In recent years, the green building sector is increasingly interested in hemp and lime biocomposites, as high-performance materials for their thermal and acoustic insulation. According to tests carried out by the ENEA Research Center in Brindisi, as part of the EFFEDIL project, lime-hemp is breathable, fire-resistant and does not rot; in the event of a fire, in fact, it slows the spread of flames.
Besides these practical and economic advantages, great consideration is given to environmental issues. Hemp can block CO2, the greenhouse gas responsible for 63% of anthropogenic global warming (European Commission data).
The most eco-friendly yoga center in the world is a virtuous example of the application of such materials in architecture. In Eslöv (Sweden), about forty kilometers away from Malmö, the center is being built with the use of hemp and lime, which can absorb more CO2 than they produce. Specifically, there will be 4,300 square meters for new buildings, in addition to the approximately 2,500 square meters of energy efficiency of existing buildings.
The complex will in fact host Divinya, the Ashram Yoga (place of meditation and hermitage) immersed in a park of 2 million square meters, where every year thousands of people come from all over the world to meet the Indian Master Guruji Sri Vast.
Moreover, this pioneering project involves the technology and patent including hemp, lime and symbiotic microorganisms developed by the Italian Gilberto Barcella, a professional specialized in renovation and construction with hemp and natural lime, now research & development, sales and technical director for the division Tecnocanapa by Senini di Montichiari. During these last months, the team of the Brescia-based company has been supporting and training the local and Indian manpower, besides helping the technicians in the different construction details.
“The buildings have a wooden supporting structure, with exterior and plaster made of hemp and lime. They cover a total area of 6,300 square meters and are used to house thousands of people who participate to the events for several days. It is a conference room, a reception and treatment center, café, restaurant, spa and a temple for seminars and courses”, Barcella explains. “The building site will have to be finished in two years and will help to store 190 tons of CO2 in the building envelope. The machines that produce over 100 square meters of masonry per day allow us to be very competitive and bring true green building to large scale”.
