Strumber Hemp 750 Tabletops for the VANK_CUBE System

Project Overview

Implementation date:

2023

Author/project team:

VANK – Anna Vonhausen (designer of the VANK_CUBE system), Husarska Design Studio – Jadwiga Husarska-Sobina, The True Green – R&D team

Crafted by:

The True Green S.A.

Material:

Strumber Hemp 750

Place(s) of presentation:

Vienna Design Week 2023 – ReHemptation by Husarska, Dutch Design Week 2023 – Isola Design / Schellens Fabriek

Awards:

The Strumber Hemp 750 tabletops were developed as experimental structural panels for the modular VANK_CUBE system. The goal was to determine whether a thin 15 mm hemp board 1440x 360mm could replace traditional plywood and function as a load-bearing element during real exhibition use. Each tabletop served both as a quality test and a functional component, used in the ReHemptation exhibition arrangements presented in Vienna and Eindhoven.

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Designing Responsibly: Testing the Limits of the Material

Challenge

The project aimed to confirm whether Strumber Hemp 750 could function as a rigid and stable tabletop at a thickness of only 15 mm. The objectives included:

verifying whether a 750-density material can replace plywood in horizontal elements,
achieving sufficient stiffness and resistance to bending,
ensuring visual and functional compatibility with the VANK_CUBE system,
testing the material’s behavior during intensive public use at major design festivals.

Material & Sustainability

Strumber Hemp 750 is a structural biomaterial made from hemp stalks—an annual plant that absorbs several times more CO₂ than forests. The 750 density provides an optimal balance of:

mechanical strength,
dimensional stability,
low weight,
a deep, natural fiber texture.

Replacing plywood with hemp panels reduces pressure on forest resources and enables furniture manufacturing based on fast-renewing plants.

Results

Form & Manufacturing Process

Each tabletop was produced as an individual verification sample, allowing the teams to test:

stiffness performance of Strumber Hemp 750 at 15 mm,
pressing parameters and fiber compaction,
edge finishing quality,
visual cohesion with the VANK_CUBE system and the overall ReHemptation exhibition concept.

Despite their experimental nature, the elements proved stable, durable, and visually appealing, confirming the material’s suitability for thin structural components.

Exhibitions & Public Reception

The Strumber Hemp 750 tabletops premiered at Vienna Design Week 2023, where they were used intensively as real functional surfaces. Their second presentation took place at Dutch Design Week 2023, as part of the Isola Design exhibition Nothing Happens if Nothing Happens.

In both cases, visitors interacted directly with the furniture—providing real, full-scale public testing of the material. The positive reception confirmed the potential of Strumber Hemp 750 as an alternative to plywood in furniture and modular systems.

Quotes

“We wanted to see how Strumber Hemp 750 would perform in a role traditionally assigned to plywood. We were focused on stiffness, stability, and how the material behaves in everyday use.”

“Each tabletop was a separate experiment—a test of quality, aesthetics, and durability. All of them also had to create a coherent narrative within the exhibition.”

~ Jadwiga Husarska-Sobina