Clara Cruz

Clara Cruz is a fourth year B.Arch student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute attending a semester a CASE. At CASE she has taken part in the research of new hemp building materials to reduce the carbon emissions and create a more circular economy. Cruz is currently developing a Dandelion root and Hemp fiber composite as a new building material to potentially replace existing shingles and flooring tiles. Dandelion Roots could be a new Rubber resource, a local alternative to rubber from the Hevea tree, and a binder for a renewable building material.