Lomandra: Other Architects & Otetto Design Prefab Hemp Home

Otetto and Other Architects have developed a modestly scaled, off-the-plan prefabricated hempcrete house – Lomandra – to address the embodied carbon risk of the Australian government’s plan to build 1.2 million new homes by 2029. 

The government’s housing plan sits uneasily alongside the nation’s emissions target of a 62-70 per cent reduction below 2005 levels by 2035. If housing production ramps up to meet demand without a rethink of how new homes are designed and built, detached houses alone could generate more than 100 million tonnes of embodied carbon*, undermining any path to net zero.

*Detached houses account for 69 per cent of new homes, each averaging 118-158 tonnes of embodied carbon. The scale of construction threatens to undo any climate progress unless the way we design and build fundamentally changes.

Hempcrete, the plant-based construction material made from hemp, sequesters more carbon than is emitted during production and installation, making it carbon negative over its lifecycle. It’s estimated that each Lomandra home would sequester around 50 tonnes of carbon, or almost half the emissions of an average new house. 

Other Architects Director David Neustein says Lomandra has a compact footprint that makes more from less, prioritising efficiency without compromising on beauty. 

“Detached homes have to become smaller, more resource-efficient and more adaptable if we’re to meet Australia’s housing and climate goals,” Neustein says. “Lomandra shows how architecture can help reconcile affordability, environmental performance and a high quality of life.” 

Otetto Co-Founder Amanda Marsh says we need to start demanding more from our housing. 

“Building more homes is critical,” Marsh says. “But how we build them, and what we build them from, will determine whether we meet our climate goals or fall short. Hemp prefabricated housing offers a way to do both.” 

“It’s no longer enough to carry on with business as usual, we need to change how we think about homebuilding.” 

She says prefabricated hempcrete housing offers people a chance to create healthier homes for themselves, their community and the planet more broadly. 

“Every Otetto home is designed to be better for the environment from day one,” Marsh says. “Lomandra demonstrates how prefabrication and smart design combined with regenerative materials can create homes that are low-carbon and highly liveable.” 

Lomandra’s generous and flexible floorplan eliminates unnecessary and wasted space like corridors, instead offering rooms that can adapt to changing needs. The layout supports ageing in place, dual occupancy or live-in carers through dual-key options and reconfigurable bathrooms. 

A simple, single-storey form ensures accessibility and economy, while a double-storey configuration can be adopted where appropriate. The home is designed to suit small or irregular sites, level or sloping land and all solar orientations, with streamlined approvals possible under the NSW Complying Development Code and the Victorian Single Home Code. 

The house’s passive performance is central to its design, with thermally stabilised Living Canvas hempcrete walls, floors and roof panels working with optimised sunlight, natural ventilation to create a seamless flow between indoor and outdoor spaces. Every space is carefully considered to draw in natural light, fresh air and greenery at every opportunity. 

Intimate private zones are balanced with spacious living areas that open to garden courtyards and sheltered terraces, extending daily life outdoors. 

Exposed hempcrete walls provide raw texture, natural performance and enduring strength, while integrated timber joinery adds warmth and refinement to pared-back interiors. 

Neustein says prefabricated hemp housing is a ‘win-win’. 

“It’s rare to find really beautiful homes that offer these huge environmental benefits,” he says. 

“Prefabricated homes also have cost and time certainty, and eliminate hidden costs associated with builds that run overtime and over budget.” 

Lomandra is the third of Otetto’s architecturally designed prefabricated hemp homes, which showcase how hemp can support healthier, more climate responsive living. 

More information: Otetto | Other Architects | Living Canvas