Interview with
Joshua Carel of Plural Office
What is Hempcrete?
I like to reduce the definition of hempcrete to exactly what it is- a combination of a plant and a rock. Not all plant/rock combinations are suitable for building, but in the case of hemp and lime, the result is an amazing product that exhibits beneficial qualities of each: the carbon-sequestering and hygrothermal properties of the hemp hurd; and the fire and mold resistance benefits of the lime.
Why Hempcrete?
The list of benefits of hempcrete are almost too good to be true: its carbon-negative, rapidly-renewable, non-toxic, fireproof and pestproof, vapor-permeable, and provides substantial sound attenuation and thermal resistance. Hempcrete can help simplify how we construct sustainable, affordable structures: Its ability to be installed as a monolithic assembly, in a pre-cast or block form, reduces the amount of trades and potential liabilities as compared to our current composite systems (8+ layers to make a wall). I like to think about hempcrete as a return to a more traditional way of building, but one that can produce sophisticated results.
Listen to full interview below
To contact Joshua please visit his website at Plural Office
(images courtesy of Plural Office)
