Posts in Building Science
Alexandros Tsamis:  Industry has yet to fully realize the potential of natural materials

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

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KSU Students Build Hemp Casita to Show Off Building Materials

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.


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Hemp Cinder Block Under Development at U Nebraska

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.

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Hemp and Magnesium Oxide Workshop in Texas

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.

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Portugal: Hempcrete Mixed with Charcoal Builds Solid Walls

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.

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Hemp Block Company Brings Together Israeli, Palestinian Entrepreneurs

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.

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Hemp Voices: Hempcrete Classes Held at Kansas State University

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.

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