Hemp Voices: Hiroaki “Maharu” Tajima

Hiroaki “Maharu” Tajima, architect and hempcrete lead manager at Limbs Ltd. Construction, Tochigi Japan

Hempcrete is a 100% natural material, which came as a shock to me as I have become so used to using industrialized products. And I also learned that our ancestors use hemp in their daily lives and houses.

What was a win for your company in the past year?

Hempcrete is still not well known in Japan. We are promoting it through workshops. We also need to collect basic data on Japanese hempcrete so that it can be widely used as a building material.

What is something about hemp building/construction/processing you didn’t know a year ago?

I didn't know that hempcrete was being used in regular apartments in Italy and France.

What challenges can you identify for the hemp building industry that we must overcome?

When I started studying, the definition of hempcrete was so vague that I didn't know which was correct. I think a global standard will be necessary. For example, even for the same wall, the density, the mixture ratio of hemp and binder, and the moisture content will all be different depending on the construction conditions.

Contact:

Email: tajima@limbs.co.jp