Hemp Voices: Anthony Dente, PE, Verdant Structural Engineers
Anthony Dente is CEO of Berkeley, CA-based Verdant Structural Engineers in charge of project acquisition and management, outreach and marketing and company vision and steering.
Carbon storing and non toxic materials will be the building materials of the future. I have a strong interest in doing what I can with my skillset and resources to help facilitate the switch to these materials as an industry and culture.
What was a win for your company in the past year?
We have been experiencing a significant increase in demand for engineering services pertaining to low carbon, deep green, carbon storing, and natural building systems across the US. This is primarily from assisting with permit acquisition for designer, owner, and contractor clients. In addition, we are receiving more inquiries from product developers in the building space, who are trying to simplify these types of systems so that they can scale more easily.
Last year started with the release of my book on cob and earthen construction with New Society Publishing, which was a bold step forward in practical, building science based information aimed at assisting people in acquiring building permits. I consider all of these to be wins.
What is something about hemp building/construction/processing you didn’t know a year ago?
It’s always a big pleasure to meet others that I was unaware of, who are contributing significantly to the progress of the biogenic material movement in smart and creative ways. This happened three to five different times for me last year.
What challenges does the hemp building industry face that it must overcome?
The biggest problems I see facing the hemp community from my lens are 1) developing a better process for lateral load system selection or lateral load resistance in high seismic zones, 2) more clarity and understanding around hempcrete’s actual embodied carbon value with the lime binder but also the lime plasters properly accounted for and 3) a better understanding of possible expansion of allowable finishes, beyond plaster that do not conflict with moisture protection.
(510) 528-5394
anthony@verdantstructural.com
