A Hobart university building insulated with hemp has won the top commercial prize at the 2026 Master Builders Tasmania Awards for Excellence announced in Hobart tonight.
The Forest, a redevelopment of the University of Tasmania’s former Forestry building on Melville Street, features the largest use of hempcrete in a commercial building anywhere in the Southern Hemisphere.
The project earned Hansen Yuncken the title of Tasmanian Commercial Builder of the Year.
Hempcrete is made from the woody core of the hemp plant mixed with lime and water, packed around a structural frame as insulating walling.
The judges praised the project’s scale, with the team working across 15,000 square metres of heritage building, joining several existing structures and meeting strict sustainability targets.
“This is a once in a generation asset for Tasmania,” Master Builders Tasmania chief executive Jenna Cairney said.
“Using hempcrete at this scale had not been done before in a commercial building here. That tells you something about an industry willing to back an idea that has not been tried.”
A record 196 entries were received this year, with more than 700 people filling PW1 for the biggest awards program in the association’s history.
Davies Construction was named Residential Builder of the Year after winning five of its seven entered categories, with projects featuring airtight walls, advanced ventilation and homes needing almost no heating.
“Five wins from seven categories is not luck,” Cairney said. “That is a team doing it right on every job.”
Beardwood won two categories for The Vale, a home that took four years to build with more than 80 individual brick profiles shaped by hand. Its bathroom won a separate category.
Ed Jamieson, managing director of Jamieson Edwards Builders, was named Young Builder of the Year, while Will Thomson of AJR Construct took out State Apprentice of the Year.
Winners will now go on to represent Tasmania at the national Awards.
Cairney said the event also boosted Hobart’s small businesses, with attendees filling hotel rooms, restaurants and taxis across the city.
“More than 700 people came into this city for one night. They bought suits at Routleys, they had drinks at the Customs House, they filled hotel rooms, restaurants and taxis right across Hobart and Salamanca,” she said.
“That is small business backing small business.”
“When building and construction is going well, everybody around it goes well.”
