‘It was a mad idea because I had never even done any gardening before...’
up – it’s not fair what we have left behind. I was in a position to create something that would inspire change, to help to try to fix the planet.
‘Hemp fought the climate crisis on lots of fronts – carbon, plastic, poor soil health. So I decided to buy some land and grow a house from hemp. It was a mad idea as I had never even done any gardening before!’
Steve employed local growers to help, and his first harvest produced enough raw materials to construct the house, which was designed by architect Paloma Gormley. The internal fibres of the hemp were mixed with lime and water to create ‘hempcrete’ and then poured into wooden cassettes to create the frame of the building.
‘The hempcrete insulates the house and removes toxins from the air, letting it breathe,’ says Steve. ‘It also stores energy so drastically reduces the need for heating in winter. In summer it regulates temperatures and keeps the place cool. The acoustics are also incredible which, in my profession, is an added bonus!’
The corrugated cladding is groundbreakingly constructed from the stalk and impregnated with bio-resins to create a weatherproof bio-plastic. The whole project from sowing the seeds to moving in took just 18 months. ‘It really is a wonderful material,’ says Steve.
So wonderful that academics from Cambridge University are now studying the material and working alongside Steve and his team to develop compostable wind turbines.
‘We have had 2,000 architects from around the world wanting to know what we are doing, wanting to be a part of something that is very exciting,’ Steve explains.
The house itself is stunning, and a real family home.
Steve’s daughter Gemma, husband Henry and their two daughters returned to the UK from Nairobi just as the pandemic started and moved in. Every bit of the house is utilised.
There’s a double-height living area with floor-to-ceiling windows with an open-plan cook’s kitchen.
The centrepiece is a glorious dining table constructed from off-cuts of marble that were heading for landfill (marble.partners.com).
A modern feature staircase made from sustainable wood leads up to the bedrooms. The master has a terrace with breathtaking views across the countryside.
The frame of the steel cowshed remains to honour the building’s heritage. As does the original brick-built barn, which is used as a studio to make the cladding and hemp trays and coasters, coloured by turmeric. There’s also a glassbottled salve called ‘Hemp will save the f***ing World’ made in collaboration with artist Harland Miller (it’s a line from one of his novels), which has just been stocked by the Conran Shop. And a delicious hemp seed oil for salads.
‘No one thing can fix the climate crisis,’ adds Steve. ‘But as long as people are transitioning towards change, we can all make a difference.
‘And a transition to bio-based construction would have a huge and positive regenerative impact in responding to the challenges we are all now facing.’