The installation of the hempcrete in the refurbishment of Hobart’s iconic Forestry building at University of Tasmania's (UTAS) Hobart campus is well underway. It showcases the beautiful hemp installation work of Shane Hannan and Tully Dunn from Hannan Build.
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Designed by renowned architectural practice Woods Bagot and being brought to life by project managers, Hansen Yuncken, the project aims to set new standards in sustainable architecture with at least 40% less embodied carbon than comparable buildings.
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As well as providing facilities for students and staff, the project will add to the city’s biodiversity by restoring the living forest to the heritage listed 22-metre dome-shaped conservatory, creating a new inner-city park for the Hobart community.
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The site comprises two heritage-listed 1920s redbrick warehouses, a former 1980s warehouse showroom and the 22-metre dome-shaped conservatory designed by Morris-Nunn and Associates in 1997. |
UTAS should be commended for their commitment to modelling renewable construction and for their long-term vision in supporting the Tasmanian hemp industry. The hemp for the project was farmed in Tasmania, sourced directly from X-Hemp, an entrepreneurial local hemp processing company, and the lime binder has been manufactured by the Australian Hemp Masonry company in New South Wales.
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The building itself will be an education tool with interpretative signage highlighting the materials and construction methods underpinning the sustainable design.
In July this year, the project won the World Architecture Festival’s Award (WAFX) in the Building Technology category, for demonstrating cutting-edge design solutions to issues of climate change and community resilience. |
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The WAFX award recognises the world’s most forward-looking architectural concepts, presented to future projects that identify key challenges that architects will need to address in the coming years.
The project is also one of 13 projects shortlisted in the Future Projects: Education and Research category of the same Awards which will be announced in Singapore on 6 and 7 November, 2024. |
Many thanks to all for the visionary approach to this project!