When briefing Altereco Design to create their new country house, owners Sarah Corbet and David Bruce requested a ‘warm design’ that was functional, beautiful, and possibly made of hempcrete (a composite building material made of hemp, sand, and a hydraulic binder).

Altereco had never designed with the material before, but saw the benefits of the innovative material’s sustainable and hardworking qualities.

‘Hempcrete exhibits remarkable resistance to fire, pests, and mould, providing a durable and secure building material,’ says Altereco Design director James Goodlet. ‘Another noteworthy advantage of hempcrete is its ability to sequester carbon from the atmosphere for the building’s lifespan. It can also be composted.’

Sarah and David also requested a small home with all-electric appliances, a solar array, passive design principles, an insulated slab, and high performance windows.

‘The brief from our client was quite clear: maximise the northern light. Considering the solar panels are positioned on their shed roof, this gave us the opportunity to kick the roof up quite aggressively to the north, creating a two storey wall and space for the mezzanine, which also filters light through to the southern hempcrete wall,’ says James.

Sarah and David were the owner-builders on the project, constructing the house (and surrounding farm, based on permaculture principles) over 18 months (mostly on weekends around their full time work in Melbourne).

‘We were not just doing the project management or paying the bills. We did all the work ourselves that we could,’ says David. ‘We wanted to build something small, efficient and beautiful, and we wanted to showcase what could be done with smart design on a tight budget… We loved that hempcrete was doable for a handy owner-builder.’

Hempcrete has been used for decades internationally, but there was no local manufacturer at the time of this build in 2019. This created some challenges, especially over COVID-19 lockdowns.

‘David scheduled four months of leave to get the build done, but the ship arrived six weeks late… So [I] went on to Facebook and cried out for help!’ says Sarah. ‘We had a wonderful response and had people showing up to learn and help hemp the walls from all over Victoria — as far away as Swan Hill!’

‘We also had enormous help from our building designers who were keen to jump in and bring their friends along, and quite a few friends from the Lyonville community jumped in to help too.’

Sarah and David built the majority of the remaining home except for the electrical work, plumbing, roof, concrete slab, and staircase.

‘David built the house frame as well as making doors, kitchen cupboard fronts (onto Ikea cabinets), and custom-built shelves to use up every little bit of space,’ says Sarah ‘So, it took us a bit longer to build and craft this house, but this allowed us time to think, plan and get the design and function right.’

In addition to hempcrete, the home features reclaimed messmate, Betta Stone recycled glass bench tops, Knauf Earthwool batts, and fire-resistant reclaimed spotted gum. ‘We dug clay from onsite to create clay plaster and milk paint for the inside walls,’ says Sarah.

Sarah and David are amazed at the feel of their completed home imparted through its volume, distribution of light, and warm materials.

‘We both feel super proud that we built this place with our own hands and created a beautiful, functional and cosy home that is more than enough for our needs. It demonstrates the value of building small, adequate and lovely,’ David says.

‘We are also proud that we had a very low waste build using natural materials and no paint.’