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Zac Efron builds a sustainable house almost entirely of hemp in Australia, near Byron Bay, with designer Joost Bakker. The property will feature six bedroom modules, private bathrooms, rooftop gardens, and eco-friendly materials, in an area of rainforest, ancient cedars, and waterfalls.
The sustainable house of Zac Efron is being built with hemp in Australia, about an hour from Byron Bay, in New South Wales. The project was detailed by People on June 10, 2026, and involves the actor, known for High School Musical, and the Dutch-Australian designer Joost Bakker.
The residence, nicknamed by Efron as FutureCave, will be made primarily with hemp, from the internal bricks to the carpentry. The project is being developed on a 128-hectare plot purchased by the actor in 2020 and includes six bedroom modules, each with a private bathroom and rooftop garden, as well as a large living room.
Zac Efron swaps the traditional standard for an ecological refuge
The new sustainable house of Zac Efron draws attention because it breaks away from the common logic of celebrity mansions. Instead of focusing solely on apparent luxury, exaggerated size, or conventional finishes, the project bets on natural materials and integration with the environment.
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The choice of hemp places the work on another level of curiosity. According to People, the material will be used in various parts of the residence, including internal bricks, carpentry, mattress, curtains, and pillows. The idea is to create a refuge that unites architecture, rest, and environmental awareness.
Project is located near Byron Bay, in an area surrounded by nature
The property is located in New South Wales, about an hour from Byron Bay, one of the most well-known regions on the Australian coast. The land purchased by Efron in 2020 covers 128 hectares, according to information cited by People from the Australian Financial Review.
The surrounding area reinforces the unusual character of the project. The location is described as being surrounded by virgin rainforest, 500-year-old cedars, and waterfalls. It’s not just about building a beautiful house, but about creating a space designed to be immersed in the natural landscape.
Hemp will be the central material of the construction
Hemp appears as the main element of the sustainable house. The plant used in the construction will come from a farm in southern New South Wales, and the material will be applied in different parts of the residence.
Additionally, designer Joost Bakker shared updates of the process on social media. In a joint post with Plantbord, it was reported that Efron’s house will use 200 sustainable panels intended for the kitchen and bathroom carpentry.
Six cabins form an unusual residence
The residence will consist of six “bedroom modules” connected by an external walkway. Each module will have a private bathroom and rooftop garden, creating a setup more akin to a set of integrated cabins than a conventional house.
This division reinforces the aspect of a retreat. The proposal seems designed to spread the dwelling across the land, rather than concentrating everything in a single closed block. With this, the project gains the appearance of an ecological retreat, surrounded by vegetation, water, and external paths.
Joost Bakker leads the creation of the house
The designer Joost Bakker is responsible for leading the project alongside Zac Efron. He met the actor during the filming of the Netflix series Down to Earth with Zac Efron in 2021, and was later invited to design the residence.
Bakker had already reported on social media in November 2025 that Efron became interested in his ideas after learning about the Future Food System and his house in Monbulk. The invitation opened up space for a project where the designer claims he can explore his ideas to the fullest.
FutureCave is born as a space to recharge energies
Zac Efron told the Australian Financial Review that he leads a busy life and works a lot. Between movies and press tours, according to him, the goal is to set aside time to rest, recharge, and stay in touch with nature whenever possible.
The sustainable house thus appears as a personal response to this fast-paced rhythm. More than a celebrity property, the project is presented as a place of pause, silence, and reconnection with the earth.
Australia had already been gaining space in the actor’s life
Efron’s connection with Australia didn’t start now. In 2021, a source told People that the actor had put his Los Angeles home up for sale and was preparing to settle in the country. At the time, the source stated that he loved Australia and considered it his home.
This context helps explain why the sustainable house is being built right there. The project does not emerge as an isolated whim but as part of a broader approach by the actor to the country, its landscape, and its lifestyle.
Celebrities and ecological architecture gain a new symbol
Eco-friendly house projects often attract attention, but they gain another scale when they involve a globally known figure. In the case of Zac Efron, the interest is not only in the actor’s name but in the combination of hemp, modular architecture, rooftop gardens, and location in a natural area.
The project may increase public curiosity about alternative materials in civil construction. Even without representing a simple solution for all types of housing, the house shows how sustainable choices can move from the experimental field into the high-end consumer imagination.
The project is still under construction
Despite the visual and conceptual impact, the house is still in the construction process. Bakker shared on May 8th that the work was officially starting, and new updates on materials were released later, including the use of sustainable panels in carpentry.
Therefore, there is still no final delivery to evaluate how the sustainable house will be completed. What exists so far is a set of information about the proposal, materials, location, and planned structure, enough to make the project one of the most talked-about residential works linked to a celebrity.
Now the question remains: can this type of eco-friendly construction inspire new real housing trends, or is it still far from the lives of most people? Would you live in a house made almost entirely of hemp? Leave your opinion in the comments.
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