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

Giants 400 | Feb 6, 2023

2022 Religious Sector Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. religious facility construction sector

HOK, Parkhill, KPFF, Shawmut Design and Construction, and Wiss, Janney, Elstner head BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest religious facility sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2022 Giants 400 Report.

Giants 400 | Feb 6, 2023

2022 Justice Facility Sector Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. justice facility/public safety sector

Stantec, DLR Group, Turner Construction, STO Building Group, AECOM, and Dewberry top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms for justice facility/public safety buildings work, including correctional facilities, fire stations, jails, police stations, and prisons, as reported in the 2022 Giants 400 Report.

Giants 400 | Feb 6, 2023

2022 Parking Structure Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. parking structure sector

Choate Parking Consultants, Walker Consultants, Kimley-Horn, PCL, and Balfour Beatty top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest parking structure sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2022 Giants 400 Report.

Market Data | Feb 6, 2023

Nonresidential construction spending dips 0.5% in December 2022

National nonresidential construction spending decreased by 0.5% in December, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $943.5 billion for the month.

Giants 400 | Feb 3, 2023

Top Workplace/Interior Fitout Architecture, Engineering, and Construction Firms for 2022

Gensler, Interior Architects, AECOM, STO Building Group, and CBRE top the ranking of the nation's largest workplace/interior fitout architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.

Multifamily Housing | Feb 3, 2023

HUD unveils report to help multifamily housing developers overcome barriers to offsite construction

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in partnership with the National Institute of Building Sciences and MOD X, has released the Offsite Construction for Housing: Research Roadmap, a strategic report that presents the key knowledge gaps and research needs to overcome the barriers and challenges to offsite construction.

Steel Buildings | Feb 3, 2023

Top 10 structural steel building projects for 2023

A Mies van der Rohe-designed art and architecture school at Indiana University and Morphosis Architects' Orange County Museum of Art in Costa Mesa, Calif., are among 10 projects to win IDEAS² Awards from the American Institute of Steel Construction. 

Multifamily Housing | Feb 2, 2023

St. Louis’s first transit-oriented multifamily development opens in historic Skinker DeBaliviere neighborhood

St. Louis’s first major transit-oriented, multi-family development recently opened with 287 apartments available for rent. The $71 million Expo at Forest Park project includes a network of pathways to accommodate many modes of transportation including ride share, the region’s Metro Transit system, a trolley line, pedestrian traffic, automobiles, and bike traffic on the 7-mile St. Vincent Greenway Trail. 

Giants 400 | Feb 2, 2023

Top 20 Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) Construction Firms for 2022

Barton Malow, Gilbane, DPR Construction, and STO Building Group top the rankings of the nation's largest integrated project delivery (IPD) construction firms for buildings construction work, according to BD+C's 2022 Giants 400 Report. 

Giants 400 | Feb 2, 2023

Top 100 Design-Build Construction Firms for 2022

ARCO Construction, Hensel Phelps, Ryan Companies, and Swinerton top the rankings of the nation's largest design-build construction firms for buildings construction work, according to BD+C's 2022 Giants 400 Report.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Great Solutions

41 Great Solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors

AI ChatBots, ambient computing, floating MRIs, low-carbon cement, sunshine on demand, next-generation top-down construction. These and 35 other innovations make up our 2024 Great Solutions Report, which highlights fresh ideas and innovations from leading architecture, engineering, and construction firms.




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