Water, essential to life and hempcrete
While plaster accessories may not seem exciting to discuss in a natural building assembly, these details provide a robust foundation for long-term durability, air tightness details, and a clean drip edge for water to safely shed off the building. Good design here translates to a building that will survive whatever weather comes their way.
Read MoreEmbodied carbon is all the rage at the moment among leading edge designers and builders. Yet the stumbling block tends to be foundations. Carbon-beneficial buildings must include carbon-conscious foundations. In this article, we offer a typical assembly and material sourcing and supply options to develop carbon-conscious foundation solutions.
Read MoreMaterials, and how they combine to create assemblies, are a fundamental aspect of holistic design and robust construction. We advocate for sustainably sourced, local and regional materials that are appropriate for your building site and climate. Our Natural Materials Sourcing and Supply Resource Guide illustrates a comprehensive palette of natural materials for use throughout a building assembly.
Read MoreCatalyst invites you to enjoy 5 beautiful productions - offered in video, voice, story, image, and song - illustrating the wonderful world of Hempcrete.
Read MoreKnown for its acoustic value, this natural building material has a bonus ability to readily accept lime and clay plasters as part of a complete vapor active assembly. Combined with hempcrete and plaster, this offers a seamlessly consistent interior finish. What’s not to love?
Read MoreSit back, grab some popcorn, and check out this Video Production of the first hempcrete home in Massachusetts. This Virtual Tour and Talk is fun, informative, and jam-packed with multiple perspectives!
In 70 minutes, you’ll dive into this project, and hear from the building owner, the construction crew at Village Carpentry and Landscaping and the hempcrete consultants at HempStone. Discover the triumphs and challenges of this 'radically responsible' project!
Read MoreSustainability is a buzzword in the construction industry, but what does it really mean? More importantly, how do you know what is sustainable, and what has been green-washed? We explore ways to frame your thinking on sustainable materials and offer insights to choose sustainable materials efficiently and effectively.
Read MoreThis spring, HempStone had the opportunity to evaluate a skidsteer and concrete mixing bucket for hempcrete.
After seeing for ourselves what this equipment can do to facilitate a smooth installation, we knew we had to share the advantages of using this equipment to efficiently and precisely install hempcrete.
Read MoreHaving the right equipment makes all the difference in the world. In this post, we focus on the simple systems of conveyance for hempcrete - the humble bucket - every natural builder’s most important tool.
Read MoreIt’s official! The first Massachusetts hempcrete house is happening! Kudos to Village Carpentry and Landscaping for taking this momentous step to learn how to design and build with this new material! We’ve been thrilled to guide them along on this journey!
Read MoreThis wall segment was used to demonstrate hempcrete installation practices, test binder mix and equipment solutions, and work out the details of formwork against a timber frame. Exposed to the elements, it will test durability over time.
Read MoreIn a previous post, we shared that we tested 86 hempcrete samples for thermal resistance. Here, we share the details of how we tested all these blocks.
Read MoreAn image problem, that is.
The term hempcrete conjurs some misconceptions and concerns. In this post we explore these challenges and address how to overcome them.
Read MoreWe’ve developed many different hempcrete mixes in order to find what works best for our New England climate. Join us for a sneak peak into our hempcrete shop and studio as we engage in making block tests.
Read MoreIn Mid-February, we visited Peter Jensen n New York, learning about Ecococon, an awesome European strawbale system. Peter Jensen and Travis Toole are bringing this model to the US, and making beautiful architecture in the process! See what stunning sustainable structures can be made with straw.
Read MoreThis winter, Catalyst (pictured on left) attended a mycellium workshop by Tom Sippel (pictured on right) at Gateway City Arts in Holyoke, MA. Tom is an inspired instructor with a passion for sharing knowledge, exploring ideas, and igniting curiosity. Come with us on the journey into FUNgus!
Read MoreWhere your materials come from matter. Take a journey with us on the sourcing, and loss, of local lime.
Read MoreAs a nascent industry, hempcrete is still building a supply chain. US builders naturally want to use US-grown hemp. There’s just a little hiccup - the supply chains are still being developed and refined. This creates a challenge, and an opportunity, to use local materials. We share our step-by-step process of making building materials from local CBD stalk.
Read MoreSunchokes or Jeruslem Artichokes, provde beauty, food, and stalks which can be used in construction!
Read MoreI’ve been weighing the nomenclature used for a hemp and lime-based binder, a biocomposite mixed mass, commonly known as hempcrete. I’ve been evaluating the term against hemp-lime. After much consideration, I’ve embraced the term hempcrete. Here’s why….
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