Sharing Natural Building Information

Building with hemp

Hemp building is relatively new in Australia as are many other natural building techniques such as light earth and earth bag construction. This project has therefore been set up to share the techniques and experiences of those building with hemp and other natural building products.


The purpose of this  project is to focus on the use of hemp and other natural building materials, not as isolated components, but in the context of how they fit with the overall building and approval process.

A range of buildings will be reviewed with the same information provided about each building project. Some buildings reviewed as part of this project are still under construction an it is planned to revisit these buildings upon completion and provide further updates.

The review of each building will look at a range of issues including the type and size of buildings being constructed, the climate they are being built in, the method of construction used and how the walling method intersects with other building materials. For each build there will be a diagrammatic section through the building showing how the walls join to the roof, windows and footings. Issues such as Council approval will also be addressed.

The building materials used do not dictate the design of a building and this project will demonstrate the variety of building styles that hemp can take as well as the various different construction methods in which it can be used.

About the author:
Kirstie Wulf is a Building Designer and principal of Shelter Building Design. She holds a Diploma in Building Design,  and a Cert IV in Architectural Technology, for which she won the State Medal. Kirstie has a strong interest in natural building and has constructed her own hemp house as owner builder, she has also worked on projects using mudbrick, cob, light earth and strawbale.