In a global first, 84 Harrington Street is the world’s tallest building being constructed using hempcrete blocks and hemp building materials, says the partnership between two Cape Town-based companies, Hemporium and Afrimat Hemp.

The joint venture believes the project is “setting the benchmark on how to build a safe, carbon-neutral, multistorey building using hemp blocks and hemp systems”.

Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of Cannabis sativa cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants on earth.

“I bought 84 Harrington in 2016, with the idea being that it would become a flagship Hemporium store, a steak restaurant, and that it would house the Hemp Hotel, a place where people can experience living in a hemp-constructed space,” says Hemporium founding partner and CEO Duncan Parker.

“From a sustainability and eco-construction perspective, we wanted to take hemp construction in South Africa to the next level, while also contributing to the inspiring hemp construction projects being undertaken globally.

“We also believed that once licences for the commercialisation of hemp in South Africa were issued, having innovative examples of what can be achieved with hemp would assist with leading the way for the fledgling hemp industry in South Africa,” notes Parker.

The Hemporium and Afrimat Hemp partnership says there is a “massive increase” in the global demand for bio-based construction, driven by the need for the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, with hemp construction considered the gold standard for CO₂ reduction in buildings.

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