Architecture

High hopes for tiny house made from hemp

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Green Built hopes to fund the development of its first tiny house prototype with a Kickstarter campaign
Green Built
Green Built hopes to fund the development of its first tiny house prototype with a Kickstarter campaign
Green Built
The firm aims to build its home to Passive House standards, so it should be very cheap to heat and cool
Green Built
The interior layout of the home is slated to measure 522 sq ft (50 sq m)
Green Built
It's important to note that hemp construction isn't new, not by a long shot
Green Built
The floorspace is split between a deck, living room, kitchen, foyer, master bedroom and bathroom
Green Built
The interior layout of the home is slated to measure 522 sq ft (50 sq m)
Green Built
Green Built hopes to fund the development of its tiny home prototype with a Kickstarter campaign
Green Built
The firm aims to build its home to Passive House standards, so it will be very cheap to heat and cool
Green Built
Though its only a render so far, the interior layout of the home measures 522 sq ft (50 sq m)
Green Built
View gallery - 9 images

As any good hippy will tell you, the cannabis plant isn't only good for getting stoned. Hemp has been used for thousands of years for all kinds of stuff, including making rope, clothing, and even cars. With this in mind, Albany, NY-based Green Built has high hopes it can bring cannabis construction into the US mainstream with its hemp-based tiny house.

Joking aside, it's important to note that hemp construction isn't new or even unusual outside the US, and makes sense as a sustainable building material. Green Built aims to use Hempcrete (essentially a mix of hemp, lime and water) to build its tiny house. Used quite widely in the UK, Hempcrete is non-toxic, has good insulation properties – and no, it won't get you high if your house burns down.

Assuming all goes to plan (and that's still a big assumption at this early stage), the first prototype HempHome: Tiny+ is slated to comprise 522 sq ft (50 sq m) of floorspace, which may be pushing it a little for a strict "tiny house" definition, but it is still on the snug side. The floorspace would be split between a deck, living room, kitchen, foyer, master bedroom and bathroom.

In time, the firm plans to make several other models available too.

Though its only a render so far, the interior layout of the home measures 522 sq ft (50 sq m)
Green Built

Green Built is aiming to meet Passive House standards for the HempHome: Tiny+ which is a very exacting green building code and the team includes Passive House experts, so it should be extremely efficient to heat and cool.

The home would be topped by a green roof and efficient mechanical ventilation in addition to triple-glazed windows, which should also help maintain a steady temperature inside. Electricity and hot water would be produced via a roof-based solar system.

Green Built hopes to fund the development of its prototype HempHome: Tiny+ with a Kickstarter campaign. At the upper end of the scale, promised rewards include a HempHome dog house for US$1,000 and a shed for $5,000, while cheaper options include chocolates and a wallet.

Check out the pitch video below for more information.

Sources: Green Built, Kickstarter

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View gallery - 9 images
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3 comments
Grunchy
A joke?? The real purpose of hemp activism is to get hemp (marijuana) crops growing in North America. That way it's easier to conceal the real cash crop. There is no practical advantage to this material whatsoever, not for 100+ years. I'm surprised if anybody is fooled by these swindlers.
dsiple
Isn't hemp still illegal to grow in the US?
jerryd
Grunchy, there already are national forests here filled with it and legal in several states to grow it. I'd like to see higher tech use making SIP panels with it with cross laid hemp fibers with a bio resin to make the skin. Along with bio foam in between the skins would make lightweight but very strong, high insulation values with 10-20% of the materials would be far better. And not unlike the panels in the model T used Ford made 100 yrs ago from hemp. A major factor with hemp other than it's very long fibers and high strength is it is extremely hard to rot or insect attack. Most any composite that doesn't need max strength hemp board would be great at instead of FG, etc.