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Just how high can you go? 12 storeys, if you’re staying at Cape Town’s Hemp Hotel, the highest building ever to be constructed using industrial hemp.

With the aim to have a ‘minimal ecological footprint’, the building was constructed entirely out of “Hempcrete” which are blocks derived from the cannabis plant.

So no, it’s not that kind of hotel and you can’t smoke the curtains in your room.

Hemp is increasingly being used in the fabrication of construction materials, and thanks to its fire-resistant and insulating properties, it is a remarkably effective building material with a much better ecological footprint than concrete.

Used notably in Europe for thermal renovation of existing buildings, the blocks are carbon negative — meaning their production sucks more planet-warming gases out of the atmosphere than it puts in.

According to Afrimat Hemp, the carbon footprint of a 40 square metre house built with hemp is three tons of CO2 lower than that of a conventional building, and with the SA Government finally lifting a ban on local production of industrial hemp, this hotel is an example of what the ‘green industry’ can do.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has made developing the country’s hemp and cannabis sector an economic priority, saying it could create more than 130,000 jobs.

The building was designed by architect Wolf Wolf, who sees it as ‘a game changer to make hemp buildings more widespread in this corner of the world.’

The architect with the coolest name in the world was, however, upfront about the cost of hemp buildings, which are about 20 percent more expensive.

As the world races to lower carbon emissions, Afrimat sees “huge opportunities” for its green bricks.

Carbon credits – permits normally related to the planting of trees to safeguard tropical rainforests that companies buy to offset their emissions – could help make hempcrete blocks more financially palatable. We can fund forests, or we can fund someone to live in a hemp house. It’s the same principle.

The last few finishing touches are currently being put on the 54-room hotel, and the developers are looking at opening the doors to the public in June.

But, just to clarify once again, please do not attempt to smoke the walls, it’s not that kind of hemp.

[source:citizen]