flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Lab-grown bricks offer potential low-carbon building material

Lab-grown bricks offer potential low-carbon building material

Prototype uses bacteria to grow a brick in a mold.


By Peter Fabris, Contributing Editor | September 30, 2022
Grow Bricks
Courtesy Pexels.

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

| Mar 20, 2012

Stanford’s Knight Management Center Awarded LEED Platinum

The 360,000-sf facility underscores what is taught in many of the school’s electives such as Environmental Entrepreneurship and Environmental Science for Managers and Policy Makers, as well as in core classes covering sustainability across the functions of business.

| Mar 20, 2012

New office designs at San Diego’s Sunroad Corporate Center

Traditional office space being transformed into a modern work environment, complete with private offices, high-tech conference rooms, a break room, and an art gallery, as well as standard facilities and amenities.

| Mar 19, 2012

Obama’s positioned to out-regulate Bush in second term

Proposed ozone rule would cost $19 billion to $90 billion in 2020, according to the White House.

| Mar 19, 2012

Skanska promotes Saunders to VP/GM of Bayshore Concrete Products

During his more than 13 years with Bayshore, Saunders has provided products for Victory Bridge in New Jersey, Route 52 Causeway in Ocean City, N.J., and for numerous piers at Naval Station Norfolk and the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. 

| Mar 19, 2012

Smith Carter joins forces with Genivar

Smith Carter has a workforce of some 190 employees and designs complex buildings in challenging environments.

| Mar 19, 2012

HKS Selected for Baylor Medical Center at Waxahachie

Baylor Medical Center at Waxahachiewill incorporate advanced technology including telemedicine, digital imaging, remote patient monitoring, electronic medical records and computer patient records. 

| Mar 19, 2012

Mixed-use project redefines Midtown District in Plantation, Fla.

Stiles Construction is building the residential complex, which is one of Broward County’s first multifamily rental communities designed to achieve LEED certification from the USGBC. 

| Mar 16, 2012

Temporary fix to CityCenter's Harmon would cost $2 million, contractor says

By contrast, CityCenter half-owner and developer MGM Resorts International determined last year that the Harmon would collapse in a strong quake and can't be fixed in an economical way. It favors implosion at a cost of $30 million.

| Mar 16, 2012

Work on Oxnard, Calif. shopping center resumes after a three-year hiatus

Stalled since 2009, developers of the Collection at RiverPark decided to restart construction on the outdoor mall. 

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category



Curtain Wall

7 steps to investigating curtain wall leaks

It is common for significant curtain wall leakage to involve multiple variables. Therefore, a comprehensive multi-faceted investigation is required to determine the origin of leakage, according to building enclosure consultants Richard Aeck and John A. Rudisill with Rimkus. 


halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021