Construction complete on B.C.’s first sustainable ‘Lego’ home

A Vancouver Island home built using cutting-edge green technology is now move-in ready.

It’s called the Harmless Home, and the exterior walls are constructed out of Lego-like building blocks, made essentially of compressed hemp, lime and water.

Now, it’s being hailed as the most sustainable, safest and most energy-efficient house possible.

Homeowner Arno Keinonen recently settled in.

“We are very happy with the end result,” he said.

The product itself is being manufactured in Calgary. It doesn’t mould and is virtually fire-resistant.

“We heat it up to over 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit, and it barely has an impact,” said Just Bio Fiber builder Mark Faber. “Very unlikely for this house to catch fire.”

1:47 Super-green home built on Vancouver Island

The blocks also absorb carbon, making them grow even stronger over time. As for the cost, it’s in line with other alternatives.

“With those aspects and the condition the world is in now, this just has to go — it just has to,” said Just Bio Fiber director Michael DeChamplain.

The Harmless Home was the first project of its kind, and two more are now in the works.

READ MORE: Mattamy Homes builds first of 5 Net Zero energy-efficient homes in Calgary

The hope is to make this a standard in the building industry, Faber explained.

“So far, we’ve seen that it is easy to use and put together — once we develop and really dial in the system, I think we’ll be able to be competitive with all other building systems out there.”

The home, located just outside Victoria, will continue to be monitored to make sure it’s operating as efficiently as possible.