Zac Efron’s Hempcrete House Begins Construction in Australia
By Jean Lotus
An Australian webinar with Dutch-Australian designer Joost Bakker unveiled details of Hollywood actor Zac Efron’s new $2.25 million hempcrete home being built this year in a tropical forest in New South Wales.
Called “Futurecave,” the home consists of connected bio-construction pods to be built on 128 hectares of rainforest property in the muggy mountainous hills of Tweed Shire, near Byron Bay, NSW. The April 23 webinar was hosted by iHemp NSW.
Bakker said he met Zac Efron in 2021.
"When he asked me to design his house, he said, can you use as much hemp as possible," Bakker recalled.
Mold Resistance in the Tropics
Efron's own health history shaped materials selection, Bakker said. The actor suffered mold poisoning and become seriously ill from it. In a high-rainfall subtropical location, that meant moisture management was not optional — it was the starting point.
All the Futurecave pods are elevated off the ground. Louvres are positioned for cross-ventilation. Materials were chosen specifically for their ability to absorb and release moisture rather than trap it. Bakker admitted he was critical of highly airtight passive-house systems for precisely this reason, and the Efron house is built to breathe.
"I actually think a home is like a human being," he said. "If I put wet weather gear on and it doesn't breathe, I start to sweat. A house is no different. And the beauty about working with hemp … [it] can absorb water, but they can release it as well."
On mold specifically, Bakker was unequivocal. "If you're worried about mold, you can't really beat hempcrete or these hemp blocks. It's impossible. They cannot grow on this."
Ideas Guy
Joost Bakker is not an architect or a traditional builder; he describes himself as "just a guy with ideas." Yet, his ideas have generated interest in Australian sustainability over the last two decades. Born in the Netherlands and migrating to Australia in 1982, Bakker’s journey began on his family’s farm in the Dandenong Ranges. It was here that he first witnessed the destructive power of industrial agriculture—specifically the use of methyl bromide to "drop a nuclear bomb" on soil-borne diseases—and the contrasting restorative power of hemp.
After building a name for himself in the 1990s through art and zero-waste installations, Bakker transitioned into the built environment. He gained international acclaim for his pop-up "Greenhouse" restaurants and the "Future Food System" project at Melbourne’s Federation Square, a house designed to feed two people entirely from food grown on its 100-square-meter footprint.
The Full Material Palette
The Efron house sits near Brunswick Heads in the Tweed Shire. It is entirely off-grid — eight kilometres from the nearest power connection, receiving three and a half metres of rainfall a year.
The external finish on the Efron house is a 100% natural cork spray by Diasen manufactured in Italy from wine-cork waste. It is breathable, fire-tested, and provides a rendered appearance, Bakker said. Roof insulation is New Zealand wool.
Flooring is recycled-brick tile from Melbourne embedded with stripped copper wire grounded to the earth. “Zac loves to walk barefoot,” Bakker confided. Bakker has used it on several buildings to keep occupants connected to the earth's magnetic field, he said.
Plumbing uses copper for water lines and recyclable polyethylene rather than PVC. Joinery will be roduced using a plant-based circular resin from Dutch company Plantics.
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