TRADICAL HEMP RENDER CONTRIBUTES TO TRANSFORMING THIS PUBLIC BUILDING

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TRADICAL HEMP RENDER CONTRIBUTES TO TRANSFORMING THIS PUBLIC BUILDING

The stone façades were repaired and the interior was redesigned to include spaces that would be open to the public, an exhibition space, a documentation centre, a cafeteria and a meeting room.
An indoor walkway open right up to the roof of the building was created to encourage interaction and provide natural ventilation that flows through the building, which is key to thermal comfort in summer.

Limiting the environmental impact

Local and renewable energy-efficient materials were used, such as wood, hemp and so on.

The key points

There was an emphasis on quality in terms of the urban context, use and energy efficiency – by optimising indoor humidity and acoustic levels – and energy and water management.

Hygrothermal and acoustic comfort

This comfort is provided by the insulation, the heating system and the ventilation system.
The client opted for a Tradical® Hemp Render insulation solution. Thanks to the breathability of the render, it was a perfect match for the existing architecture: half-timbering on the inside of the building and thick high-inertia stone and brick walls (see the cross-section in the Tradical® Hempcrete brochure, p.21)

Tradical® Hemp Render also helps to absorb ambient noise.

Tradical Hemp Render performance ratings

Consumption measured as primary energy (PE) in kWh per m² of net floor area (SHON) per year (readings taken in 2004 and 2005)

  • Gas (heating): 86 kWhPE/m²/year
  • Electricity: 23 kWhPE/m²/year
  • TOTAL: 109 kWhPE/m²/year
Project actors
  • Méandre Architecture (in the Seine-Saint-Denis department-France)
  • MCI Thermiques (in the Marne department-France)
Interested in learning more about Tradical?

BCB Tradical®: contact@weber-tradical.com

Examples of hempcrete homes and buildings

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USING HEMPCRETE TO RESTORE THE TOURIST OFFICE IN TROYES

The building that is now home to the tourist office was built at the start of the 16th century in an old quarter of Troyes called Foires de Champagne, which was famous throughout medieval Europe.

The main contractor wanted to restore this building in keeping with traditional architecture, but using modern techniques that have proved their worth over the last 15 years in the town of Troyes, where several buildings have already been restored using Tradical® Hempcrete.
Claire Perron, the architect in charge of the project for the town council’s Urban Development and Heritage department, is an expert in restoring traditional buildings and offered to use a material that was suitable for half-timbering, but would not compromise its charm.

Hempcrete offered the thermal and vapour regulating properties required for the insulation and it was one of the reasons why the architect chose this material.

Hempcrete inherently rhymes with thermal performance. The tourist office building provides a perfect example of the benefits of hempcrete when you want to save energy and improve thermal performance.

Tradical® Hempcrete and thermal performance

The energy value recorded is barely above 100 kWh per m2 per year, making the building eligible for French Bâtiment Basse Consommation Effinergie Rénovation certification. The entire building will be monitored for its hygrothermal performance and comfort using an integrated monitoring system.

This project actually enabled Troyes to win the French regional PREBAT 2011 call for projects, becoming the only town to be awarded a prize for an old building.

Tradical® Hempcrete casting and Tradical® Hemp Render and Lime Render application
Insulating screed made with Tradical Hempcrete

In the basement, Capristo cast an insulating screed in a part of the building that was going to be used for the archives. It was cast in compliance with French professional rules (included at the project design stage). A 25 cm thick drained hardcore layer was laid and a Tradical (BCB) Hempcrete screed, made of Tradical PF 70 + hurds, was cast on top of it.

300 m² of half-timbered Tradical® Hempcrete walls

Léon Noël, a firm of builders specialised in listed buildings, carried out the hempcrete work involved for the half-timbering and the roof.
The builders sprayed a 30 cm thick insulating wall between the timber framing: Tradical® PF 70 plus hurds (mix proportions = two bags of Tradical® PF 70 for one bag of hurds).

300 m² of exterior wall finished with traditional Tradical® lime render

A complementary material that would respect the vapour permeability of the hempcrete wall was required. The builders therefore applied a two-centimetre thick layer of traditional Tradical® lime render, with base and brown coats made with Tradical® PF 70 plus sand, and the finishing coat made with Tradical® PF 80 plus sand and natural pigments.

Interiors finished with a Tradical® Hemp Render

Again, with the idea of maintaining the hygrothermal performance of the hempcrete wall, the builders applied a three-centimetre thick layer of hygrothermal lime render, made with Tradical® PF 80 plus hurds.

340 m² of roof insulated with Tradical® Hempcrete

The builders mechanically cast the hempcrete to a thickness of 30 cm (mix proportions = one bag of Tradical® PF 70 for one bag of hurds).

Project file - Troyes Tourist Office
  • Net floor area: 712 m2
  • Net floor area (SHON) created: 302 m2
  • Building height: 14.82 m

 

  • Main contractor: Troyes city council – Building department – Architect, Claire Perron
  • Thermal engineering consultants: MCI Thermiques
  • Company in charge of demolition, masonry, stone cutting and hempcrete casting: LEON NOEL SAS
  • Contractor in charge of structural work and casting the insulating screed in the basement: Entreprise Capristo
  • Contractor in charge of the timber framing: Les Charpentiers de Troyes

 

  • Insulation methods: Mechanically projected hempcrete infill for the half-timbering and the roof, and hempcrete projected onto a hardcore layer for the screed.
  • Hempcrete project end date: August 2012
  • Total surface area of hempcrete: 630 m2 with an infill thickness of 30 cm
Interested in learning more about Tradical?

BCB Tradical®: contact@weber-tradical.com

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Maison des Etudiants – Marne la Vallée Campus

Renovation and conversion

The Ile-de-France regional council awarded this project to architects Belus et Henocq. The architects reinvented the idea of traditional rural architecture, with a daring yet respectful architectural approach to heritage, opening the door to the future for this site which now houses offices, meeting rooms, multi-purpose rooms and a cafeteria.

The main contractor offered a solution consisting of a Tradical® insulating lime-hemp lining made with Chanvribat® and coated with a Tradical® hygrothermal render, and it works excellently here as a high-performance insulation layer. The building benefits from the material’s plasticity in view of the geological constraints imposed by the marl-type soil.

Tradical® Hempcrete lining and stone walls are a perfect match

The architects decided to keep the large open spaces of the barns (9 m up to the roof ridge and 4.5 m high walls). These volumes required excellent insulation.
The volumetric dimensions are 862 m3 for the cafeteria, 2,329 m3 for the open space in building A, 231 m3 for the music room, 1,009 m3 for the multi-purpose room, and 713 m3 for the dance studio.
BCB’s insulation solution consists of an insulating lining combined with an insulating render.
It was chosen because it has a high thermal performance rating, it is perfect for mineral substrates, it has excellent hygrothermal properties and it can be used on high walls.

Performance rating of this public building

Awarded French high energy efficiency (HPE) C certification (ref. -10%)

Tradical® Hempcrete casting and hemp-based render application
Tradical Hempcrete lining
  • Thickness of 14 to 18 cm. Overall R value of 1.8 m² K/W for the room.
  • Surface area of 650 m²
  • With the Tradical® PF70 + Chanvribat® blend
Tradical® Hemp Render finish
  • Thickness of 3 cm
  • Surface area of 650 m²
  • With Tradical PF 80 M + hemp
Contact us for more information

BCB Tradical®contact@weber-tradical.com:

More examples about hempcrete houses and buildings

Préfabrication béton de chanvre détail technique

TAFFENEAUX LOGISTICS BASE

Prefabricated walls made of Tradical® Hempcrete – building in record time

Although hempcrete prefabrication is a growing sector due to the material’s thermal, acoustic and health properties, the fact that prefabrication can save time is also worth considering.

Companies can deliver projects in record time and find solutions to challenges faced by project owners.


Six key factors for faster project delivery

1. A solution that was easy to reproduce

  • Prefabricated panels were produced in exactly the same way (2 m x 50 x 5 m) and adapted to delivery requirements

2. Panels manufactured in one and the same place

  • LCA and Entreprise Fernandez worked at LCA’s production site.
  • LCA made the frame structure swiftly thanks to their material expertise and Entreprise Fernandez cast the hempcrete directly on site.
  • Working at the same site avoided costly transport between workshops, reduced production time and was less tiring for the workers.

3. Local storage facilities

  • From the outset, LCA reserved a part of their site for on-site storage of the panels, again reducing transport needs.

4. Making the most of the holiday period!

  • The hempcrete was cast in compliance with French professional rules over a few days in July.
  • As hempcrete does not take very long to dry (28 days to attain the required performance ratings – like for concrete) thanks to Tradical® Thermo lime, the panels were left to dry over the summer break.
  • After the holidays, the panels were ready to be delivered to the building site.

5. Well thought-out transport

  • The dimensions of the panels were calculated by LCA’s engineering consultants to be sure they would fit on the truck.
  • The panels were carefully laid one on top of the other and separated by planks.
  • The weight of the panels was pre-calculated to ensure they would not compress the wood fibre boards that covered them.

6. A record assembly time – one week

  • Thanks to a layout plan produced by the agency CAN-ia, which specialises in this building method (prefabrication plus hempcrete), the assembly time was really short: just one week for about 200 m² of walls.

 

Pre-integrated conduits and ducts

to guarantee the performance of the prefabricated Tradical® Hempcrete walls

Acting both as architecture and engineering experts, CAN-ia had planned in advance to integrate conduits and ducts in the body of the panels themselves. This solution has long been recommended by BCB Tradical®. It meant that the placement of conduits and ducts was pre-planned.

The solution not only made work easier for the electricians, but importantly also ensured that the thermal and acoustic performance of Tradical® Hempcrete was maintained by avoiding any thermal bridges.

The conduits were integrated at the casting stage, avoiding the need to cut any chases.

The teamwork fostered by the builders and the main contractor was a stroke of genius; this solution will definitely be used for other building projects in the future.

 

View the full report in our news section


Project profile for the Taffeneaux logistics base

The project

  • Tertiary sector building: New build for a logistics base
  • Location: Les Taffeneaux – a Sable d’Olonne district council project
  • Office surface area: 400 m²
  • Workshop surface area: 600 m² for servicing and repairing household waste collection trucks

 

Project actors

  • Contracting authority: Sables d’Olonne district council
  • Main contractor:  CAN-ia – Hangar 20, 20 Quai des Antilles, 44200 Nantes, France. can-ia.fr.
  • LCA – Les Charpentiers de l’Atlantique: Timber framework and Tradical® Hempcrete panels
  • Entreprise Fernandez: Tradical® Hempcrete casting in LCA’s workshop

 

Building methods for the office space

  • Hempcrete-filled timber frame walls, glue-laminated timber framework

 

Hempcrete supplier

  • BCB Tradical®: walls cast with Tradical®Thermo + Chanvribat®

 

Characteristics of Tradical® Hempcrete prefabricated walls

  • Panel dimensions: Max. length of 5 m and a height of 2.4 m
  • Number of panels: about 40
  • Volume of hempcrete: 42 m3

Contact us for more information

BCB Tradical®: contact@weber-tradical.com

 

Case study produced by Sandrine Wiart, BCB Tradical® Press Officer. Tel.: +33 (0)134 947 733

Examples of hempcrete homes and buildings