Sanctuary 63 out now: Hemp building special

In this hemp building special, we take a look at how this dream material is tracking in Australia and visit seven gorgeous hempcrete homes.

If you’ve ever visited a hemp home, you might have found it hard to resist running your hand over the textured, somehow inviting solidity of the walls. Made from quick-growing, readily renewable hemp fibre, carbon-negative hempcrete is widely regarded as something of a dream building material thanks to its great insulative qualities and breathability. Happily, it is also becoming more widely available in Australia. In this issue, we bring you the latest developments in the industry, along with profiles of a collection of beautiful hemp homes and some shorter case  studies covering different construction techniques.

Our sustainable homes this issue also include minimal-intervention renovations for maximum extra comfort in Canberra and Melbourne. There’s an innovative new build in Perth, plus a project at the other end of the spectrum: a restoration of, and extension to, a heritage-listed cottage in Adelaide. Heritage consultants Ian Travers, Leo Martin and Ruth Redden explore this theme, taking a look at the challenges (and opportunities) involved in renovating heritage houses into sustainable homes for the future.

Take a look inside Sanctuary 63

Also in this issue: We showcase the winners of the inaugural National Biophilic Design Awards. In On the drawing board, Queensland architects Chris Bligh and Sonia Graham present their approach to considered urban density: a build comprising a home, office and self-contained flat that offers flexible living and working on a single suburban block. And garden designer Steve Dedrick makes the case for reducing lawn in favour of native gardens for urban biodiversity – plus much more.

Sanctuary 63 is on its way to subscribers and on sale in newsagents now. If you haven’t already, subscribe to get every issue delivered. 

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