Growing Buildings

We often tend to focus on commercial projects when discussing what steps can be taken to construct green buildings.  However, green construction has also taken off in the residential market and there are a variety of different building products and techniques available.

One of the more interesting products I have come across lately (LINK) is called Hencrete.  Hemcrete is composed of hemp, lime, and water, and is being used to construct sustainable carbon negative building components.  The final product is a durable material that provides an airtight seal and can be used in many areas where traditionally framed walls would be used.  One advantage of Hemcrete is that it is very adaptive to changes in humidity and will not rot like a traditional wall if water is allowed to infiltrate the wall.  The biggest breakthrough with this new product is that it is carbon negative.  This means that there is more CO2 locked up throughout the growing and harvesting process of the hemp than the amount of carbon that is released during the production of the lime, which is used as the binder.  This is a very difficult accomplishment to achieve and could make Hemcrete a very popular product for using in future sustainable structures. 

Hemcrete can also be used for other building elements such as roof insulation and flooring.  Unlike traditional building materials, 100% of the product can be recycled when the structure is deconstructed.  Although a wall made out of plants may seem like a fire hazard, Hemcrete is actually fireproof due to the lime binder coating the plant material.

One issue with using Hemcrete is that it is currently priced much higher than traditional wall materials.  However, as the popularity of this product begins to grow and production costs decrease, Hemcrete could become a very common building product.  Unfortunately, the species of hemp required to make Hemcrete is illegal to grow in the United States, but the product has become extremely popular in Europe and other countries.  Advocates of sustainable construction are working to change laws to allow Hemcrete to be grown in the US, instead of having to import the product at high costs.

Below is a video demonstrating the production and application processes of Hemcrete:

We Can Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions, but Will We?

A Green Building Elements article (LINK) explains a study conducted at the University of Toronto concerning the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.  Large cities account for the majority of greenhouse gas production.  The methods to reduce these emissions are readily available, but the problem is that they are difficult to implement.  Not every building can be torn down and rebuilt or retrofitted to operate more efficiently and have less of an impact on the environment.  Over time, buildings will have to be deconstructed due to age and can be rebuilt with sustainability in mind, but that will be a long and lengthy process.

The most logical and cost effective first step to take towards reducing greenhouse emissions is to educate citizens on practices they can adopt to help.  A combined effort of the majority of citizens in a particular city can have an enormous reduction of emissions.  The United States Environmental Protection Agency publishes a number of small steps (LINK) that citizens can take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  In the world of construction, we get caught up in how we can build something new and sustainable, but sometimes big changes can come from small improvements to items we already have.  For example, in our homes we can use energy efficient light bulbs, choose Energy Star products, use the thermostat wisely, add insulation, recycle, reduce water usage, and purchase green power.  Outside our homes we can commute in fuel efficient vehicles, use renewable fuels, or use alternative methods of transportation such as bicycles or public transportation (EPA 2013).

Existing buildings can help promote alternative means of transportation by adding bicycle racks or applying to have a bus stop closer to their building.  The idea of having all green buildings sounds great, but we will never be able to reach the lowest possible level of greenhouse gas emissions if people do not begin adopting sustainable practices into their daily lives.  Most buildings being constructed today are implementing at least some green building practices, even if they are very minimal.  Green building is continuing to grow at a rapid pace, and if it continues on this track, buildings will quickly be outperforming humans in efficiency.  If a large push is made now to encourage private citizens to use sustainable practices, the harm we are causing to the environment can be reduced much faster, by two of its greatest sources of pollution working together.