In France, A Hempcrete Sports Center Demonstrates the Material’s Promise

Designed by local firm Lemoal Lemoal, the relatively modest center is the first public building in France made of this sustainable material.

By: Florian Heilmeyer

Hempcrete is a biocomposite material that was first used in France in the 1990s, but until recently, building codes and a lack of certification made it largely impossible to use in public buildings. A combination of lime and hemp in varying mixtures, hempcrete is typically made into lightweight panels or bricks that are fireproof and durable and perform well acoustically. Most importantly, because hemp plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere while they grow—and they grow quickly—hempcrete is a carbon-negative material. 

A sports hall designed by Lemoal Lemoal in the small town of Croissy-Beaubourg, to the east of Paris, holds the special status of being the first public building in France to use hempcrete. The Pierre Chevet sports hall is a modest and unobtrusive facility with a simple wooden frame that extends into a half-vaulted structure. In most of the interior walls, the frame is filled in with hempcrete blocks made from hemp grown and processed within 300 miles of the construction site.