Planning the build - The Hempcrete Topic: Designing and Building with Hemp-lime - page 180

Before moving on to look at the construction process in detail, in this chapter we
briefly discuss some aspects of building with hempcrete that are helpful to keep in
mind during the planning and building design stages.
For a more detailed examination of the factors involved when designing hempcrete build-
ings, see Chapter 21 .
Inspiration
Anyone in the fortunate position of being able to design their own building is likely to draw
their inspiration from a range of sources. In theory, the only limit is what your imagination
can do within the constraints of the materials you are using, although in practice local and
national planning policies, building control and consideration towards neighbours will also
restrict what is possible in any given situation. Whether the new building is to be a home,
workplace or community building, or a smaller living space such as an extension or garden
building, the first step in the design process is the spark of an idea about why the building
should take a particular form or look a certain way.
With the explosion of interest in self-building that the UK has experienced over recent
decades, those designing their own building are hardly short of information about other
people's projects from which to draw inspiration for their own plans. The choice of hemp-
crete as a building material should not limit you in the type of building you design, al-
though the decision to use it would suggest that you are aiming to design an energy-effi-
cient, low-impact building.
While hempcrete is used to create a wide range of types and styles of building, it is our
hope that most people seeking inspiration for designing with hempcrete will take as their
starting point the natural materials involved, and so look for inspiration to other buildings
in their local area that have been constructed with sustainable, natural materials. Usually
this means looking at the elements of design visible in traditional buildings.
We use the phrase 'traditional buildings' to refer to small buildings in a given area built at
any time before about 1850. Commonly known as vernacular buildings, these usually in-
clude houses, barns, workshops and small-scale community buildings such as village halls,
chapels and pubs. Vernacular buildings usually exhibit a distinct style, which varies sig-
nificantly according to, and helps to define the character of, the local area. In contrast to
grander, architect-designed formal buildings (large houses, churches, town halls and the