Root Down House Plan Co. is excited to be launching the Hempstead series of residential house plans; a collaboration between April Magill , Principal Architect of Root Down Designs / Executive Director of RDBC, Gina Iacovelli, Healthy Interior Designer of RDD, and Tim Callahan, the founder of Alembic Studio and author of “Building Green." Together they represent over 45 years of experience in design and construction including 35 years of natural building and hempcrete experience. April has been a pioneer in the natural and alternative building movement in the south; providing architectural services and consulting, as well as educational workshops and events for a multitude of alternative methods, and successfully gaining permit approval on dozens of projects using alternative materials. Tim has been a pioneer in the Hempcrete housing movement for the past decade and has successfully designed and navigated the permit process for 12 hempcrete homes, to date. Tim was also the co-founder of the Nauhaus Hempcrete Pilot Project in Asheville, NC. (see their full bios below)
This initial offering is comprised of eight designs, ranging in size from 308 s.f. to 3800 s.f. for the construction of healthy and durable homes crafted with innovation, sustainability, and inclusivity at heart.
All plan packages include a full set of highly detailed hempcrete house plans, plus information for material resources, hempcrete installation options and methods, and permitting and financing considerations. The compiled information is a result of years of working experience in hempcrete, other natural building methods, as well as conventional construction design and permitting processes. We are also happy to be offering two designs meeting the standard for Universal Design to meet the needs of persons of limited mobility, or those wishing to age-in-place. See additional info below.
Feel good about your purchase; for each Hempstead Living Plan purchased, 25% of the purchase price will be donated to the Root Down Building Collective, a non-profit organization working to advance regional, climate-smart, and equitable housing solutions.
Come and step into the world of Hempstead Living with us!
PHOTO CREDITS: JOEL CALDWELL, APRIL MAGILL, TIM CALLAHAN, AND ALEMBIC STUDIO
SHOP OUR HEMPSTEAD LIVING HOUSE PLANS
info to help you through this process
576 SF | 24’ x 30’ Footprint
1,296 SF | 24’ x 60’ Footprint
308 SF | 14’ x 22’ Footprint
1,040 SF | 26’ x 50’ Footprint
1,360 SF | 22’ x 52’ Footprint
480 SF | 21’ x 23’ Footprint
1,175 SF | 53’ x 30’ Footprint
3,800 SF | 58’ x 50’ Footprint
Additional Information + faq
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The Hempstead Living house plans are meant to serve as a streamlined process for building a hempcrete home; utilizing a pre-designed house plan eliminates a large amount of both time and money from the pre-design process. We can make minor revisions to any of the Hempstead house plans shown here. Minor revisions are defined as any internal changes; any change which requires moving the exterior walls, the roof, or the floor system results in custom changes; all custom changes can be administered through one of our partner companies.
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All building permits are granted through your local building and zoning departments; each municipality may have their own specific requirements. We offer a complete and comprehensive amount of documentation, but we ALWAYS recommend meeting with your local building department first, to understand what they will require for permit approval. It is possible that they may require an architect's stamp, structural engineering, or other specific requirements. Always check with your local jurisdiction first.
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General notes on Residential Building Codes. & specific notes on Hempcrete + IRC Hempcrete code appendix, Floor Plans, Roof Plan, Exterior Building Elevations (4), Building Sections, Wall Sections, Hempcrete Details, Interior Elevations (Limited), Window/Door Information, Suggested Electrical Plan , IECC REScheck Energy Code Compliance Report, HEALTHY HOMES specification package , Permitting Data for Bio-Aggregate Insulation - Hempcrete , “Considerations for the Implementation of Bio-Aggregate Insulation in Residential Construction” document, Hempcrete Resource Directory
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We offer 1hr. video consultations through the Root Down Building Collective, 501c3; make a tax-deductible donation of $300 to receive a consultation with Tim and/or April. Donations can be made here: https://www.rootdownbuildingcollective.org/consultations
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We are still within our 'soft launch' phase; most plans will take us approximately 2 weeks to deliver. However, this timeline will grow shorter over time, whereas some of our plans will be ready immediately after purchase, and eventually all of our plans will be ready immediately after purchase.
APRIL MAGILL
April is a leading voice in the advancement of alternative, climate-smart & healthy building methods and has been a pioneer in the southeast. She is an Architect, small business owner, Executive Director, and Adjunct Professor; April has been a keynote speaker and presenter to many organizations and universities over the past decade.
April has been a Charleston County resident since 2004 and has devoted her career to the advancement of sustainable architecture and affordable housing. After advancing her career at several Charleston architecture firms, in 2011 she took a leap of faith and founded Root Down Designs, a women-led architecture firm dedicated to sustainable architecture and affordable housing in the south where she serves as the Principal Architect. April pioneered several carbon-negative and alternative housing prototypes in Charleston, such as a Rammed-Earth home and Compressed Earth Blocks. She has worked with multiple building jurisdictions in helping clients obtain building permits for alternative materials and healthy housing. Working with financially-challenged clients and creating affordable building options has been a strong tenant of the Root Down team.
As a way to educate about these healthy and natural building materials, she began teaching building workshops with a ‘community-building’ ethos embedded. April has led over 4 dozen community-building workshops and courses across the southeast, including educational institutions such as Greenville Technical College, The Governor’s School of Science & Math, and the American College of Building Arts. Her passion for sustainable architecture and community-building workshops was noticed by The American College of the Building Arts, and she began serving as the Professor of Sustainable Materials in 2018.
Tim Callahan
Tim is a former naval architect and general contractor. He is now in his fifth decade of design-build work, with extensive experience in guitar-making, timber framing, custom cabinetry, custom blue-water sailboats and residential construction. Since 1995, his work has been focused on the creation of healthy & energy-efficient homes. In an effort to develop a model for a low-carbon and non-toxic living environment, Tim led the design team for the Nauhaus Prototype in 2009; this was the first of 10 permitted hemp-lime projects which he has designed, ranging in size from 1200-9600 square feet. In 2005, Tim authored the book, ‘Building Green: A Complete Guide to Alternative Building Methods.” Tim lives in Asheville, NC, where he enjoys the outdoors and making music with his friends. Nauhaus Prototype
Connect with Tim! Donate $300 to RDBC for a 1-hour Zoom/Call Consultation on Hempcrete!
Gina Iacovelli
Gina has been an interior designer and architectural draftsman in Charleston, SC for over 12 years. She joined Root Down Designs in 2018 to re-introduce alternative building materials + advocate for affordable healthy housing.
Over the past 5 years, Gina has been studying scientific research and journals on redlist chemicals, VOCs, and other toxic materials commonly found in North American homes. Her focus was to understand how these compounds interact with our hot and humid Southeastern climate, leading to poor indoor air quality. With this information as a driving force, her designs are geared towards providing materials and fixtures that promote healthier living and encourage a better world through ethical manufacturing. In 2023, she earned a certificate from Parsons School of Design for ‘Healthier Materials and Sustainable Building.