEveryone became so interested in vinyl, concrete, and modern building\nmaterials, but we\u2019ve had the answer right here all along.\u201d "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"And he\u2019s right. The first use of hemp for\nbuilding was found to have occurred in China for the caulking of ships in\naround 200 B.C. In the 6th Century, in what is now France, hemp was found in\nthe pillars of ancient bridges. Throughout history, hemp was \u2013 and still is \u2013\nused in clothing, rope, pottery, and medicine. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"With all the benefits of hemp construction, why\nare there only about 50 hemp homes in the U.S.? "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"After plywood, pink insulation, cement and\ndrywall became codified in the U.S.\u2019s state and local building codes in the\nwake of global industrialization, and the criminalization of marijuana in the\n1970s and the subsequent villainization of hemp, the agricultural market for\nthe plant was virtually nonexistent, illegal, and unregulated. Now, with\nfurther legalization and decriminalization of cannabis, the hemp industry is\nmaking up for lost time. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"However, \u201cIt takes about seven or so years to\nyield on a hemp farm,\u201d says Cameron, making the supply and demand ratio\ndisproportionate. Americanvre outsources their hemp herd and binder from France\nas they wait for the American market to catch up. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cThe "],[0,[3],1,"U.S. Hemp Building Association"],[0,[],0," just wrote the International Residential Code\nindex for hempcrete, which is now under secretarial review,\u201d Cameron says.\n\u201cWe\u2019re hoping that this time next year it will be active, which will make it\nmuch easier to have discussions with code enforcement. It\u2019ll be recognized for\nresidential construction.\u201d "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"There\u2019s a disproportionate lack of mainstream\nknowledge with hempcrete in comparison to cement or drywall, which Cameron\nthinks can be solved with recognition and regulation. While these current\nregulatory blocks don\u0027t mean hemp is impossible to build with, the loopholes in\ngetting there make it time consuming and more costly. Natural building is\nalready a niche in the industry, limiting the number of firms and companies\nthat have the licensing, equipment and training necessary for hemp\nconstruction. Both Cameron and Jayeson\u2019s companies work closely with designers\nand architectural firms on home design, even recommending and making decisions\non the finishing touches. But a build requires someone with expertise in\nmaterials, workers, and equipment to be physically present. This means their\ntravel costs get looped in with the cost of labor, and in conjunction with\nmaterials, access to equipment, and the local code enforcement paperwork\nprocess, a hemp home can run about $60 or more per square foot than a home\nbuilt traditionally. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cBut the payoff on that upfront cost is\nextreme,\u201d says Cameron. \u201cBeyond the environmental benefits and the overall\nbetter safety of the home, you\u2019re also looking at clean, nontoxic air. I\ncompare it to buying organic. It\u2019s going to cost you a bit more up front, but\nthe short and long-term benefits far outweigh what you\u2019re putting in.\u201d"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"There\u2019s also a possibility for a shift in home\nownership through generations. The average American remains in a home for about\n13 years before selling it, but Jayeson wonders if that number would increase\nif homes were built differently. \u201cWhat would people\u2019s bank accounts look like\nif they kept their beautiful, solid, low-maintenance, efficient house for, say,\nfive generations?\u201d he says. "]]],[1,"p",[]]]}