A House Made Out of…Hemp?
Image courtesy Treehugger, via PUSH
Just when I thought green building couldn’t get any cooler, I discovered Push House.
It’s a house that just finished being built in Asheville, NC (ironically enough, not too far from where I used to live).
And it’s made out of hemp. Yeah, crazy right?
The amazing thing about Push house is that it’s made from British hemp stems (grown without pesticides) mixed with a binder made from hydrated lime.
According to Treehugger. Hempcrete, as it’s called, isn’t strong enough to hold the house up structurally, so it does have a wooden frame. But Hempcrete is a great insulator and is incredibly soundproof.
Although the house is breathable, Push says there is no concern over mold and mildew, especially in Asheville’s damp environment. They’ve tested and retested the hempcrete, and have found no evidence that the material is susceptible to mold, even when it’s soaked in water for days.
And if you think this hemp house is going to feature black lights and hand-me-down Ikea furniture, think again. This eco-friendly house is super high class.
Take a look at some of these pictures; all images courtesy PUSH.
Can you believe how incredible gorgeous this house is?
When I saw it, my mouth was on the floor. The lines are so clean and austere; this is the type of house you can really breathe in. Next time I’m in Asheville I’m going to have to go visit.
Global Production…
Push is already getting modular plans completed so they can start offering their hemp homes globally. Hopefully this will mean a low-cost green housing that we can put up in a matter of days or weeks.
Push is going to keep updating their blog as they get further along on the West Asheville non-toxic hemp house, so I’ll keep you all updated as they go!
One Response to “A House Made Out of…Hemp?”
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Hemp stems from the UK? Carbon footprint on shipping them to the US? Hemp is grown widely in the US, often illegally, time to scrap the hysterical drug wars and start utilising hemp. Considering that the first Levi jeans were made of hemp, and Henry Ford’s first car was built to run on hemp oil, this ludicrous refusal to recognise that hemp is part of the answer is causing some pretty deranged situations. How can this house be considered eco-friendly if the matertial is transported thousands of miles? Joined up thinking time people. I would have expected some critique along these lines from a website devoted to the issue of carbon, not a glowing PR piece as this appears to be.