Cape Cod Hemp House

This award winning project located in Harwich Port, the ‘Cape Cod Hemp House’ was constructed with a pure dedication to sustainability. This contemporary beach house was designed to match the surrounding traditional neighborhood aesthetic. The two buildings were created in a traditional Cape Cod shingle style with a modern interior. One of the most notable The most notable decision was insulating the house with ‘hempcrete’ or hemp-lime: a mix of hemp hurd, lime, sand, and water. The mixture becomes a slurry that can be sprayed into the wall cavities or poured into plywood forms. Spraying is the most efficient application – since there wasn’t a US based vendor, the team imported the spray rig from France and assembled a team of specialists from France, Canada, and the US. Hempcrete is fire resistant, renewable, and has thermal mass so it is able to absorb and disburse heat.

The challenge of creating an environmentally friendly building while maintaining the highest standard of architectural excellence was one that C.H. Newton fully embraced. The movement towards combining energy efficiency with sustainable building practices is constantly evolving with new products, new practices, and new horizons. The fit and finish of the interior of the home reflect our commitment to these principles. This project is a case study on how to build an ecologically sensitive home that is virtually self-sufficient, while also being architecturally unique.

 This home was published in New England Home, “An Environmentally Sensitive Home on Cape Cod,” and in the New York Times, “Their Cape Cod Home Isn’t Small, but Its Carbon Footprint Is.”

Architect: Adam Titrington of Estes Twombly + Titrington Architects | Photographer: Michael J. Lee & Emily O’Brien