Guilhem Douillet, Senior Lecturer at the University of Bern (Exogene Geology) and founder of the start-up ‘Isoterra Bautech’ is a busy person. He cares about a lot of things, from climate change to urban sprawl in Switzerland. With his start-up ‘Isoterra Bautech’, he gets active not only imaginary but also physically.

«It feels like I’m acting. The construction sector represents around 45% of final energy consumption, 40% of the worldwide waste volume, and 30% of CO2 emissions. Every step to make this giant more sustainable represents a huge impact», he explains.

How did you come up with these building blocks from hemp shives?

«This story begins with me as a house owner, looking for a suitable way to insulate my house as picky customer. I could not find an adequate solution on the market, so I had to develop a solution suiting my needs and the bill of environmental specifications that I raised. My solution received attention from others. What began as a personal need became noticed in the press, and now I have interested customers asking for it.»

You are currently considering various ways of setting up ‘Isoterra Bautech’ organizationally and legally. What are your thoughts?
«Construction materials are heavy and voluminous, they have to be locally produced. The use of raw earth for the clay-hemp blocs adds to the complexity; every earth is unique. Creating a decentralized network of factories with established craftsmen in their region is thus guided by commonsense, and it has the potential to build a stable and resilient structure in uncertain times. Licensing is one of the options to achieve such a sprawling, but I also imagine a production cooperative.

The more people think and work together, the more knowledge and ideas flourish. Everyone has skills where they perform. I develop an idea, communicate about it, gather people from different horizons to solve problems. The colleagues that accreted around this project came with backgrounds from tile factory, the cement industry, architecture, building trade. Opening up brought our team to encompass all aspects needed to grow this project, from the field-experience with clay to the conception and implementation of building solutions. Handing out is not scary, it can only increase the amount of skills and views.»

What are you currently working on?

«Too many things, as usual. Within my SNF geology project, I just spent a few months with my PhD student working in the field in the Sahara. This spring time will be dedicated to the projects of two master students in the Bern area.

During my free time, I follow workshops, short courses and read around the enthusiastic growth of sustainable building methods. It’s a fascinating cosmos with lots of initiatives. I’m also working on two clay-hemp sub-products that were initiated through discussions with architects, in order to answer their particular needs.»

Thank you for your answers and all the best in all of your activities!