Aussie is further down the hemp construction track than NZ. This shouldn’t be so, considering we had the same 2006 starting point.
Klara Marosszeky (Managing Director of the Australian Hemp Masonry Company) recounts: “I first became interested in hemp in 1999. At that time the NSW Department of Primary Industries position on hemp was “It’s not a viable crop for NSW!”
“I planted my first Hemp crop in 1999 and we started research the following year at NSW University, that was supervised by my brother. He was the Founding Director of the Australian Centre for Construction Innovation at UNSW and he is still involved with Lean Construction and Safety and Durability in buildings.”
She adds, “There are at least 6 hemp buildings in New Zealand that are finished or soon to be finished. We’re involved with 3 of them. In Australia there are 260 plus hemp buildings including a few commercial builds.”
Klara’s Australian Hemp Masonry Company is a training, consultancy, and resource company for Architects and Building Designers, engineers, builders and owner-builders.
If you’re interested in learning more about Klara’s hemp construction journey or the Australian Hemp Masonry Company read the full story in this month’s iHemp Magazine – Fibre Construction.