WASHINGTON, DC: – Hemp building materials will be featured on the National Mall in Washington DC as part of the annual HUD/National Association of Home Builders Innovative Housing Showcase in June. The annual event June 9 – 11 presents cutting-edge building innovations to the public in an outdoor showcase.
The Innovative Housing Showcase is a three-day event featuring “new building technologies and housing solutions that are making housing more innovative, resilient, and affordable for American families,” according to HUD.
US Hemp Building Association will exhibit at a booth at the National Mall, featuring dozens of hemp building materials from hempcrete to HempWood, to hemp batt insulation and hemp rebar. Using hemp for building materials, employing technology well-developed for 30 years in Europe, is a quick win for building material uses for the plant.
“The National Association of Home Builders is honored to once again to co-host this incredible event with the Department of Housing and Urban Development,” said Alicia Huey, Chairman of the NAHB Board. “In an industry that is often seen as slow to innovate, this is a key opportunity to show that home builders are an active part of the solution to the housing affordability crisis,” she added.
More than 2,500 people, including policymakers, housing industry representatives, media and the general public, are expected to attend, HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge said. This is the third time HUD has hosted the showcase, which previously was staged in 2019 and 2022.
By lucky coincidence, the role of industrial hemp as a US row crop is being discussed in Congress leading up to the 2023 Farm Bill.
USHBA President Ray Kaderli announced a partnership Mandi Kerr of Utah-based Global Hemp Association to make key relationships with congressional staffers during the showcase.
“This partnership provides advocacy for the total supply chain of industrial hemp from the seed to the walls of a building,” Kaderli said. “Global Hemp Association has provided advocacy and leadership for the genetics and farming of industrial hemp to build our agricultural supplies. US Hemp Building Association provides advocacy for the raw materials made into building materials. The whole supply chain is represented.”
The Innovative Housing Showcase is presented in June. Image courtesy of HUD
Hemp building materials will also be showcased as part of the Department of Energy’s emphasis on plant-based decarbonizing building materials. Hemp building material companies participating in various DOE incubators were invited to attend, including Indianapolis-based Chris “Mr. Hemphouse” Penn and Idaho-based Hempitecture’s HempWool.
Corporate members of USHBA are invited to exhibit their samples and products at the USHBA booth. Please reach out to Ray@ushba.org for more information.