Hemp as an eco-sustainable material in contemporary architecture: Employment alternatives, case studies and reflections on its uses

Abstract

This article is dedicated to the recent use of hemp, a plant fiber (re)discovered for contemporary architecture. It also presents a general reflection on the suitability of such resources, their potential to be explored, and their long-term sustainability. Hemp cultivation is ancient and, as such, its distinctive traits, strengths, and weaknesses are well-known. Its use as an architectural material is more recent and follows an upward trajectory of use, derived from the benefits it offers at a technical (physical-chemical and structural), economic, or ecological level. The study and attention to cannabis as an eco-material are the reasons for this work, which aims to address its peculiarities - through a selection of construction examples -, to highlight its capabilities, to explore its characteristics, and also to gauge its possible limitations and the risks that its lack of historical background in architecture might pose in the near future.