We are developing next-generation construction materials derived from renewable resources. One such very prominent resource is hemp. Hemp offers a great opportunity to develop new local economies around it that span the agriculture, processing, manufacturing, and construction sectors

Graduate students at Kansas State University constructed a small demonstration portable hemp structure that will be displayed around the state to show the industrial potential of building materials made of hemp.

This winter, Californians Neil Decker and Stella Michaels completed a six-year journey to build their 1,800 sq. foot hempcrete roundhouse in Nevada County, CA.

Hemp-lime builders in Oregon are working on one of the largest commercial projects in the United States for which their hemp-based building materials passed 1-hour fire-resistance testing. 

A civil engineering professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has invented a hemp-based load-bearing masonry block that has the potential to “greenify” the construction industry while also promoting a new agricultural crop for US farmers.

Texas workshop participants this fall will get to test a new handcast building method with hemp and Magnesium Oxide, a combination that builds a cement-like wall infill structure that’s stronger than concrete, organizers say. Magnesium Oxide works like lime to create a vapor-permeable wall assembly, one of the advantages of a hemp-based building.

Burnt, charred wood is historically used as a wood protection measure on the exterior of buildings. It is a technique usually attributed to the Japanese, called Sugi Ban, which we wanted to adapt for hemp construction, by inserting charcoal into the mixture and/or burning the hemp straw itself.

Moisture is one of the biggest problems for buildings as it can rot the structure and bring about mold/other such issues. Most structures fail before their time because of moisture.

Two Israelis living in the south of Alentejo have teamed up with two Palestinians to found an innovative hemp block business for sustainable construction. Its aim is to encourage the local economy with as little ecological footprint as possible and, of course, lots of love. From this unlikely relationship of Israeli-Palestinian friendship, Hemp was born.

In a first-of-its-kind class offered this semester at Kansas State University, Professor Michael Gibson’s graduate seminar students completed final presentations on building with hempcrete. The class spent the first half of the year researching hempcrete projects from around the world and the material’s historical context.