Interiors

A Hand-Built Country Victoria Home Made From Innovative Hempcrete

Melburnians Sarah Corbet and David Bruce bought a 7.5 acre block of land (a disused potato paddock) in central Victoria with plans for their future retirement and a slower paced life.

They engaged Altereco Design to design the house, ideally to be made with hempcrete (a composite material made of hemp, sand, and a hydraulic binder), and built by the couple on the Lyonville, Victoria site (located about 80 kilometres north-west of Melbourne).

The resulting house is deliberately small, solar-powered, and features natural and recycled materials to be as sustainable as possible — achieving a 7.6 NatHERS rating.

The hempcrete walls provide an inherent texture and warmth, giving the walls a natural earthy colour, without using any paint!

Written
by
Amelia Barnes
|
Photography
by

Hempcrete House in Lyonville, Victoria; designed by Altereco Design.

Altereco had never designed with hempcrete before this project, but saw the benefits of using the innovative material for its sustainable and hardworking qualities.

Sarah Corbet and David Bruce in their hempcrete country home.

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

The brief from the clients was quite clear: maximise the northern light.

‘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.

‘Our original plan was to build further down the hill, closer to the dam and the forest. But we decided to move the house site up the hill so that it is on the same level as the driveway and workshop. We now find this layout works well and provides a far better view of the Wombat Forest,’ says David.

Multipurpose spaces reduce the overall house footprint.

We ‘want this to become a showcase for design on simple needs,’ says Sarah.

Glossy teal tiles in the bathroom.

‘Hempcrete exhibits remarkable resistance to fire, pests, and mould, providing a durable and secure building material,’ says Altereco director James Goodlet.

Sarah and David were the owner-builders on this project, constructing the house (and surrounding farm, based on permaculture principles) almost entirely on their own over 18 months.

‘We loved that hempcrete was doable for a handy owner-builder.’

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

The house is located on 7.5 acres in Lyonville, Victoria site (about 80 kilometres north-west of Melbourne).

‘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,’ David says.

In addition to hempcrete, the home features reclaimed messmate, Betta Stone recycled glass benchtops, Knauf Earthwool batts, and fire-resistant reclaimed spotted gum.

Writer
Amelia Barnes
Photography
14th of July 2023
Building design
Hempcrete supplier + advisor
Location

Lyonville,VIC/Dja Dja Wurrung Country

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.’

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