Practice Architecture has developed a three-bedroom home which they call Flat House which is packed with a flat design utilizing the materials grown locally on the 20-acre land. The London based firm has designed a family home using prefabricated panels manufactured with hemp. The architects collaborated with Margent Farm that is in Cambridgeshire, England, who happen to be their clients and who own a farm that grows hemp and flax for the purposes of manufacturing bioplastics.
With an intent to introduce a fresh technique for the construction industry, a hemp-based double storied Flat House was designed as a construction model. The architects designed a prefabricated panel full of hemp with the help of a few engineers and material specialists.
The house is built on 100 sqm with frame made out of timber and panels insulated with hemp and lime. The house is covered with sheeting ridged with hemp fiber and sugar resin with both materials being locally grown. The panels and sheets were prefabricated off premises and then the assembly of the main portion is done in 2 days.
The finished product of this is a house with three-bedrooms and an open plan living room and an adjoining hot house. The inside of the house includes huge open areas; unprocessed timber fixtures and floors all over; a stunning kitchen which is double in height; plenty of windows allowing lots of natural light and ventilation; and a separate area on the second floor made for a sleeping quarter.
There is a biomass boiler included to serve any heating requirements, and for power, there are solar panels installed on the roof for sustainable living. In order to give a warm and rustic outlook to the house, some of the hemp panels are left exposed. The material that is used actually helps in improving and controlling the quality of air and the moisture in it and at the same time inhibiting the growth of any mildew or mold.
The total cost of the Flat house is yet to be disclosed to the public. This project, however has resulted the creation of Material Companies which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Practice Architecture, aiming to undertake the responsibility of building hundreds of hemp homes across UK.
All Images: © Oskar Proctor / Practice Architecture
Architects: Practice Architecture
h/t: New Atlas