Hemp Collaboration Laboratory for Sustainable Buildings
Hemp CoLab seeks to advance scholarship in hemp-based construction by catalyzing interdisciplinary research and developing sustainable building materials.Recent advances in the production of industrial hemp represent a significant opportunity for the development of rapidly-renewable, bio-based composite materials enabling the decrease in carbon emissions and energy consumption in both the construction and operation of buildings. Industrial hemp is ideal for carbon sequestration as it absorbs more carbon dioxide (CO2) per hectare than any forest or commercial crop during plantation growth, making it one of the most sustainable crops available. Alternative building materials that employ fibers and hurds obtained from this low input and potentially carbon-negative crop offer substantial climate benefits.
More About Us
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Hemp CoLab seeks to advance scholarship in hemp-based construction by developing structural applications for this material. Our research interests span alternative, eco-friendly binders for hemp-based composites, life-cycle cost and environmental impact assessment, and hemp-derived micro- or nano-cellulose for composite materials.
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Hemp Colab, established by a multidisciplinary team of three scholars, aims to connect faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and students working on industrial hemp and its use as building composites. Our team aims to realize buildings that are far more sustainable, fiscally, and environmentally.
