Zac Efron is building a sustainable home in northern New South Wales with hemp worked into far more than the walls.
The actor is working with Dutch-Australian designer Joost Bakker on an off-grid property called FutureCave, located about an hour from Byron Bay. People reported that Efron bought the 128-hectare property in 2020.
The house is planned for land with rainforest, waterfalls, and old cedar trees. Efron told the Australian Financial Review, according to People, that his work life is fast-paced and that he wanted a place where he could rest, spend time in nature, and stay close to the earth between movies and press tours.
Bakker has described the home as a chance to push his sustainable design ideas further. The project uses hemp, rooftop gardens, plant-based boards, and natural materials across a home planned around separate bedroom pods, outdoor walkways, and the surrounding landscape.
Joost Bakker Is Designing the FutureCave Project
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Bakker first met Efron while the actor was filming Down to Earth with Zac Efron: Down Under in 2021, according to People. In a November Instagram post cited by the outlet, Bakker said Efron had fallen in love with his Future Food System project and his family home in Monbulk before asking him to design a home of his own.
“Best of all he wants me to push my ideas as far as they can go,” Bakker wrote, according to People. Domain reported that Bakker said Efron wanted the “healthiest home on the planet,” built with materials that sit lightly on the earth.
The plans call for six bedroom pods connected by outdoor walkways, with each pod having its own bathroom and rooftop garden. People reported that a larger living area will sit elsewhere on the property.
The Home Uses Hemp in Bricks, Joinery, and Textiles
People reported that Efron’s home will use hemp in internal bricks and joinery, with the material also planned for household items including a mattress, curtains, and pillows. The hemp is expected to come from a farm in southern New South Wales.
Homes to Love reported that the build will use hemp bricks, rooftop gardens, oyster shells, and natural building materials. Bakker told Domain that he has been experimenting with hemp blocks as a way to replace concrete with materials tied to restoration rather than extraction.
The home is also designed to work with the site rather than clear it. Homes to Love reported that Efron asked Bakker not to cut down a single tree on the property.
Plant-Based Boards Are Planned for the Kitchen and Bathrooms
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A May 22 joint Instagram post from Bakker and Plantbord said Efron’s house will use 200 sustainable boards for kitchen and bathroom joinery. People also reported that the kitchen and bathroom fixtures will incorporate boards from Plantbord.
Plantbord describes its product as a plant-based board made from materials connected to healthier interiors and soil restoration. The boards fit the same design direction as the rest of the house: fewer conventional building materials and more plant-based alternatives inside the structure.
The Property Extends Efron’s Australia Chapter
Efron has been tied to Australia for years. People reported in 2021 that a source said the actor loved the country, considered it home, and had no plans at that time to live permanently in Los Angeles again.
His New South Wales property gives that connection a permanent structure. Domain reported that the home is planned for Tomewin in the Northern Rivers region, about an hour from Byron Bay, with six bedrooms, six bathrooms, and space for friends and family.
Bakker told Homes to Love that Efron loves the Australian mentality and wants to spend time in nature. The house now being built around that idea is part private retreat, part sustainable design project, and part long-term signal that Efron’s Australia chapter is still growing.