[H]URBAN APPLICATION OF HEMP-BASED BUILDING PRODUCT IN THE DEVELOPIING URBAN CENTER OF KAPOLEI, HAWAI'I

Abstract

The globalized industrial process has altered the practice of architecture where design and construction that once sourced local, sustainable building products is now replaced with heavy importation of these materials, and subsequent products, for use in the building industry. This dissertation responds to the unsustainable practices that have become commonplace within the building industry and how these practices have negatively affected our environment globally and locally. The exponential growth of our urban cores has contributed to the continued use of unsustainable building materials and products to provide housing for the increasing population while subsequently producing unhealthy interior building environments. The reaction to this, and the foundation of this project, is to explore the feasibility of alternative building material and product derived from a plant criminalized due to its association with a euphoric-inducing family member – the alternative material being derived from the hemp plant. How can the use of hemp expand upon the building and design industry while increasing the industry’s environmental stewardship responsibilities? How does this use benefit our exterior and interior environments? And how can a building product be continuously applied through the reusing, recycling, and upcycling of a hemp-based building product. The product of this design research is more than just a commodity for the building industry. Still, an initiative in which the processes to produce a hemp-based product is outlined within a framework incorporating cultural perspectives with contemporary practices while accounting for the environmental impacts at every stage of the process.