Sustainable engineers Kenoteq are reinventing the brick

This is in CNN Style for a reason. It's a neat research project, great for prestige projects like Hyde Park. It just cannot compete with clay from a cost perspective.

Re: Sustainable engineers Kenoteq are reinventing the brick

#5

Post by exabrial » Mon, Jul 13, 2020, 5:03 PM UTC

I think the killer invention would be to solidify C02 efficiently for building materials (much like trees do).

Re: Sustainable engineers Kenoteq are reinventing the brick

#6

Post by kube-system » Mon, Jul 13, 2020, 5:13 PM UTC

We already have several reinventions of the brick which are stronger and more eco-friendly -- we call them concrete blocks.

I thought it was pretty silly to compare this product to bricks on it's cost/strength/waste. People aren't choosing brick for these factors anyway. People choose brick mainly for the aesthetic.

Re: Sustainable engineers Kenoteq are reinventing the brick

#7

Post by TheSpiceIsLife » Mon, Jul 13, 2020, 5:19 PM UTC

kube-system wrote: post #6

We already have several reinventions of the brick which are stronger and more eco-friendly -- we call them concrete blocks. I thought it was pretty silly to compare this product to bricks on it's cost/strength/waste. People aren't choosing brick for these factors anyway. People choose brick mainly for the aesthetic.

Do you mean Autoclaved aerated concrete?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autoclaved_aerated_concrete

Re: Sustainable engineers Kenoteq are reinventing the brick

#8

Post by kube-system » Mon, Jul 13, 2020, 5:30 PM UTC

TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #7

kube-system wrote: post #6

We already have several reinventions of the brick which are stronger and more eco-friendly -- we call them concrete blocks. I thought it was pretty silly to compare this product to bricks on it's cost/strength/waste. People aren't choosing brick for these factors anyway. People choose brick mainly for the aesthetic.

Do you mean Autoclaved aerated concrete ? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autoclaved_aerated_concrete

That is one example, but there are lots of types of concrete building materials that have significant advantages over brick for various applications.

Re: Sustainable engineers Kenoteq are reinventing the brick

#9

Post by JayPeaEm » Mon, Jul 13, 2020, 5:59 PM UTC

kube-system wrote: post #6

We already have several reinventions of the brick which are stronger and more eco-friendly -- we call them concrete blocks. I thought it was pretty silly to compare this product to bricks on it's cost/strength/waste. People aren't choosing brick for these factors anyway. People choose brick mainly for the aesthetic.

As a Civil Engineer & Software Engineer, we're always limited by the Construction Budget; no matter how cool something is.

Even brick masonry now is split-face and limited to at-grade elevations.

Speaking of reinventing, I'm still waiting on Elon Musk's eco-bricks [1] and whenever foamed metals [2] become popular.

[1] - https://interestingengineering.com/boring-companys-eco-brick...

[2] - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_foam

Re: Sustainable engineers Kenoteq are reinventing the brick

#10

Post by Pfhreak » Mon, Jul 13, 2020, 6:29 PM UTC

stonogo wrote: post #4

This is in CNN Style for a reason. It's a neat research project, great for prestige projects like Hyde Park. It just cannot compete with clay from a cost perspective.

I'd be curious if you've got some figures or if you are just guessing that it's the case. (Intuitively, I'd agree with you, but I couldn't find any info.)

Assuming also that the externalities of the existing brick manufacturing industry are not costed into the price of a standard brick. Other sources suggest that the k-briq is also more insulative than a regular brick, which should impact the cost calculations as well.