Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Monday, Oct 06, 2025

This UK Farmhouse Is Made of Hemp Grown in the Surrounding Fields

This UK Farmhouse Is Made of Hemp Grown in the Surrounding Fields

A hemp farm’s fields flow from the hills to the walls of a new prefab home by Practice Architecture.

History runs deep in the northeast region of England known as Cambridgeshire, home to the world-renowned Cambridge University and some of the country’s oldest archaeological digs dating back to the Bronze Age. The area is also known for producing hemp, which was used for centuries to make everything from rope to fabric, paper, and ship sails.

Drawing upon this agricultural heritage, London-based Practice Architecture incorporated hemp into the exterior cladding of a recently completed, environmentally friendly farmhouse.



The exterior of the farmhouse is clad with prefabricated panels composed of hemp fiber.

The home is located on Margent Farm, a research and development facility specializing in bioplastics made of hemp and flax. Although hemp was outlawed in the 1920s because of its association with narcotics-it’s essentially a low-THC cousin of marijuana-it can be used to produce a wide range of products, and the crop’s ability to sequester carbon makes it an eco-friendly material.



The farmhouse sits on 53 acres of arable land that are largely used as hemp fields.

The farmhouse sits on the foundations of a former barn, and it’s adjacent to other existing buildings on the site.

To illustrate the material’s potential, Margent Farm hired Practice Architecture to design a three-bedroom farmhouse with an exterior made from the first hemp crop grown on-site.

First, the firm worked with the farm to find an appropriate location for the building, which is set on the foundation of a former barn. They then collaborated with engineers and material specialists to develop a prefabricated panel filled with hemp grown on 20 acres of the farm.



The home explores new, innovative ways of utilizing hemp. The kitchen and dining area are located in a double-height space.

The corrugated panels are made of nonwoven hemp fiber blended with a resin made from the farm’s biowaste-like corn cobs, oat hulls, and leftover sugarcane fiber. Underneath these panels lies a layer of hemp-based insulation, which is left exposed for a warm, textured feel.



The bright-yellow cabinets are a playful touch in the otherwise neutral-toned space.

The firm designed the "groundbreaking, radically low embodied carbon house" as a prototype to explore how hemp can be used to create prefabricated, sustainable materials that can be applied to large-scale buildings and homes. Thanks to the prefabricated panels, the home’s exterior was completed in an astounding two days.



The upper and lower level of the home feature exposed hemp panels.

"The building is comprised of a series of linked spaces that transition from a large, open single-glazed hot house to a double-height yet intimate living space, and then into two stories of sleeping accommodations," explains Practice Architecture. The interior includes open spaces for work, collaboration, and education; a research and design laboratory; a bold yellow kitchen, three bedrooms, and a bathroom.



The home’s prefabricated exterior shell was completed in just two days. Inside, the wall panels are framed by lumber.

The interiors maintain a soft, textured feel with natural fibers and wood furniture, and the farmhouse is powered and heated by a biomass boiler and a rooftop photovoltaic array, making it truly off-grid and potentially even carbon neutral.



A wood-clad staircase leads to the upper level. The doors to the bedrooms and bathroom on the ground floor are made out of the same wood, creating a sense of continuity in the space.



One corner of the ground floor is reserved for a "hot house," which is glazed from floor to ceiling with windows and doors. The space is light-filled and airy, with a tall ceiling and woven rugs.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Syria Holds First Elections Since Fall of Assad
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
×