The Hemp Hotel, the tallest building in the world built from cannabis, according to the International Hemp Building Association, is due to open in Cape Town’s CBD on November 1. The 84 Harrington Street property belongs to Duncan Parker, the co-founder of Hemporium, a company that operates in the hemp industry.
“I bought 84 Harrington in 2016, with the idea that it would become a flagship Hemporium store, a steak restaurant and that it would house the Hemp Hotel, a place where people can experience living in a hemp-constructed space,” says Parker. The hotel’s about 50 apartments are not for sale but some will be available to rent. A Hemporium store will be on the ground floor.
A collaboration between Hemporium, Afrimat Hemp, and Wolf + Wolf Architects, construction of the hotel started in 2019. The walls of the building are made from hempcrete blocks, reinforced by a concrete and cement structure. Hemp bricks are becoming more popular in construction because they provide good insulation, are fire-resistant and environmentally friendly. And, as they have a negative carbon footprint they remove more greenhouse gases from the atmosphere than they produce.
Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a type of the Cannabis sativa plant grown for industrial or medicinal use. According to Afrimat Hemp, which made the bricks for the hotel, a 40m² home constructed with hemp has a carbon footprint three tons lower than a conventional building of the same size.
Parker says one of the project’s main goals is to promote and industrialise the cannabis industry. The Hemp Hotel was more expensive because hemp was imported from England. However, with hemp cultivation licenses issued in SA last year, future projects will be more cost-effective as hemp can be sourced locally.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has also highlighted the importance and potential of the cannabis and the hemp industry. He said it could create a significant number of new job opportunities and that the government is working on establishing a framework for the legitimate use of cannabis in various industries such as medicine, food, cosmetics and industrial products.
