A local consortium of Italian hemp interests are coming together to deliver hemp-based building materials for what they claim is the largest hempcrete housing complex in Europe.
The “Case nel verde” (“Houses in the Green”) project is a 24-unit condominium complex under construction in southern Italy. The building's structure is made of steel and reinforced concrete, but its 40- to 50-centimeter (16- to 20-inch) thick walls are made with hempcrete blocks and hemp plaster, with all of the hemp growing, processing, and manufacturing being done within 100 kilometers (60 miles) of the construction site.
That means reduced costs and a low carbon footprint as a result of limited transportation requirements. It also means that as demand for hempcrete construction in the region grows, it can be met quickly and easily through a regenerative local circular economy.
The consortium is demonstrating “transversal production that deals with everything in construction – new building, renovation, rehabilitation, dehumidifying – through industrial development of the building material,” said Pantaleo Pedone of Pedone Working srl, [one of the consortium stakeholders].
Read the full article at hemptoday.net