Before

When we first saw the apartment we thought “nobody can live here!”. The condition of the apartment was especially affected by its location on the ground floor. Wet moldy air and coldness came from the basement and resulted in a terrible living climate. Clay and hemp were therefore the perfect building resources because of its abilities to regulate humidity. In more humid periods they can take and save humidity and give them up in the dryer and warmer periods. Hemp also has great thermal abilities, so it was the perfect insulation material between the basement and floor.
The whole renovation process was very exciting and we learned a lot. In our opinion, this should definitely be the future of building! Better for human and the environment!

Challenges & Learnings
Clay plaster generally needs a long time to dry, since a lot of water is used in the mixture. Our learning: don’t start constructing in the winter or when it’s cold. We did exactly this mistake: the clay plaster refused to dry out on its own. We needed an industrial dehumidifier and a mobile heater to accomplish the mission.
Another learning was the price. We always thought that building with natural resources is very cost-intensive. No doubt, the materials are a bit more expensive but not as much as we thought. The total price was about 15% higher than building traditionally. We think that this markup is definitely worth it, taking the benefits - for your health and the environment - into account.