6. Margent Farm - Corrugated hemp fibre panel.
Margent is a hemp farm located in Cambridgeshire England. Its name comes from the margin surrounding its 50 acres of arable fields which acts as a protection zone and natural habitat for wildlife.
The team is committed to nurturing the topsoil, air and water by practicing organic and regenerative farming methods. As hemp captures carbon as it grows, absorbing it from our atmosphere and converting it to biomass, Margent uses that ‘locked-in’ carbon for product prototypes it hopes will inspire a low impact circular economy.
In a project with Studio Propolis, Margent Farm's corrugated hemp fibre panels were used to front a collection of cabinets. As with many of Studio Propolis’s projects, they start with what they have at hand or can be salvaged. As such, the proportion of the pieces have been defined by the up-cycled corrugated hemp panels from Margent’s early prototypes as well as off-cuts from their external wall cladding (used on the Flat House) which have been set in solid ash frames.
Another important consideration in the design was to treat the cabinets as freestanding vs built in pieces so that they can be moved to a different location or easily be reappropriated in the future if need be.
Designer: Margent Farm
Project: Corrugated hemp fibre panel
Material Breakdown: Hemp fibres within bio-resin matrix
Main Uses: Exterior cladding, interior panelling, product & furniture design
Key Fact: Hemp has extremely high carbon sequestration.
