Green Bricks and Blocks

(Originally published in the April 2012 issues of Merchant Magazine and Building Products Digest.)

Durability is one of those green building attributes that doesn’t get enough attention.  Things that last a long time don’t need to be replaced as often, which saves money, material, and energy.  Durable items that are reusable and recyclable are even better. And ones made from abundant, recycled, or easily renewable material right from the get go are, theoretically, the best. 

So, why doesn’t the ubiquitous and overlooked “brick” get more attention from green pundits and sustainability gurus?  It’s durable, reusable and made from abundant materials, clay and slate.  Where red bricks fall down is high carbon footprint.  Bricks require high-temperature kilns, which consume lots of energy, and that’s a deal killer for most green architects. 

But there’s more than one way to make a brick.  Innovations in recent years, as well as shifting attitudes about older brick making technologies, are combining to make the category much more interesting.  Are we close to a renaissance in building with brick?  Who knows?  But for building materials dealers looking to refresh an ancient category there are innovative new solutions worth evaluating.

Let’s start with the basic red brick.  Red brick has a specific aesthetic that may represent an important aspect of a region’s building vernacular, or may simply be appealing to individual customers.  If it has to be red brick, there is a green alternative.  Bricks made with fly ash, such as those from CalStar Products, can capture that same look and feel, but with a fraction of the carbon foot print.  They’re made with an industrial waste product, fly ash, and are steam cured rather than kiln fired, and at comparable price and performance to the traditional clay brick. 

Fly ash bricks are an innovation that could very well capture the imagination of architects, specifiers and builders, and begin to gain significant market share at the expense of traditional red bricks.  They fit well with mainstream attitudes and represent a safe way forward.

For some dealers there are niche opportunities to push the envelope a little further.  Recycled paper offers one of the more unusual building materials currently testing the boundaries of what’s possible.  A new company in Texas, MasonGreenStar is testing the market with GreenStar Blox, bricks made from recycled paper, cement, and proprietary additives.  The bricks weigh only about a third of comparably sized adobe or compressed earth blocks (CEB).  This technology is not ready for prime time just yet, but it may represent an important alternative building material in the future.

In a return to the past, natural building projects are often focused on using materials like adobe and CEB which can be sourced on the building site.  While many dealers are stuck in a “stock and ship” paradigm, on-site material sourcing and production presents a different kind opportunity for the enterprising green dealer. 

Renting compressed earth bricking making equipment and hosting training courses could be business opportunities for dealers currently supporting natural builders, or those inspired to evangelize natural materials.  Earth Tek is one manufacturer of brick presses and blenders worth a look.  But if you’re interested in building your own, you can do that, too.  Open Source Ecology is developing open-source plans for what it calls the Global Village Construction Set, machines that could be built by almost anyone that would be necessary to deliver the industrial needs of a small town, including a CEB press.  For some, this kind of brick making might provide new sources of revenue as durable as the bricks themselves.