Hempitecture, Inc

LEADER PROFILE

Mattie Mead: Hemp can transform the built environment

What is your position at Hempitecture, Inc. and what do you do?

Founder and CEO. We all wear lots of hats at Hempitecture, as a small team in an emerging and dynamic industry. Generally my role is relationships, internal and external, as well as strategy, brand awareness, marketing, and product. My background is in architecture and construction, so I have a deep passion for sustainability in the built environment. That transcends to the materials Hempitecture offers, and soon, the manufacturing of materials here in the USA to help support the growth of the hemp industry, as well as the sustainable building materials industry.

What most interests you about hemp and hemp building and why?

My interest in hemp building originates from a 2012 thesis study I did as an undergraduate student studying architecture and environmental sciences. During this time I was curious as to how we could make more sustainable materials using earthen materials. I was amazed to learn about the potential of industrial hemp as a low carbon, rapidly renewable raw material that could lend to higher performing, more sustainable building materials. Today, this interest has transformed into a passion that helps guide Hempitecture towards being industry leaders in the hemp building materials space. What most interests me today in the hemp building materials space is thinking about the manufacturing techniques necessary to create the next generation of sustainable building materials.

Mattie Mead (L) and partner Tommy Gibbons (R) of Hempitecture, Inc.

What was a win for your company in the past year?

Receiving research and development support on both a state (Idaho) and federal level through grant and fellowship programs.

What is something about hemp building/construction/processing you didn’t know a year ago?

Initially I was skeptical that the building industry would ever come around to the idea of using new materials and techniques. Today I believe that there are many tailwinds that are encouraging the transformation and I feel more optimistic than ever before that we are on the edge of a transformation in the built environment.

What challenges does the hemp building industry face that it must overcome in the next five years?

“The potential of industrial hemp as a low carbon, rapidly renewable raw material that could lend to higher performing, more sustainable building materials.”

Mattie Mead, Founder and CEO of Hempitecture

I think that the reputation of the hemp building industry needs to mature. It is still viewed in a counter-culture light, and that ill-cast light threatens the legitimacy of the hemp building industry. I think we want to be taken seriously like other natural material industries, such as cotton, wood pulp, and other natural fibers. To do so, we should study and emulate the marketing, leadership, and messaging of these related industries.