A team of students at the University of Waterloo in Canada have developed a process to grow bricks using bacteria.
The process, which works at room temperature, offers a new low-carbon way to fabricate bricks. The brick-growing process starts by introducing bacteria to a nutrient broth.
Recycled sand or demolition waste can be mixed in to create the Bio-Brick. The result is a product that is as strong and affordable as bricks traditionally used in construction sites today and can easily be grown onsite for any project, the product’s developers say.
The technology, still in the prototype phase, was named a runner-up for the James Dyson Award.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Oct 25, 2019
Top 55 Airport Sector Construction Firms for 2019
Hensel Phelps, AECOM, Turner, Skanska, and PCL top the rankings of the nation's largest airport terminal sector contractors and construction management firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2019 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 24, 2019
Top 80 Retail Construction Firms for 2019
PCL, VCC, Whiting-Turner, Shawmut, and W.E. O'Neil top the rankings of the nation's largest retail sector contractors and construction management firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2019 Giants 300 Report.
Contractors | Oct 24, 2019
Get them while they’re young: programs that promote the construction industry target students
Turner uses one of its jobsites in Nashville to immerse middle-school teachers in the ins and outs of building.
Contractors | Oct 17, 2019
Are contractors collecting what they need to make better decisions?
Research focused on five key types of data: project progress, manhours, productivity, safety, and equipment management.
Architects | Oct 11, 2019
SMPS report tracks how AEC firms are utilizing marketing technology tools
With thousands of MarTech tools and apps on the market, design and construction firms are struggling to keep up.
Healthcare Facilities | Oct 4, 2019
Heart failure clinics are keeping more patients out of emergency rooms
An example of this building trend recently opened at Beaumont Hospital near Ann Arbor, Mich.
Giants 400 | Oct 3, 2019
Top 10 Convention Center Sector Construction Firms for 2019
Lendlease, Turner, Clark, and Webcor top the rankings of the nation's largest convention center sector contractors and construction management firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2019 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 3, 2019
Top 65 Cultural Sector Construction Firms for 2019
Whiting-Turner, Turner, PCL, Clark Group, and Gilbane top the rankings of the nation's largest cultural facility sector contractors and construction management firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2019 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 3, 2019
2019 Cultural Facility Giants Report: New libraries are all about community
The future of libraries is less about being quiet and more about hands-on learning and face-to-face interactions. This and more cultural sector trends from BD+C's 2019 Giants 300 Report.
3D Printing | Sep 17, 2019
Additive manufacturing goes mainstream in the industrial sector
More manufacturers now include this production process in their factories.